 On spotting their rivals, the Ngāti Whātua launched a full assault met by Te Whareumu and his tribe.The fighting was fierce and bloody and just when it looked like the superior numbers of the Ngāti Whātua would overwhelm them, in came Hongi Hika, the guns blazed unmercifully and the Ngāti Whātua retreated to the forest edge, but they were rallied again by an old chief and once more charged the Ngāpuhi ranks, only to die in a rain of bullets.Then Te Whareumu and Hongi charged the Ngāti Whātua lines and the slaughter commenced, the bodies of over 700 Ngāti Whātua and their allies were spread all over the field and the remaining survivors fled for their lives, being chased all the way by members of the Ngāpuhi.