26. Thutmose won a decisive victory by calling his enemy’s bluff
Thutmose III realized that the central route to Megiddo through Aruna was so obviously dangerous that no reasonable commander would risk his army in its ravines. He also reasoned that the rebels would leave it unguarded because they would not expect the Egyptians to court disaster by running such an obvious risk. Thutmose was a warrior who was not above risk-taking, so he took a gamble and took the central route. It was unguarded, and the Egyptians arrived at Megiddo sooner than expected.
Thutmose’s sudden arrival caught the Canaanites flat-footed. In the ensuing Battle of Megiddo, Thutmose won a decisive victory that secured Egyptian hegemony over the region for centuries. 3375 years later, in World War I, British General Allenby, an avid student of ancient history, faced the same choice as Thutmose. Allenby led a British army advancing from the south, against Ottomans and Germans entrenched in the Jezreel Valley. He stole a march upon them and burst unexpectedly in front of Megiddo with an advance through the central route via Aruna.
