BATTLE OF KADESH

One of the largest chariot battles the world had seen occurred in 1274 BCE near the village of Kadesh (in present-day Syria). More than five thousand chariots were involved. A large Egyptian army was led by twenty-five-year-old Ramses II. He was brash and confident but had little experience. Against him was a Hittite force led by Muwatallis II, who was a veteran of many wars and had considerable experience. Ramses led a force of about thirty-five thousand men, which included about two thousand chariots and a large number of archers. The Hittite army consisted of over twenty-seven thousand men and close to three thousand five hundred chariots. The Egyptian chariots accommodated two men, and they were much lighter, faster, and more maneuverable than the Hittite chariots, which were built to accommodate three men.

Ramses commanded four divisions, each of which was named for an Egyptian god: Amun, Re, Seth, and Ptah. He also had another division of mercenaries called the Ne'arin. With Ramses in the lead, his army began a month-long march toward Kadesh. When he was about seven miles from it, his men came upon two Bedouins, or nomads, who claimed they had been conscripted to serve in the Hittite army but had escaped. Ramses questioned them and was pleased when they told him that Muwatallis's army was 135 miles away in a place called Aleppo. Furthermore, they said Muwatallis was afraid of Ramses and his army.

This made Ramses even more confident, since it meant he would be able to capture Kadesh without having to fight the Hittites. Without verifying the story he quickly pushed on. Indeed, he was in such a rush that he and his bodyguards had soon outdistanced most of his troops. Close to his destination was the Orontes River, which was difficult to cross in most places, but it could be crossed close to Kadesh. Ramses and his small contingent of guards splashed their way across it, then moved through a wooded area to a clearing, from which he could see Kadesh. He decided to set up camp, and within a short time his Amun division caught up with him, but his other divisions were still relatively far behind.

As the men were setting up camp his guards brought two captured Hittite soldiers before him. Ramses began questioning them, but they refused to talk. Only after being beaten did they finally confess, and what they had to say shocked Ramses. They told him that the Hittites were massed behind the old city of Kadesh with infantry and chariots, and that they were more numerous than the grains of sand on the beach.

Ramses could hardly believe what he was hearing. The two Bedouins that he had talked to earlier had been lying, and indeed Muwatallis had sent them to set a trap. Ramses was now only a few miles from Kadesh, and he had only half his army with him. The Hittites were no doubt ready to attack. Ramses sent messengers to the lagging divisions telling them to hurry. He knew that the Ptah division was not far away, however, and with it he would have three-quarters of his army, so he wasn't worried.

Muwatallis, meanwhile, had divided his troops into two main forces. One was to strike at the rear of the Egyptian army; the other, which included Muwatallis, himself, along with a force of one thousand chariots and a large contingent of infantry, would strike from the side, preventing the Egyptians from retreating.

The Hittite chariots spread into formation, then they attacked. The Re division, straggling behind, had just emerged from the forest into the clearing area. Twenty-five hundred Hittite chariots ripped into it; the Egyptians didn't know what hit them. Panic raced through the survivors as the Hittites slaughtered most of them. The remnants of the division ran toward the safety of the main Egyptian encampment, but the Hittites followed. Ramses was surrounded by his guard, which consisted of the best-trained troops in his army. The Hittite charioteers rushing toward him proved no match for the well-trained guards, who quickly killed large numbers of them.

Ramses had been busy reaming out his officers when the attack came, but he quickly took charge, and with what remained of his army he counterattacked. He did, however, have several advantages: his chariots were faster and could easily outmaneuver the Hittite chariots. Furthermore, his archers had a relatively powerful composite bow, and within a short time they had inflicted severe damage on the Hittite forces.

Strangely, the Hittite infantrymen, who were sure the battle was almost over, stopped and began looting the Egyptian camp. As a result, they became easy targets for the Egyptian counterattack. They were soon routed, with many of them dead on the field. The battle, which had started out as a slaughter for Muwatallis II, was now turning in favor of the Egyptians. Nevertheless, Muwatallis ordered another attack. In the meantime, Ramses’ Ne'arin troops arrived, bringing his army to nearly full strength, and it counterattacked with everything it had. Soon the Hittites were overwhelmed, and many of them fled back toward Kadesh.

But Muwatallis II was not ready to give up. Most of his chariots, however, were now on the opposite side of the Orontes River. They had to cross it to attack the Egyptians. Ramses looked over the situation and decided to let them attack; he had a plan. He let the Hittite chariots cross the river, knowing that as they started up the steep bank toward the Egyptians they would slow to a crawl. When they did, Ramses ordered his chariots to attack, and they soon pushed the Hittites back into the water, inflicting heavy losses.

Muwatallis then ordered another charge, and again his troops were driven back, this time with even heavier losses. For the next three hours, in fact, Muwatallis continued the same tactic, until most of his officers were gone and many of his charioteers had been killed, many by drowning. Finally, when the Ptah, the last of the Egyptian divisions arrived, Muwatallis decided it was hopeless. He and his troops retreated, many to the safety of Kadesh, with others continuing on to Aleppo.

Ramses had also lost a lot of men by this time. He decided not to attack Kadesh and instead returned to Egypt. Both leaders claimed they had won the battle, and, indeed, Ramses had routed the Hittites, but he had not achieved his goal, namely the capture of Kadesh. Muwatallis, on the other hand, claimed he had stopped the Egyptians, and indeed, they had left.1

THE WONDER WEAPON

The chariot obviously played a large role in the Battle of Kadesh, and for many years thereafter it continued to be a major weapon of war. And certainly when it was first introduced it created terror among enemy troops. Most of the first chariots were built for two men, but later three- and even four-man chariots were used.

Most people are familiar with chariots from the movie Ben Hur, which starred Charlton Heston. It contained an exciting nine-minute chariot race that became one of the most popular sequences in the history of film, and it certainly gave viewers a good idea what it was like to drive or ride in a chariot.

(An early war chariot)

Although the chariot was initially a wonder weapon, it didn't take long before many armies had them. So of course a search soon began for a new wonder weapon. At the time, weapon designers couldn't turn to science because science didn't yet exist. Nevertheless, the search was on for a new weapon that would shock and terrorize the enemy. Indeed, the process soon became an endless cycle.

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