Warmatrix

Though battles have been fought since the rise of warfare, most are lost in the mists of time. The first battle for which a written account is available is the Battle of Megiddo, estimated to have happened in 1457 BCE. It was celebrated in hieroglyphs on the walls of the temple at Karnak. The account is, as is common in history, more propaganda than report and heavily biased towards the Egyptians, but still contains much useful information.
The battle was fought between the armies of the New Kingdom of Egypt, led by pharao Thutmose III and a coalition of Canaanite city states led by the king of Kadesh. The Egyptians were the attackers, trying to curb the influence of the rival kingdom of Mitanni to the north. For many centuries Egypt had been protected from most attacks by the deserts and seas surrounding it, but the invasion of the Hyksos in the Second Intermediate Period had shown that around 2000 BCE that strategy no longer worked. Therefore the pharaos of the New Kingdom strengthened the army and made Egypt expansionist, leading to clashes with rival states in the Middle East. Pharao Hatshepsut followed a policy of peace and diplomacy. When she died, the Canaanite cities revolted. Her successor, Thutmose III, already itching for action, assembled an army quickly and personally led it into attack.
The Egyptian army numbered around 10,000 men, mostly infantry, however the core of the army consisted of chariots, which probably numbered over 1,000 on both sides. This probably represented half, if not more, of the total army that both sides could muster and deploy in the field.
The Canaanite army camped on the plain in front of Megiddo. Likely they reckoned that if the battle went wrong for them, they could retreat behind the safety of the city walls. The Qina brook in front of them further strengthened their position. There were three routes towards the plain from the south, two of which were guarded by the Canaanites. Thutmose III, against the advice of his generals, marched his army through the third, the dangerously narrow Aruna pass. The tactic worked and the next morning the surprised Canaanites faced an Egyptian army which was fully deployed in a crescent half, surrounding their positions. Both sides attacked at different moments, but the Egyptian defenders stood their ground where the Canaanites did not and their army was routed. The attackers failed to score a full victory because their troops started looting prematurely, allowing the enemy leaders to escape to safety behind the city walls.
The Egyptians went on to besiege Megiddo, which proved a lot more difficult and took many months. Eventually the city fell and - according to the report at Karnak - yielded 2041 mares, 191 foals, 924 chariots, 200 suits of armor, 502 bows, 1929 cattle, 22,500 sheep, 304 prisoners and 83 hands of dead enemies. The victory re-established Egypt's dominance in the region for a substantial time.