Kadesh - Turn Three

All Hittite chariots have now crossed the Orontes

View from Kadesh

I win the dice-off (3-1) to determine who goes first, and start with my far-right chariots, which charge the Amarna, and this time, since the javelinmen are less than 8cm away, there is no question of defensive fire.

Heavy chariots against open-order infantry receive three dice per base, and there is an extra die per base for this being the first round of a melee. I score five hits, only one of which is saved. Three of the hits are resolved as the loss of a base, and the fourth forces a 3cm withdrawal. However, a morale test has to be taken for each base lost, and, although the Amarna, despite being levy, pass two of the tests, the third causes the unit to lose its final base, meaning the Egyptians have now lost two of their eight units.

My light chariots opposite the Ka archers shoot at the latter, scoring a magnificent three hits. One is saved, but the other two are resolved as forcing the Ka back a total of 6cm.

I next choose to resolve the ongoing melee involving the Karnak biblical infantry. Both sides receive one die per base, and there is no bonus to my charioteers as this is not the first round of hand-to-hand-fighting. I score two hits with my four bases, and the Karnak, despite only having two bases, score a hit. None of the hits is saved. The two I inflict are resolved as forcing the Karnak back 6cm, but the one hit my men suffer causes the loss of a base.

My other squadron of light chariots shoots at the Tharn biblical infantry, scoring two hits, none of which is saved. One hit causes the loss of a base, the other forces the Tharn to withdraw 3cm, but they also fail a morale test, losing a second base.

The unfortunate Tharn are then charged by the three-base Allied heavy chariots that just failed to make contact with them last turn. I roll 5, 1, 1 - one hit; Reg rolls 4, 4 - no hits. However, Reg has better luck by rolling a 6 for the saving throw, meaning the Tarn escape further harm.

Of the three squadrons that have just crossed the Orontes, two veer left, and one heads towards Pharoah's Royal Chariot Squadron.

With the second wave of Hittite chariots about to join the action, things are looking grim for the Egyptians

Reg orders Pharoah's chariots to shoot at the elite Hittite chariots bearing down on them. The Egyptians score two hits, but I save them both.

The Ka archers return fire at the Allied light chariots that forced them to fall back earlier this turn. The Ka score two hits, and neither is saved. Both are resolved as forcing my men back 3cm, ie 6cm in all, which can be done, without bumping into friendly troops, although they have to deviate slightly, but less than 30°, from moving straight back.

The Karnak biblical infantry are ordered to attack the chariots that have just forced them back. Reg rolls 6, 6 - two hits! One is saved, but the other causes the loss of a base, and a further base is lost when my men, apparently surprised by the Karnak's audacity, fail a morale test. But first my men get to roll three dice for having three bases in a melee against biblical infantry, and a further three dice for it being the first round of a new melee. I roll only one hit, and it is saved, so the fight between these two units has unexpectedly swung in favour of the infantry.

The other chariots-v-biblical-infantry melee continues, with the Tharn inflicting no hits, but suffering two, neither of which is saved, and both cause the loss of a base, thus eliminating the Tharn, and meaning the Egyptians have now lost three units.

A slight consolation for the Egyptians is that the elimination of the Tharn gives the Kush archers a clear sight of the Hittite squadron that destroyed the Tharn. Reg succeeds in rolling two hits, of which one is saved. The other causes the loss of a base, but the charioteers' morale holds firm.

Finally, the Carchemish biblical infantry pivot slightly to better face the fast-approaching Hittite chariots, but otherwise can do no more than await their fate.

The Egyptian Re corps is getting swept away, rather as happened in the historical battle (the one fought in 1274 BC, that is, rather than Charles Grant's refight)

Kadesh - Turn Two

Situation after turn one

Reg wins the dice-off (2-1, after a 2-2 tie) to see who goes first, and starts by ordering the Amarna to hurl javelins at the Hittite squadron bearing down on them. A hit is scored, and is not saved, but is resolved as my men falling back 3cm.

The Egyptian chariots shoot at the same target, also scoring a hit, but it is saved (I rolled the minimum necessary for heavy chariots, a 4).

The Ka archers shoot at the light-chariot squadron nearest them, but unsuccessfully.

The Karnak biblical infantry turn and advance on the furthest-forward Hittite squadron. Thanks to changing their direction by more than 30°, their 8cm move is halved, and, despite getting a move-variation bonus (Reg rolled a 6), they cannot quite make contact with my chariots.

On the extreme right of the Egyptian line, the yellow-shielded Carchemish biblical infantry turn slightly inwards (less than 30°) and advance, but drag their heels, only covering 6cm (thanks to move-variation).

The Kush archers next to the Carchemish shoot at the heavy-chariot squadron to their front, rolling 5, 5, 3, 2 - two hits. One hit is saved, but the other is resolved as the loss of a base - the first Hittite casualties.

That means a morale test has to be taken, and since the squadron is of average quality, I need to roll 4+ to avoid losing a further base, and I do roll the bare minimum.

Finally, the Tharn biblical infantry advance 8cm.

My chariots should have some juicy targets in the coming half-turn

I start with my lead squadron wheeling to charge into the Karnak biblical infantry.

Both sides get one die per base, but my men receive an extra die per base for being chariots in the first round of a melee. I score two hits to the Egyptians' none. One of the hits is saved, but the other is resolved as the loss of a base. This forces a morale test, which results in another base being lost.

My squadron facing the Amarna javelinmen charge them, but, because the charioteers were forced to fall back 3cm at the start of this turn, the charge covers more than 8cm, which means the javelinmen are allowed defensive fire. They score two hits, neither of which is saved, but both are resolved as the squadron falling back 6cm - no casualties, but the charge does not strike home.

The righthand Allied light chariots wheel slightly and shoot at the Ka archers, inflicting a hit, which is not saved, and the Ka are forced to withdraw 3cm.

The other Allied light chariots shoot at the Tharn biblical infantry directly to their front, also inflicting a hit, but this time it is saved.

The heavy-chariot squadron that lost a base earlier this turn, swerves towards the Tharn with the intention of charging them. The Tharn are just within 10cm of my unit, but move-variation (on top of losing half the normal move allowance for turning) means my men only cover 7.5cm, and so come up just short.

Finally, my reserve wave finishes crossing the Orontes.

Very much not the bloodthirsty half-turn I expected

Kadesh - Turn One

The starting position, with the Egyptian Re corps having just spotted the approaching massed chariots

Reg orders all his units to turn to face the Hittite attack.

Bowmen, even those in open order, cannot turn and shoot, but open-order troops armed with javelins have no such restriction, so Reg sends the Amarna forward 12cm. His move-variation die lands as a 6, which means they advance a further 25%, ie 3cm, but this is still not quite enough to put them in range of the leading Hittites (firing measurements are taken from the front-centre of the shooters' bases).

However, Pharoah's Royal Chariot Squadron, being formed of bow-armed light chariots, can turn, advance and shoot, and is in range of the leading right-flank Hittites (under my modified version of Neil Thomas's biblical rules, mounted bows have a range of 20cm).

But the shock of having been suddenly confronted by an enemy thought to be many miles away seems to affect the charioteers' aim as they roll 4, 3, 2, 1 (5+ is required for a hit).

Situation after the Egyptian half-turn

I start my half-turn by sending the Allied heavy squadron in the first row to charge the Kush archers.

The distance between them is such that the chariots would fail to reach the bowmen if a move-variation roll of 1 occurred, but I avoid that, and only troops armed with javelins are allowed a special round of defensive fire when being charged, so we get straight down to the melee.

Heavy chariots against open-order infantry receive three dice per base, and they roll an extra die per base in the first round, so that means 16 dice in all. I manage a very pleasing eight hits, none of which is saved (Reg fails to roll a single 6 - the score needed for troops with light protection).

Enough of the hits are resolved as losing a base to ensure the Amarna are wiped out, but before they are removed from the table, they get to roll their melee dice - one per base. However, they inflict no hits.

My right-flank Allied light squadron in the front row manoeuvres away from the Egyptian javelinmen, and shoots at the Karnak biblical infantry, scoring one hit. It is not saved (Reg rolls one short of the 5 required by troops with medium protection), and is resolved as the Karnak falling back 3cm.

The other front-row Allied light squadron advances a short distance and shoots at the Tharn biblical infantry, but fails to score a hit.

The Allied heavy squadron in the second row moves forward to the left (straight ahead is blocked by friends). Since that involves deviating more than 30°, it loses half its movement allowance, meaning the squadron advances only 10cm, but this is boosted 2.5cm thanks to move-variation.

The Hittite heavy squadron in the second row turns and advances towards the Egyptian javelinmen. They cannot reach the latter, but hope to get support next turn from the Hittite reserve, which I order to start crossing the Orontes.

A hole has been punched in the Egyptian line

Biblical Cheat-Sheet

HERE is a cheat-sheet for my modified version of Neil Thomas's biblical rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming.

You will need the book to know how the rules play, and will need to consult my previous posts, starting here, to understand the reasons behind my modifications, which include ideas from Bob Cordery's The Portable Wargame.

Who Moves First?

Dice at the start of each turn, higher score moving first. Great general: +1; poor general: -1.

Generals

One elite unit is designated as the general's, receiving a +1 modifier when testing morale. If the unit is destroyed, all friends in line-of-sight immediately test their morale, and all other friendly units test their morale at the start of the next turn.

MOVEMENT

Open-order cavalry, light chariots: 24cm

Close-order cavalry, heavy chariots: 20cm

Auxiliary infantry, open-order infantry: 12cm

Close-order infantry: 8cm

Turning more than 30º costs a half-move for all but open-order troops and light chariots

Variation

Roll a die when using at least 75% of a unit's movement allowance for that turn. 6: +25%; 1: -25%.

SHOOTING

Foot bows, slings: 24cm

Mounted bows: 20cm

Javelins: 8cm

Speeding The Game
Hits are scored on 5+.

If a hit is not saved, throw a die to decide its effect:

Quality   Lose Base   Fall Back 3cm*
Elite             1-2              3+
Average       1-3              4+

Levy             1-4              5+

A victorious unit in a melee, provided it has not lost a base, may follow up a losing unit that has fallen back, thus immediately forcing another round of hand-to-hand fighting.

*A unit that for any reason cannot fall back loses a base (this includes where falling back would take a unit off the table). This rule should not be too strictly enforced if, for example, a unit cannot fall back in a straight line, but can do so with a deviation of less than 30°.

Victory

An army losing more than half its units is defeated.

Turn Mechanics

Each unit moves, shoots, tests morale, etc, before the next unit does likewise.

Battle Length
Maximum 15 turns before nightfall usually ends fighting.

Difficult Terrain

Use the same combat table as for fighting in woods.

Cover

Troops behind cover get an extra die per base in the first round of hand-to-hand fighting.

Kadesh - Final Points

COMMANDING against me in this refight of Charles Grant's Battle of Kadesh from Ancient Battles For Wargamers will be my regular opponent ('Reg') who, as the guest, gets to choose which side to take, and he has chosen the Egyptians.

Normally we would roll to see who goes first, and we will do so on subsequent turns, but part of Grant's scenario is that the Egyptians have time to react to the Hittites' approach, so, for turn one, the Egyptians go first, which will give their units time to turn to face the onslaught, rather than being charged in flank.

This can be rationalised as the Hittites having already gone first, before the scenario starts, in suddenly emerging on the Egyptians' flank.

All ready for the clash of arms, looking south from the city of Kadesh

The Hittite chariots on the west bank of the Orontes will take one turn to enter the river, and a second to reach dry land on the other side.

The Re commander will be part of the Egyptian chariot squadron, while Hittite King Muwatalli II will be with the blue-liveried elite chariots on the west bank of the Orontes.

But What Of Amun, Ptah And The Rest?

WHILE the Hittite chariots attack the Re corps, what are the rest of the Egyptians doing?

Remember, Re is just one corps - there were also the equally strong corps of Amun, Ptah and Sutekh, plus Ramesses II and his Sherden bodyguard, and the mysterious Ne'arin, somewhere near the Mediterranean coast.

Charles Grant's answer to this question, in Ancient Battles For Wargamers, was that a messenger from Re would reach Amun in six turns.

Allowing a further turn for the information to be digested, Pharoah could set out with his Amun chariots on turn eight, arriving on the battlefield on turn 13.

Grant had decided that the battle, starting in the afternoon, would last for 15 turns under Wargames Research Group rules, so in effect help from Amun would arrive too late.

Under my modified version of Neil Thomas's biblical rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming, a battle can last 15 turns before nightfall (at least in summer).

This battle is being fought in May, and, as it starts in the afternoon, I guess it can last a maximum of eight turns.

So in my refight, a messenger from Re to Amun might take three turns to arrive, rather than six, but again reinforcements are unlikely to arrive in time to have any effect, so can be ignored.

Looking from above the first row of Hittite chariots as they close in on the Egyptian column

Kadesh - The Battlefield & Initial Dispositions

Looking from the north towards the city of Kadesh, with the River Orontes on the left

The Hittite chariots appeared from the west

In the front row are three Allied squadrons - one heavy, flanked by two light squadrons.

In the middle row, on the right is a Hittite squadron, and on the left an Allied one (both heavy).

This side of the Orontes is the second wave, three heavy Hittite squadrons, the ones on the flanks being elite.

The Egyptians' first view

The marching order of Re corps is precisely laid out in Charles Grant's account.

Re, strung out in marching order

Pharoah's Royal Chariot Squadron is followed by Amarna javelinmen, Ka archers, Karnak spearmen, Koth archers, Tharn spearmen, Kush archers and Carchemish spearmen.

The view from Kadesh as the Hittites spring their trap

Kadesh - The Hittites

A LOT of ink has been spilt debating the subject of Hittite chariots.

It is generally agreed Hittites liked to use their chariots close up, in hand-to-hand fighting, rather than shooting arrows from afar, as the Egyptians preferred.

That is why the latter's chariots were designed to be as lightweight as possible, emphasising speed and manoeuvrability. Under Thomas's rules, light chariots have a 24cm move, and may turn without penalty.

It is often pointed out that the axle of an Egyptian chariot was set at the rear of the carriage, which, among other things, helped stability, making for a better firing platform.

By contrast, a Hittite chariot had the axle set further forward, which made the carriage more robust and able to carry a heavier load.

Under Thomas's rules, such heavy chariots have a 20cm move, but lose half their movement allowance if turning more than 30°.

It seems both sorts of chariots carried a bow, spear(s) and javelins, whatever the crew were personally armed with, but the Egyptians emphasised shooting arrows, the Hittites getting stuck in.

The big question is: how many men made up the crew of a Hittite chariot (everyone agrees an Egyptian chariot had a crew of two)?

I have seen the following confidently asserted:

1. Hittite chariots carried a crew of three - warrior, driver and shield-bearer.

2. Hittite chariots normally had a crew of two, but a man equipped with a shield was added for Kadesh to counter (how?) the Egyptian chariots' greater speed and manoeuvrability.

3. The Hittites had moved to a three-man chariot some time before Kadesh, but the Egyptians, although once picturing such chariots on a monumental relief, had forgotten this fact, and were caught by surprise when enemy chariots at Kadesh had three men per car.

4. Hittite chariots had normal two-men crews, but 'chariot runners' were added to chariot squadrons, and these warriors would sometimes be helped to get to the front by being given a ride.

A sizeable part of the Hittite army consisted of chariots supplied by vassals and allied kings, and it is said that at Kadesh the Hittite king, Muwatalli II, gave each of these chariots a third man, just like his own chariots had.

Many of these allied chariots were light ones, emphasising archery on the Egyptian model, rather than being heavy melee vehicles.

A third man in such a car would have brought new meaning to the future proverb: two's company, three's a crowd.

He certainly would not have helped stability, and would hardly have been needed, especially in a chariot designed for long-range shooting as chariot crews were usually the best armoured men on the battlefield.

All in all, I incline to option 4 above, but the point is to a large extent moot as it does not affect how heavy chariots operate under Thomas's rules.

Six squadrons of heavy chariots

Two squadrons of light chariots

Naturally, light chariots are capable of hand-to-hand fighting, and, under Thomas's rules, roll an extra die per base in the first round of a melee, just like heavy chariots.

However, heavy chariots perform much better than light chariots in hand-to-hand fighting against open-order infantry, open-order cavalry and light chariots, rolling three dice per base, while light chariots in such melees get one die per base (both heavy and light chariots also get their first-round bonus).

Against close-order archers, one die per base is rolled by light chariots, but heavy chariots receive two dice per base.

As for saving throws, light chariots count as having medium protection, while heavy chariots have heavy protection.

Now we come to the issue of quality. 

As I stated in yesterday's post, Egyptian close-order spearmen and open-order archers have average morale, while the javelinmen count as levy, and the Royal Chariot Squadron should obviously be elite.

The situation with the Hittites is not so simple.

Under Thomas's rules, Hittite heavy chariots are elite, while allied Syrian light chariots have average morale.

Clearly, in my refight, the Hittites' two squadrons of light chariots are supplied by allies, and should have average morale.

That leaves six squadrons of heavy chariots, two of which could be classified as Allied, and therefore have average morale.

Should the remaining four squadrons - the 'real' Hittite squadrons - be regarded as elite?

On the whole, I think that is too many, and I have decided only two should have such status, the others being average.

Kadesh - Converting The Armies From WRG To A&MW

CHARLES Grant's Battle of Kadesh was fought with 20/25mm figures under the rules of the Wargames Research Group.

I will be refighting the battle with 10mm figures, using my modified version of Neil Thomas's biblical rules from Ancient & Medieval Wargaming.

The three Egyptian units of infantry armed with spear and shield become three units of spear-armed biblical infantry, with average morale.

However, whereas Thomas classifies such troops as having light protection, I think medium is more appropriate.

Thomas has three classifications of protection for deciding saving throws: light, medium and heavy, which are allocated according to the following "rough criteria."

If a soldier is equipped with breastplate or a shield, he counts as having light armour; if he has a breastplate and a shield, he has medium armour. These ratings can be augmented if the man has extra armour, horse armour, or an unusually large shield. 

Egyptian close-order infantry of this period did carry extra-large shields, and probably had some sort of reinforced linen corselet, so I am classifying them as having medium protection (I probably should have also made this adjustment for my Aprocryphal Well refight).

Egyptian spearmen

Under Thomas's army list the New Kingdom Egyptian army can have two units of archers, but they must be in close order.

Grant's three units of archers - named Ka, Koth and Kush - are definitely in open order, and that is how they will appear in my refight.

Egyptian bowmen - light protection, average morale

One unit of javelinmen - open-order, light protection, levy

Pharoah's Royal Chariot Squadron - why it is with Re rather than with Ramesses and the Amun corps, we are not told

Rather conveniently, the Egyptian army has eight units, which is the standard size for an army under Thomas's rules.

Refighting Charles Grant's Battle Of Kadesh

PIONEERING wargamer Charles Grant refought a series of battles, which were first published in magazines and then collected in a book, Ancient Battles For Wargamers (Model and Allied Publications, 1977, £3.95).

The first battle in the book is Kadesh, which Grant dates as 1288 BC, although today 1274 BC is the generally accepted date.

Kadesh is often described as the first battle in history about which we know enough to undertake a reconstruction.

That is debateable, but nevertheless we know much more about Kadesh than we do about many subsequent battles.

In the spring of 1274 BC (or whatever year it was - 939 BC, according to one chronology), Pharoah Ramesses II headed north to try to take the border city of Kadesh from the Hittites.

He led an army consisting of four self-contained corps or divisions, which are sometimes described as armies in themselves, called Amun, Re, Ptah and Sutekh (named after popular Egyptian gods).

Each is believed to have numbered some 5,000 men, divided mainly into chariot crews, close-order infantry and foot archers, although the proportion of each branch is unknown.

In addition, Ramesses had with him his extended bodyguard, comprised of Sherden, one of the Sea Peoples.

I write "extended" because Pharoah travelled mainly by chariot, so presumably had an inner bodyguard of chariot warriors as well as the Sherden, who were infantry.

There was also another body, the Ne'arin, who were marching along the coast, but whose identity and composition are unknown.

It has been variously suggested that they were recruits (Ne'arin seems to come from a Canaanite expression meaning young ones), Canaanite mercenaries or an all-chariot special-task force.

Due to a succcessful misinformation campaign by the Hittite king, Muwatalli II, the Egyptians thought their enemy's main force was several days' march away.

Accordingly Ramesses and the lead corps, Amun, pushed on to set up camp on high ground overlooking Kadesh from the west, apparently hoping to take the city by assault, or preferably by intimidation, as soon as the rest of the Egyptian army arrived.

However, Muwatalli had been nearby all the time, and now led his army around the east side of Kadesh, to where possibly as many as 2,500 chariots were to launch a sudden flanking assault on the second Egyptian corps, Re.

Grant's map of the preliminary manoeuvres

This chariot attack is the point at which the battle in the book commences.

Grant's Re consists of three 40-man units of close-order infantry, armed with spear and shield, three 20-man units of open-order archers, a 20-strong unit of open-order javelinmen, and the Royal Chariot Squadron, consisting of eight chariots, each with a two-man crew.

That makes 216 figures (plus eight chariots), and is almost identical to the Egyptian army fielded at the Battle of the Apocryphal Well, although the names of some of the units have changed.

The wargames version of Muwatalli is given five squadrons of chariots, each squadron having eight chariots, to represent the 2,500 chariots of the initial attack.

But in the original battle there was a reserve, or second wave, apparently of 1,000 chariots, which under normal circumstances would be represented by two more squadrons of eight chariots.

However, Grant gives this second wave three such squadrons - the third being added "just for good measure, one might say, so that the follow-up force amounted to 1,500, not 1,000 - just a little bit of juggling, of course."

What seems to have escaped Grant's notice is the implication of giving Re eight units totalling 216 figures (plus eight chariots).

This implies that the whole Egyptian force consisted, in wargames terms, of 864 figures (plus 32 chariots).

Actually, the full total would be even more as those totals do not include the Sherden or the Ne'arin.

Never mind - what I am intending is to refight the engagement from Ancient Battles For Wargamers, rather than trying to refight the real Battle of Kadesh.

In effect this will be a scenario based on the battle, but should be none the worse for that.