Close to Defeat
In many ways, the reputation of Ramses II as a great military leader is based upon his apparent success at Kadesh. Certainly, he deserves credit for at the very least turning the tide of the battle from near-certain defeat to a stalemate at worst. In 1275 BC, Ramses prepared his army for battle against the Hittites but was determined not to move until he received favorable omens.
He apparently received these omens in 1274 BC because he brought his army to the plains of Kadesh; it is possible that he agreed upon the site of the battle with his enemy, Muwatalli II, the leader of the Hittites. Ramses brought his 20,000 man army and 2,000 chariots and marched in four different divisions but made some serious errors that almost cost him dearly. First, he believed a pair of Shasu nomads who met the pharaoh’s army around 11km from Kadesh. They told him that the Hittite army was around 200km away; Muwatalli was apparently afraid of the Egyptians and had withdrawn.
As it transpired, these nomads had been hired by the Hittites to spread false information. At this point, Ramses had driven his Amun division way ahead of his army. He realized how much trouble he was in when he captured two Hittite scouts. Under torture, they revealed that the Hittites were close by with an enormous force. Muwatalli had an army of up to 40,000 men with 3,000 chariots. The outnumbered Ramses was ambushed by the enemy and had his camp raided.
As parts of the Amun camp fell, Ramses was probably only surrounded by a small number of his personal guard and was in grave danger. It was here that the pharaoh showed his military skill as he bravely fought back to get out of the trap he had foolishly walked into. According to Egyptologist, Margaret Bunson, Ramses helped keep his panicked units calm and “began to slice his way through the enemy to reach his southern forces.”
Bunson wrote that Ramses somehow managed to launch an attack on the enemy eastern wing that was so ferocious that it fell apart and the pharaoh made his escape. Ramses was aided by a basic tactical error from the Hittites. They mistakenly believed that the Egyptians had been routed and were busily raiding the Amun camp when Ramses launched his counter-attack. Ramses effectively utilized his fast and mobile chariots as they were far quicker and more versatile than the heavy Hittite chariots.
Although the Egyptians had escaped annihilation, the Battle of Kadesh was far from over. Muwatalli could still call upon a huge reserve of chariots and infantry, and of course, he was still in command of the city of Kadesh. Ramses forced the Hittites to retreat close to the Orontes River, but Muwatalli reacted by ordering another massive attack, this time with 1,000 chariots. Once again, the Pharaoh was in dire straits, but he had bought enough time for his Ne’arin troops from Amurru and his Ptah Division to arrive on the battlefield.