Combined Arms

[Dog Soldier]

Kadesh was in northern Syria.
The Hittite Empire under Muwatallis tried to repel the Egyptians under Ramses II from their land. Kadesh was a strategic fortified town which would serve as an excellent base for either side. The Hittites had recently seized the town and Ramses wanted it back.

I thought the the important features of this battle were:

1. The Hittite use of spies to set a ruse for Ramses. The spies gave Ramses disinformation. The Egyptians fell for the ruse thinking the Hittite army was far away. The Egyptians were in marching order moving to assault the town when the Hittite chariots struck.
   
2. Both sides had chariots. The Hittite infantry stayed in reserve and never engaged the Egyptians.
   
3. Ramses chariots and infantry (Ra division) were nearly routed. Ramses counter attacked the Hittite chariots with the Amon division from his camp north of the town. The Amon division had only arrived that morning. The battle was in the balance. Ramese was at risk, since he had to lead the counter attack with his bodyguard to rally his army which was falling apart.
   
4. Only the timely arrival of the Egyptian N'earin (mercenaries) and the Ptah division from Amurrru saved Ramses.
   

Simple summary is Egyptian numbers versus innovative tactics by the Hittites. Numbers prevailed.

Both sides showed good and bad command and control of their armies. Both had failures in communication.
The result was an Egyptian tactical win. Ramses withdrew after the battle. So the Hittites, who had retreated to the safety of Kadesh, won a strategic victory. In the end, both sides had had enough and a treaty was created. Thus the battle could be seen as a draw.

I can not say that this was a "combined arms" battle. The Hittites used their chariots as a mass formation. Their infantry stayed out of the fight.
The Egyptians had fewer chariots intermingled with what was basically an infantry army. The Egyptian chariots were a symbol of class and nobility for their owner/warriors rather than an a separate arm of the army.

The chariots of the time were of two very different types. Hittite chariots were light and pulled by two wild asses. These creatures favored endurance over speed. Thus the Hittite chariots were employed like horse archers of later centuries. They circled their enemy and pelted them with arrows from a distance.

The Egyptian chariots were also very light in construction. They were pulled by a single horse, and were thus faster. They only had two spokes, creating an "X" with the hub and rim of the wheel. This light construction made them fast, but prone to damage on anything but very flat ground. They were not the panzers of the ancient world as some times depicted.

Dog Soldier