Kenning, J. Der Feldzug nach Kadesch

New Kingdom Egypt in search of its strategy. In 1274 BC, an Egyptian army under their pharaoh
Ramses II and a Hittite army under their king Muwatalli met at Kadesh in present-day Syria. In the Egyptian
Hieroglyphic texts, we can discern for the first time in world history the army movements of two great powers and the course of battle.

In this study, an attempt is made to decipher the campaign planning underlying the events described in order to be able to understand the interactions of the two hostile armies.
First, the abilities of the Egyptian officers,
to plan military operations and to react to changes in the situation are examined. Analysis of the five major battles of the New Kingdom reveals a high, often seemingly modern, level of organisation and
workmanship in Egyptian planning. The rest of the study shows how the Egyptians' skills proved themselves on the
battlefield:
We see a cleverly designed plan of operations, a young pharaoh,
who rises above himself in the hour of danger, an army that, thanks to its supple organisation, can put away even partial defeats, an under-fielder whose superior art of war transforms a threatened defeat into a victory, and a surprising manoeuvre by which the Egyptian army disengages from a doubly superior enemy without casualties. The book concludes with an account of the strategic conclusions the Egyptians drew from the battle for the further history of the New Kingdom.