COMMAND

The King, or in his absence, the TLACOCHALATL (a supreme council member) or the TLACATECCATL (a supreme council member) led the army in wartime. The TLACOCHALATL led the strongest and most noted army (wing), and he directed battle surrounded by his nobles.

STANDARDS

There were four types of standards used (according to CODEX MENDOZA)

Reticulated crown device
Obsidian butterfly
Double
Crest

These may have represented the four great quarters of Tenochtitlan. Units and individuals also had distinctive insignia (back banners, mantles,). For example, a FIRE BUTTERFLY back banner was carried by those who took three captives (see Fig. 2 in HASSIG). A unit standard was known as a CUACHPANTLI. Standards were placed in the centre of the unit and their loss could lead to rout or retreat.

SIZE

The army varied in size from at least 8000 (XIQUIPILLI) to several hundred thousands depending on the manpower requirements of the campaign. A specific number of men could be drawn from a ward(CALPULLI) to form a number of units possibly 100, 200 and 400 strong for smaller units up to 8000 or more and sub-units were likely 20 or more strong. Each ward had its own leader and standard, and was combined, depending on its manpower total, with other units to form larger units (up to 20 400-man units in a XIQUIPILLI).

In each section/squad, veteran warriors (CUAHCHICQUEH, OTONIN, ACHCACUAUHTIN or TEQUIHUAHQUEH) were placed between every four or five youths. They would watch over the youths but would not fight unless a veteran enemy warrior approached. The notes provided with each army list serve several purposes. Amongst these are: background information for those unfamiliar with a particular army; tactical advice; and the justification for some of the troop gradings. While the Aztec list (Barker and Bodley Scott 1999b:61) is an improvement over the Mexican list for WRG 6th edition (Barker 1982:pf.39) and the Aztec list for WRG 7th edition armies (Hutchby and Clark 1993:pf.86), there are several deficiencies in the DBM list as: 1) they are not consistent with the definitions of troop types listed in DBM; and 2) they do not appear to be consistent with what is known about the performance of the Aztecs in battle.

More Aztec Army

Command Structure
Army Organization
Aztec Military System
Renaissance Warfare Aztec List
Aztec References