Alma 57
Towards the end of the 28th year Ammoron was feeling that his forces were stretched too thin. He did not want to show any potential weakness to Moroni, but he had less fear of Helaman so he asked to exchange prisoners for a weakened city. Helaman did not fall for the cheap offer. He replied that he thought he was strong enough to take the city himself. The people of the city probably got word of that and that caused them to flee leaving the city for Helaman to retake. Having lost any bargaining chip with Helaman, Ammoron turned to Moroni to seek an exchange of prisoners. With Helaman taking new prisoners in large numbers his need was growing desperate.