Get the ebook on Amazon. THE SIEGE OF TENOCHTITLAN When the two combined divisions of Olid and Alvarado reached the city of Acolman at the end of May 22 (the first day of the siege against Tenochtitlan), fighting broke out among the Spanish. The town was deserted and there were strong disagreements about which division would get the privilege of spending the night in the nicest houses.

A soldier galloped back to Texcoco and told Cortes about the situation. Cortes sent a priest to read the bickering soldiers a letter of reproach and to order Alvarado and Olid to stay focused on the mission. Still, the men barely slept that night.

On day two they marched to another abandoned town and spent the night. The next day they stopped at another abandoned town.

Then they got to Tacuba, also abandoned, and stopped marching. They had raided all the houses the last time they had passed through.

Aztec soldiers were already at the causeway. The Spanish could not take it without a fight, but it was near dusk and the soldiers stuck to Cortes’ plan. They fought minor skirmishes, but didn't attempt to win the bridge.

Even if they could have fought their way across, that wasn't part one. First they had to destroy an aqueduct that was Tenochtitlan's major lifeline. The aqueduct was heavily guarded and the fighting was fierce. Diaz says the enemy had better ground, but his people were able to force them to retreat.

The Spanish smashed the conduits, severing the capital’s access to fresh water. Olid then took his division south to Coyoacan, which was deserted. When Cortes got word that the two ground divisions were in place, he sent division three to take Iztapalapa, 25 miles away. They marched the full distance in one day, driving away groups of attacking Aztecs.

Cuauhtemoc barely put up a fight to defend the three cities that Cortes now controlled. He assumed – correctly – that he would need most of his men to defend against the warships. He consulted with his priests and then made special sacrifices. Two of the victims were the young Spanish pages captured during Cortes’ mission of encirclement.

On June 1, Cortes boarded his flagship, La Capitana, and sailed for Iztapalapa to support the ground troops. On a small island in the lake there was a communications post sending smoke signals to Cuauhtemoc. Cortes took 150 soldiers to smash it.

Twenty five Spaniards were wounded in the skirmish, but their mission was a success. They looked out on the lake and saw canoes racing toward them. They ran to their ship, ready for a fight. Cortes waited until the canoes came within two crossbow shots. He unfurled the sails. They caught a strong draft and sped straight at the Aztecs, smashing the tiny wooden boats and sending large numbers to flail and drown in the water. They fired volley after volley from cannons, splintering and sinking more canoes. The crossbowmen and musketeers did their work, too, and soon parts of the lake were filled with bodies.

The Aztecs realized that it was useless to shoot arrows and spears at the hulls of the ships, and they retreated. But for six miles the Spanish pursued them.

The ground divisions saw this and were emboldened. The soldiers under Olid pushed forward across a causeway. They finally drove back the enemy after Cortes arrived in his ship.

He disembarked with 30 men and smashed two temples. Looking out at the city he saw the lake filled with returning canoes, and he saw the causeway from Xoloc to Tenochtitlan teeming with warriors. He had three cannons unloaded off his ship and aimed at the foot soldiers. During the barrage one of his me