Between the 31st August when the Spaniards crossed the Tlaxcalan frontier and fought a skirmish with some Otomi-Tlaxcalan troops, and the 23rd September when they entered the Capital of Tlaxcala, only two dates are mentioned by Bernal Díaz. He gives the 2nd September (Gomara says the 1st September) as the date of the first great battle against the Tlaxcalan army under Xicotenca (Xicotencatl), and the name of the battlefield as Tehucacingo or Tehauacancigo, which cannot now be identified.

After the battle the Spaniards took shelter in a village with a temple on a hill; this hill is a still pointed out by the natives as the site of Cortés' camp. Here the Spaniards formed a fortified camp, which continued to be their headquarters until the war was over, and they marched to the Capital of Tlaxcala.

Bernal Díaz tells us that this camp was near Cunpanzingo, probably the Tzompantzingo of the modern maps.

Bernal Díaz gives the 5th September as the date of the second great battle, which was fought close by the camp.

Although the accounts of the war in Tlaxcala given by Bernal Díaz and Cortés agree in the main points, they do not always give the events in the same order. It seems probable that Bernal Díaz places the night attack too early, and that it took place after Xicotenga had sent the spies to the Spanish camp.