Battle of Kadesh

[Easy E]

Now that the armies for Kadesh are sorted, I figured it was time to do a playtest of the basic rules.  I have done some playtesting using templates previously, but this will be the first time with actual miniatures!  Exciting. 

I Ramses the II, he who makes mortals tremble, have marched north past the fortress of Tjel.  My intention is to reclaim the city of Kadesh and the Kingdom of Amurru.  The foolish rulers there have turned from my munificence and have taken council with King Muwatalli II from the North.  I shall teach them the error of their ways. 

As part of this effort, my might army has probed the coast scouting the best way forward.  Local vassals of the Muwatalli have come forth to challenge me.  Foolish mortals.  We shall sweep them aside like so much dust.

At some point, the Kingdom of Amurru which was led by the city-state of Kadesh.  They had been vassals of the Egyptians in previous centuries, but overtime had drifted to the Hittite orbit.  This angered Ramessess II who wished to rebuild Egypt's empire in the Levant and return the region to Egyptian control. The year prior to the Battle of Kadesh, Egyptian forces were all ready active in the Canaanite lands. 

Today's battle will represent some of the scouting and blocking forces engaging in southern Canaan. 

Forces:

Today's battle is speculative in nature.  Therefore, we will be using the standard Lines of Battle to choose forces up to 24 points.

Egyptians

1 Light Chariot 
- Composite Bow

1 Levy Infantry
- Bow

1 Auxiliary Infantry

1 Archer

Hittites

1 Heavy Chariot

1 Light Chariot

Levy Infantry

Skirmishers

Mission:
We will be playing the Scout the Area scenario found in the main rules.  The intention is not to destroy the foes, but to understand the terrain. 

For ease, we decided not to use any complications for the raid scenario. 

Set-up:
We are using a 48 x 48 MU table, with 1 MU being 1 inch.  Therefore, a 4 by 4 space. 

The Western edge of the table is the Mediterranean Sea.  The Egyptians get the South, and the Hittites the North.  We divide the area into four zones and randomly determine terrain per the rules in the booklet.  The North side is 1 and 2, and the South is 3 and 4. 

1 = 2 level hill
2= Pond 0r Dangerous Terrain
3= Grove or Difficult Terrain
4= No Terrain



Of course, you can read the full battle report on my blog to see how it all played out, and the post-battle breakdown. 

https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2024/04/battle-report-in-strife-and-conflict.html

[vodkafan]

I read the AAR. I understand it was a test game with limited forces, I would like to see a bigger game. It seemed odd that the Hittite skirmishers sat on the hill and controlled that whole area around it. Food for thought!

[Basementboy]

Looks like a great game

[Easy E]

I read the AAR. I understand it was a test game with limited forces, I would like to see a bigger game. It seemed odd that the Hittite skirmishers sat on the hill and controlled that whole area around it. Food for thought!

Oh?  Tell me more? 

The Egyptian Archers couldn't land the kill shot because of the cover.  Some actual dedicated infantry probably would have sent the Skirmishers packing pretty fast.

[Easy E]

The rules are up on the Wargame Vault now.  You can find them here:

https://www.wargamevault.com/browse.php?keywords=blood+and+spectacles+publishing&x=0&y=0&author=&artist=&pfrom=&pto=

So far, they are #15 on the Best-Sellers list.



Thanks to all of those who have purchased for supporting Blood and Spectacles Publishing.

You can read the design notes for the game on my blog here:

https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2024/07/wargame-design-in-strife-and-conflict.html?sc=1722348857107#c45710117273722355

[Easy E]

Exciting times my friends.  This was a practice game in the run up to the big Battle of Kadesh game I want to host.  Therefore, the forces are not at maximum size yet as we get used to the rules.  We are having a "what-if" type of scenario where our two opponents forward forces have a meeting engagement prior to the big battle we know about at Kadesh. 

Forces

Egyptians
3 Light Chariots
- Composite Bows
- General
1 Professional Infantry
2 Auxiliary Infantry
- Composite Bows
4 Archers

Hittites
3 Heavy Chariots
- Javelins
- 1 General
1 Auxiliary Infantry
2 Levy Infantry
- Bows
2 Skirmishers

Mission:
As the Egyptians are operating in the Levant against the Hittites, we made the Egyptians the Attackers and the Hittites the Defenders.  We then randomly determined the scenario using the method in the rules.  We were going to play a supply run.  The Hittites were moving vital supplies to Kadesh prior to the Egyptians getting there and laying siege to the city!

The Hittites have three supply tokens they need to get off board in 8 turns and without breaking.

Set-up:
Of course, we will be playing today on a 72MU by 48MU board with each MU equal to 1 inch. 

Using the core rulebook rules, we see a relatively open battlefield that is bisected by some hills.  The rest is fairly flat and open terrain, with one edge bordering a coast line.



The Egyptians from there left flank across are two archers, the Pharaoh, the Sherden Guard, some Auxiliary Infantry with bows, two light chariots, some Auxiliary infantry, and the last two archers.



From the Hittite right to left is the Heavy Chariots, backed up by the infantry with the auxiliaries in the middle.  On the far flank on a hill is two units of skirmishers.  The Hittite commander has dispersed his supplies with the General, the spearmen infantry, and a unit of skirmishers.   

That was the set-up for this battle.  You can read the full results on the blog here:
https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2024/08/battle-report-in-strife-and-conflict.html

[Cat]

Been following this thread and read your design notes — just bit and bought the pdf!
 
I'm getting close to finishing enough DBA armies for playing big battles of the campaigns of Thutmose III working from what details can be pulled from Richard Gabriel's military biography.  Already have a triple Hittite army at the ready.
 
My collection is geared towards fielding 36–48 stands for each army of Hittites, Syrians/Mittani, and Egyptians.
 
DBA works well enough for generic chariotry, but I've long thought each different period/region of chariot usage would really benefit from specific rules to reflect very different usage by different peoples.

[Easy E]

First off, thank you very much! 

Yes, it seems pretty clear that different armies used Chariots differently. 

Egyptians as missile boats, Minoans/Myceneans as battle taxis, Hittities as Shock units, and Persians/Medes probably used them as skirmishers.  Then, folks like the Assyrians used them in all of those roles! 

It is hard to capture that diversity in a game like DBA.   

[Easy E]

I want to eventually run a "Educational" game around the Battle of Kadesh at my local libraries.  This will be with people who don't know anything about wargaming and probably don't know much about ancient history.  Chances are they will be a mix of children, teens, and adults.  I have never done anything like this before. 

Therefore, I want to test run the Battle of Kadesh scenario from the In Strife and Conflict rulebook to see if it will do what I need it to do for the demo game.  Therefore, let's get it on the table and see what happens! 

Forces

Egyptians
3 Light Chariots
- Composite Bows
- General
1 Professional Infantry
2 Auxiliary Infantry
- Composite Bows
4 Archers

Hittites
3 Heavy Chariots
- Javelins
- 1 General
1 Auxiliary Infantry
2 Levy Infantry
- Bows
2 Skirmishers

Mission:
We followed the set-up and parameters located in the In Strife and Conflict main rules.

Set-up:
Of course, we will be playing today on a 72MU by 48MU board with each MU equal to 1 inch. 

Using the core rulebook rules, we set-up the table per the scenario.  The Egyptians start with a limited number of units on the table, representing the Pharaoh and his advanced force.  The Hittites get all their troops to start with on the other side of the river. 

Crossing the Orontes River is Dangerous terrain, but only Difficult at the Fords.  The fields around Kadesh are also Difficult.  The city itself is Impassable. 



Does this follow the historical outcome?  Take a look and let me know if you are interested in the Battle of Kadesh.  Thanks for the help.

https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2024/09/battle-report-in-strife-and-conflict.html

[Easy E]

I want to eventually run an "Educational" game around the Battle of Kadesh at my local libraries.  This will be with people who don't know anything about wargaming and probably don't know much about ancient history.  Chances are they will be a mix of children, teens, and adults.  I have never done anything like this before. 

Therefore, I want to test run the Battle of Kadesh scenario from the In Strife and Conflict rulebook to see if it will do what I need it to do for the demo game.  Therefore, I ran this scenario a few times to see how different folks would play it. 

Forces

Egyptians
3 Light Chariots
- Composite Bows
- General
1 Professional Infantry
2 Auxiliary Infantry
- Composite Bows
4 Archers

Hittites
3 Heavy Chariots
- Javelins
- 1 General
1 Auxiliary Infantry
2 Levy Infantry
- Bows
2 Skirmishers

Mission:
We followed the outline in the main rulebook for the battle. 

Set-up:
Of course, we will be playing today on a 72MU by 48MU board with each MU equal to 1 inch. 

Using the core rulebook rules, we set-up the table per the scenario.  The Egyptians start with a limited number of units on the table, representing the Pharaoh and his advanced force.  The Hittites get all their troops to start with on the other side of the river. 

Crossing the Orontes River is Dangerous terrain, but only Difficult at the Fords.  The fields around Kadesh are also Difficult.  The city itself is Impassable. 



The Pharaoh is out ahead of the main army with his Sherden Guards and some Archers of the Ra division.  The rest of the Egyptian army will begin trying to get to the battle starting in turn 4.



Of course, you can read all about what happened and how historical it was on the blog here:
https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2024/09/battle-report-in-strife-and-conflict_02055772395.html

[Basementboy]

Wonderful! Been very cool to see this project grow

[Easy E]

Thanks!  I am glad you have liked it!  Hopefully, I will be able to get it on the table as an educational thing soon!  Time is going so fast!

Anyway, my latest project maybe of some interest to the Chariot heads in this thread.  Everything you have seen so far has been 6mm.  Well, Wargames Atlantic came out with a generic Dark Age Chariot for 28mm miniatures.  I decided to pick up a box and give them a whirl! 



Here is what they look like put together.



I decided to make mine for Persians.  However, the great thing about this kit is that it does not come with any crew.  You can add whoever you want the car.  You could add Egyptians, Assyrians, Hittites, Trojans, Greeks, Carthaginians, Gauls, or more!  Pretty clever of them really. 

Here they are painted up and mixed in with my Persian Heavy Cavalry from Victrix.



Anyway, there is more pictures, sprue pics, and my ranting about chariots on the blog if you want to see or read more:

https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2024/09/on-painting-desk-persian-chariots.html


 

 

[Rick]

Also don't forget that, whatever the outcome of the battle, it's traditional for both opposing sides to claim victory at Kadesh!

[Easy E]

Which makes it even better for learning games! 

Everyone is a winner!

[Easy E]

For those of you who look at the Events forum, you will see that I held a public participation wargame for the Battle of Kadesh in my small local community.  I had spent some time setting up and preparing for this game by making resources, papering the town with flyers, and posting a lot on local Social Media. 



So, how did it go?  You can read the details on my blog here:
https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2025/04/battle-report-battle-of-kadesh.html

Here is a quick recap for you. 

Will the event get more people into wargaming?  No.  Will it get more people into Bronze Age history.... probably also no.  Will it get people into historical wargaming?  Also probably no.  Did I complete one of my objectives for the year and have a Participation, Public game for the Battle of Kadesh?  Yes. 

Overall, I got to play the game twice.  The Hittites won both games, but how each victory played out was very different.



Not a smashing success, but I got out there and did it.