Battle of Kadesh: Clash of the Chariot Armies
Here is an interesting article about the Battle of Kadesh.
Wiki explains:
The article is well written and is not the dry history that plagues many historical articles.The battle is generally dated to 1274 BC in the Egyptian chronology,[11]and is the earliest battle in recorded history for which details of tactics and formations are known. It is believed to have been the largest chariot battle ever fought, involving between 5,000 and 6,000 chariots in total.[12][13][14]
As a result of the multiple Kadesh inscriptions, it is the best documented battle in all of ancient history.[15]
Read the rest of the article at the link.In the cold, early morning of a day in late May 1274 bc, the Egyptian troops of the Re corps were abruptly awoken with shouts, kicks, or nudges. Anxiety and panic rapidly spread among the half-asleep soldiers who were still fatigued from the long march the day before. As one of the four corps of the Egyptian army, the Re corps had traveled northward toward the city of Kadesh and were miles behind the vanguard led by Pharaoh Ramses II. The commotion was caused by an urgent message that the pharaoh’s vizier had just delivered to the camp informing Ramses that a vast army of his formidable enemy, the Hittites, was stationed less than two miles away from his advance camp.
For this reason, the pharaoh desperately needed the Re corps to reach him as soon as possible to reinforce the Amun corps he led. If that did not occur, the numerically superior Hittite troops could easily overwhelm his much smaller force. In compliance with Ramses’ orders, the men of Re quickly mustered to continue their northward march, but it was too late. Many Hittite chariots had already traveled farther south and were hidden behind the nearby tree line to the east. They were primed and ready to assault the unsuspecting Egyptian soldiers as they tried to reunite with their pharaoh. The devastating attack of the Hittite chariots on the Re corps initiated the Battle of Kadesh, one of the greatest clashes of the ancient world.