The biggest horse cart match in ancient history between Egypt and Hittite

With the war chariot force up to thousands of vehicles from both sides, the Kadesh battle between Egyptians and Hittites was recognized by many historians as the largest horse-drawn battle in history.

Around 1274 BC, Pharaoh Ramesses of Egypt and King Muwatalli of the Hittite Empire brought their royal army to the flat land near Kadesh - where both chose to be the battleground. On his side, Rameses brought 20,000 soldiers, including 2,000 chariots. Meanwhile, Muwatalli had a much larger force with 40,000 soldiers and 3,000 chariots, including heavy chariots carrying 3 people.

Pharaoh Rameses led the counterattack of the Egyptian army.

The Egyptians started the battle with a huge disadvantage. Accordingly, while marching to Kadesh, King Ramesses learned that Muwatalli's army was still far away.

Because of the pioneering army of Amun who had gone ahead to set up camp, he decided to slow down the march to keep the soldiers fit. However, he did not expect that he had been fooled: the Hittite army was just north of Kadesh with nearly 20 different allies. Only when he caught two Hittite reconnaissance soldiers, did he realize this trap.

While on his way to the camp, Ramesses' forces were attacked by Hittite chariots, which had crossed the Orontes. Taking advantage of the disbanded enemy lineup, the Hittite army began to burn down the Egyptian army's camp. Although very elite, but the pioneering army of Amun still could not stop the opponent's heavy chariot.

Soon, Pharaoh Ramesses and his guards led several attacks on the burning Hittite army, and gathered the Ra and Amun troops to coordinate their counterattack, pushing their forces. King Muwatalli southeast to the river Orontes.

The first phase of the battle.

In this situation, light-weight Egyptian wagons promoted their forte. The heavy vehicles of the Hittites proved helpless against rivals moving flexibly, resulting in heavy losses. Realizing this, King Muwatalli gathered his remaining chariots to move to flatten the Egyptian army. The attack brought about the results as Muwatalli had expected: the Egyptian troops were threatened to push back to their camps, and Hittite chariots could cross the river to regroup.

However, right now, luck has come to Egypt: Ne'arin allies have arrived in time. When he learned that the army was circling the camp to the southeast to attack Muwatalli's second army, Ramesses had his men attack straight north, flanking and surrounding the Hittite army. Realizing his failure, the Hittites were forced to leave the chariots to swim across the river to escape, marking the end of the Kadesh battle.

The final stage of the battle.

When it comes to battle results, many documents come to different conclusions.The Kadesh battle is often described as an Egyptian victory. However, some documents claim that this is a draw or even a victory for the Hittites. However, it cannot be denied that despite being swept up twice by Hittite forces, King Ramesses still gained more benefits than King Muwatalli. At that time, wagons were often symbols of the empire and were often decorated, even with rare metal tiles. Therefore, whether or not Kadesh was obtained, the Egyptians could still be satisfied with the spoils of nearly 1,000 chariots left by the Hittites.

Horse wagon.

In ancient warfare, chariots were a means of elite transport, concurrently taking on several roles equivalent to ' sniping ' (mobile archery), 'solemnity' (sweeping, breaking through the room) dwell) and "contempt" (pursuit) of the ancient East Asian army.

The car is pulled by 2 horses and usually carries 1 driver and 1-2 soldiers. Soldiers on the vehicle can carry 1-2 bows (base of about 100 arrows), long / short spears as well as make and bend swords to melee when necessary.

However, the strength of the war chariot lies in its flexibility and quick adaptation. The warriors on the vehicle can flexibly switch from archery to spears at close range and are ready for close combat if the vehicle is disabled.