In war, as in ordinary life, different things happen. No one is immune from tragic and sometimes criminal accidents, negligence or omissions.
Today we will tell you about one of the most curious battles in world military history - the Battle of Caransebes. It was an episode of the Austro-Turkish war of 1787-1791, in a battle the Austrian army defeated … itself!
It all started with the good intention of the Austrian Emperor Joseph II to recapture the Balkans from the Turks. Well, such a deed is worthy of any Christian. The glory of the Russian rulers, who were reputed to be the defenders of Orthodox Christians, did not give the Austrian monarch rest. Austria entered the war on the side of Russia, and Joseph was preparing to reap the victor's laurels.
As usual, the Austrians have gathered an army. The multinational army of hundreds of thousands seemed a formidable force, but this strength lay in its weakness. Numerous recruits from different regions of the empire simply did not understand each other. The Germans, Serbs, Croats, Hungarians, Romanians, and Italians actually turned out to be a poorly united crowd. And an unfortunate place to gather troops - near the current Serbian capital of Belgrade - reduced the size of the army. Having located a camp near the swamps, the command lost many soldiers due to illness (especially suffering from malaria) and due to banal desertion.
One way or another, the Austrian army reached the town of Caransebes, where it was planned to meet 70 thousand Turks, who were marching towards them for a general battle.
And then the unthinkable happened. The Austrian hussars sent ahead for reconnaissance, having crossed the small river Timish, met not the Turks, as expected, but a wandering gypsy camp.
Having relaxed, the hussars, apparently without hesitation, bought several barrels of schnapps from the gypsies at a reasonable price, and, of course, began to drink it.
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Following the hussars, the infantry also crossed the river. Looking at their fellow cavalrymen, the infantrymen reasonably demanded to share and allow them to this unexpected celebration of life. The hussars refused, and, as always happens, a skirmish ensued, a fight, and then an accidental shot followed.
Now no one will say for sure who started shouting “Turks! Turks!”, But the fighting infantry and cavalry, having heard these cries, completely lost their fighting spirit and rushed to flee from the nonexistent enemy in a gang.
When this desperately screaming crowd approached the camp of the Austrian troops, the officers in German began ordering these would-be warriors to stop (Halt). And once again a rumor played a cruel joke with someone, it seemed to the multinational Austrian soldiers that it was the Turks who were attacking shouting: "Allah!", As they often did in battle.
Panic engulfed the camp, one of the officers deployed their guns and fired a volley into the crowd of completely confused, screaming and panicking soldiers. The horses, which had been peacefully sleeping before, escaped from the corrals. It seemed to everyone that the Turkish cavalry was already in the camp.
Under thousands of scattering soldiers, a flimsy bridge over Timish collapsed, many drowned, and Emperor Joseph II himself was knocked off his horse and, having fallen into the river, miraculously escaped, he was able to swim out. But his adjutant was trampled.
By morning it was over. A hundred thousand army simply scattered from fear to neighboring towns and villages. The disgraced Emperor Joseph II rode away on the found horse. And the Turks, who came to the place of the "battle" already two days later, threw up their hands in amazement. They got a whole camp with supplies, horses and guns. They never understood what had happened.
This was perhaps the most curious "battle" in the history of war.