"Astrian army has reason to exist: turkish army need to have somebody to beat up" (c) 18 century exrpession
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kar%C3%A1nsebes
When I feel I did something very wrong, I remember Battle of Karánsebes in 1788, and I feel easier :smile:
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Different portions of an Austrian army, which were scouting for forces of the Ottoman Empire, fired on each other by mistake, causing self-inflicted decimation. The battle took place on the evening of 17 September 1788. The Ottomans took advantage and captured the city.
The army of Austria, approximately 100,000 strong, was setting up camp around the town of Karánsebes (now Caransebeș, in modern Romania). The army's vanguard, a contingent of hussars, crossed the Timiș River nearby to scout for the presence of the Ottoman Turks. There was no sign of the Ottoman army, but the hussars did run into a group of Tzigani, who offered to sell schnapps to the war-weary soldiers. The cavalrymen bought the schnapps and started to drink.
Soon afterwards, some infantry crossed the river. When they saw the party going on, the infantry demanded alcohol for themselves. The hussars refused to give them any of the schnapps, and while still drunk, they set up makeshift fortifications around the barrels. A heated argument ensued, and one soldier fired a shot.
Immediately, the hussars and infantry engaged in combat with one another. During the conflict, some infantry began shouting "Turci! Turci!" ("Turks! Turks!"). The hussars fled the scene, thinking that the Ottoman army's attack was imminent. Most of the infantry also ran away; the army comprised Italians from Lombardy, Serbs, Croats, and Austrians, plus other minorities, many of whom could not understand each other. While it is not clear which one of these groups did so, they gave the false warning without telling the others, who promptly fled. The situation was made worse when officers, in an attempt to restore order, shouted "Halt! Halt!" which was misheard by soldiers with no knowledge of German as "Allah! Allah!".
As the cavalry ran through the camps, a corps commander reasoned that it was a cavalry charge by the Ottoman army, and ordered artillery fire. Meanwhile, the entire camp awoke to the sound of battle and, rather than waiting to see what the situation was, everyone fled. The troops fired at every shadow, thinking the Ottomans were everywhere; in reality they were shooting fellow Austrian soldiers. The incident escalated to the point where the whole army retreated from the imaginary enemy, and Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II was pushed off his horse into a small creek.
Two days later, the Ottoman army arrived. They discovered 10,000 dead and wounded soldiers and easily took Karansebeș. All the woonded were killed by turks.
Roflmfao, looks like it was a great party which took out of control.
And now to add something from my perspective. The Austro-Turkish War of 1787–91 was warming up for the First Serbian Uprising of 1804-13. The elected leader of the uprising against the Turks, Đorđe Petrović - Karađorđe, was an officer in the Austrian Serbische Freikorps during the war of 1787-91.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_Free_Corps (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_Free_Corps)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kara%C4%91or%C4%91e (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kara%C4%91or%C4%91e)
The Turk have taken advantage of many things. In the west distrust of Russia made Turks an ally of England and America. The Turk who is living on stolen Christian land has been the benefactor of Christian on Christian distrust.
Today ISIS is Turkish expeditionary force. What land they are able to secure will really be that of Turkey. They ISIS inter Syria, for instance,from Turkey and return there for R & R. The Russian plane that the Turks shot down what attacking ISIS.
We have armed Muslim Crazyies to attack Syria, so has the Turks, these Crazies some times fight each other over what they have stolen, but they're both killing Syrians Christians and Muslims.
Interesting.