Chapter 19: Ramses Likes to Go Top Lane
By the standards of this era, Kadesh was a fortress city that was easy to defend but difficult to attack. A major road on its right led to the turbulent sea, on the left were cliffs and deep valleys, a swift river ran through the middle, and straight ahead lay an open plain.
This plain hadn't been so lively in a long time.
The last time it was this lively, the Pharaoh of Egypt was Thutmose III. Known in later history as the "Napoleon of Ancient Egypt," he was a lively and active ruler who had made a major show here. He came with great ambition and left heavily laden, at the cost of the people of Kadesh being utterly crushed.
For Egyptians, the name Kadesh represented the beginning of Egyptian military dominance.
Now, Ramses, devoted to restoring the glory of his predecessors, arrived. Like Thutmose III, he was lively, active, and eager to make a grand statement.
The opponent, however, had changed. No longer was it the kings of Asia; it was the Hittites, MVP-level players of the ancient Near East.
Egypt and the Hittites had once been allies, but after Mitanni fell, they became rivals—the friendship boat had capsized.
Ramses was a "top lane" kind of player, whereas Muwatalli (Hittite king) essentially said, "You Egyptians go wherever you like; I'll jungle."
The Hittites were meticulous when it came to preparation. When Ramses, full of excitement, led the Amun Legion to the western side of Kadesh, he had no idea the Hittites were not far away.
Coincidentally, the Egyptians captured two Bedouins claiming to have escaped from the Hittite army. Their "leak" revealed that the Hittites were still in Aleppo, north of Tunip.
Confident, Ramses ordered the army to advance to the northern side of Kadesh to camp again, sending word to summon the Ra Legion to join him.
It was clear that Ramses had learned Thutmose's rapid march tactics, but nothing else—especially the most important parts beyond speed.
Hikigaya, in the Amun Legion, considered warning Ramses but saw him enjoying himself too much. He admitted he wanted to see Ramses' "OMG so hype" expression, so he simply executed the strategy of "I let you go but hurt your back."
After that, events proceeded exactly as history recorded.
Compared to the headstrong, bison-like Ramses, Muwatalli's movements were graceful. As Ramses moved from west to north of the city, Muwatalli led his army from the east to the south, keeping a perfect distance and avoiding Egyptian scouts. Finally, he found a safe position northeast of the city.
Then he "hid in the grass."
This isn't entirely accurate. He himself wasn't hiding—he led 2,500 chariots and tens of thousands of infantry in a secret march.
Fully aware of the Egyptians' movements, Muwatalli carefully decided not to strike the Amun Legion first.
Though the Amun Legion hadn't noticed him, they cautiously set up a relatively complete camp using shields and some vehicles. Muwatalli instead targeted the Ra Legion, which had not yet crossed the Orontes River. Exhausted, this legion had just reached the riverbank under Ramses' urging.
Here, he made an unforgivable mistake: he failed to realize Ramses himself was in the Amun Legion. Had Muwatalli known, he would have attacked immediately.
History has no "what if," but overall, the Egyptians fell completely into Muwatalli's plan.
Muwatalli avoided Egyptian detection expertly. His army made a large flanking maneuver, moving south of Kadesh, crossing the river, and ambushing on the east side of the Orontes—a second "grass bush" ambush.
Until the Ra Legion, marching in long formations, entered his sight.
Egyptian infantry was strong, but in front of chariots, they were powerless. In this era, no infantry could face chariots alone.
The Ra Legion was unlucky—not because they had no chariots, but because Ramses confiscated them for his "lightning strike" plan.
So when 2,500 Hittite chariots appeared from the east, the Ra Legion—from high-ranking commanders to ordinary soldiers—was dumbfounded.
The Hittites' heavy chariots accelerated in their charge, leaving the Ra infantry in awe. They remembered their ancestors, who lacked chariots, being dominated by Hyksos.
It wasn't a lack of bravery—they had just crossed the Orontes, exhausted like dogs. Even at full strength, forming a phalanx or trying to block the chariots would have been nearly impossible. Simply put: if someone in a car is about to run you over, do you fight? Or do you run?
In moments, the Ra Legion's formation collapsed from a long snake to scattered troops—the super-cowardly version, facing backward.
Then came the massacre.
The Hittites laughed as they pursued the Egyptians. The 2,500 heavy chariots crushed the Ra Legion.
Yet cunning Muwatalli, even with the chance to annihilate the legion, ordered his chariots to regroup. Initially confused, the charioteers soon realized that the fleeing Egyptians were heading toward the Amun Legion camp. Without explanation, they laughed joyfully.
Hittite chariot troops, selected from military nobility, were highly disciplined despite their usual indulgences. Even the best camp couldn't withstand fleeing soldiers trying to escape to their mothers.
Without instruction, the reformed Hittite chariot group instinctively pursued the Egyptian fleeing soldiers toward the Amun Legion camp.
Seeing Hittite chariots advancing again, more Egyptian soldiers panicked, trampling comrades and charging into the Amun camp, disrupting the legion's formation.
It seemed nothing could stop the outcome.
Important Announcement New Fanfictions
Hello Everyone! I'm VarieTL!
Thank you for all your support!
As an early gift for Christmas for all of you I'm happy to announce:
Not One
Not Two
But 3 New Fanfictions!
Hikigaya returns home from Warhammer...Wait were the Cursed Spirits here before though
Every night, Hachiman Hikigaya dreams of a different wife. Initially, he thought it was just the dreams of an adolescent boy, until he discovered that every single one of them came from the Advanced Nurturing High School... Multi Crossover Snafu, Warhammer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Kaguya-sama: Love is War, BanG Dream!
Hikigaya dreams of his future wives
Every night, Hachiman Hikigaya dreams of a different wife. Initially, he thought it was just the dreams of an adolescent boy, until he discovered that every single one of them came from the Advanced Nurturing High School...
Evolution of Emiya Shirou, Traveler of the Multiverse
Shirou, having traveled through time to the era of the Fourth Holy Grail War, is forced to step into the battle for the Holy Grail. Fortunatly there is the sytem with Dimensional Roulette: blank Class Cards, the Son of the Sun, Unlimited Blade Works... Multi X-Over: Fate zero, Campione, Fate/stay night, FGO, Danmachi and many many others.
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