In this short chapter, a great battle—as had been threatened by the Amalekites, “because of their loss” of these people (27:2)—was fought. This battle was greater than any previous conflict in the land of Zarahemla (28:2). Evidently the Nephites were resolute in keeping their commitment to protect the Ammonites, who themselves were exempt from frontline duty. What made this war uniquely terrible? Several factors must have contributed. For one thing, the Zoramites had already defected from the central powers in Zarahemla and were building the city of Antionum in that area. They probably did not respond with their normal enthusiasm for the honors of battle. From a geo-political perspective, the lands of Jershon and Antionum must have been important to both the Nephites and the Lamanites. They were certainly willing to lose many lives in defending these neighboring lands, as “the bodies of many thousands” were given a proper burial and were “laid low in the earth,” while the bodies of many thousands were “mouldering in heaps upon the face of the earth,” presumably the bodies of the invaders that would not have been given anything but a token burial (28:11).