As Villa's forces attacked the enemy defenses, their advance was halted by Obregon's machine guns and artillery. Instead of using his cavalry to outmaneuver the enemy defenses, Villa ordered his troops to launch wave after wave of frontal assaults against Obregón's positions. After the battle, Obregón recalled that the Villistas launched nearly 40 assaults with only a single penetration of his own lines. Even this minor success was thwarted by a quick-thinking Obregón. As the Villistas occupied the defensive positions they had captured, Obregón ordered his bugler to sound general retreat. The Villistas, believing the order to have come from their own bugler, were fooled into retreating and surrendered the only ground they had gained during the fighting. As Villa's men retreated, Obregón seized the opportunity and ordered a devastating counterattack.