Slitherine

In the turbulent reigns of Akhenaten and Tutenkhamun in the second half of the 1300s BC, Egypt's hold on the northern reaches of its empire was shaken by the emergence of Hatti as a rival superpower. The loss of northern Syria to the Hittites was a serious blow to Egyptian imperial pretensions. It took a new dynasty of warrior pharaohs and decades of preparations for Egypt to project its power once again. That power found its most potent expression in the energetic Rameses II who sought to settle matters once and for all with his Hittite rival, king Muwatallish. In 1275 BC, outside Kadesh, they collided in the greatest charriot battle ever recorded.

Designer's notes:

The main events at Kadesh:
1. Hittite chariots scattered a division of Egyptians that were marching to join Rameses' camp.
2. The same Hittite chariots then attacked Rameses' camp.
3. Rameses led a furious counter-attack and pursued the fleeing Hittites.
4. Muwatallish led his reserve chariots against the vulnerable Egyptian camp.
5. Egyptian reinforcements fortuitously arrived to check Muwatallish and save the camp.

1 is not modelled. the scenario starts at 2.
3 did not run into 4; the first group of Hittite chariots were not fleeing in Muwatallish's direction.

The Egyptian camp is more like an encampment than a Roman style fortified field camp, which explains why Hittite charriots were able to penetrate it.

This battle is the culmination of all the design work over the past few months. It has all the design cues that I have progressively brought to my scenarios ('cut-to-the-chase' setup, historical events flow chart, immobile units, extra points units, objective units, delayed entry, exit corridors) in order to re-create the events faithfully without house rules.

The first Hittite wave needs to inflict as much damage as possible to the Egyptian camp and at the same time be able to extricate itself with minimum losses. A stand-up fight against Rameses' chariots will not end well. The second wave also has to blast the vulnerable Egyptian camp while holding off Egyptian reinforcements. If the the first wave fails badly, the Hittites should still be able to play for the draw (by not launching the second wave against the camp!).

Despite the rigid structure of the design, there's a lot to do as players. The situation at the end of the battle should lean toward a final Egyptian victory ' in real life' but in game terms, it may be a Hittite victory.

Thank you.

8/06/2021 I'm interested in early near east battles. I was happy to find this one. How and where do I install it?