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Battle of Karánsebes
Part of the Austro–Turkish War
Date17–18 September 1788
LocationCaransebeş, present-day Romania
Result Self-inflicted defeat
Ottoman victory
Belligerents
Austria-Hungary-flag-1869-1914-naval-1786-1869-merchant Soldiers of the Habsburg Monarchy Austria-Hungary-flag-1869-1914-naval-1786-1869-merchant Other soldiers of the Habsburg Monarchy
Commanders and leaders
Unknown Unknown
Strength
~100,000
Casualties and losses
10,000 dead and wounded Austrians


The Battle of Karánsebes (Romanian language: Caransebeş , Turkish language: Şebeş Muharebesi) is a possibly apocryphal episode in the Austro–Turkish War of 1787–1791.

Published sources[]

The earliest major source detailing this battle is from "Geschichte Josephs des Zweiten" by A. J. Gross-Hoffinger, written 59 years after the battle's supposed occurrence, and most authors tend to cite this account. The earliest source for this battle was from History of the eighteenth century and of the nineteenth till the overthrow of the French empire, with particular reference to mental cultivation and progress, which was published in 1843, 55 years after the incident. This source refers readers to the "Austrian Military Magazine of 1831" to find a more complete account of the battle:

"A detailed account of the singular story of this night-march and its consequences does not appear to us to belong to the province of general history ; it will however be found both authentic and complete in the 'Austrian Military Magazine of 1831.'"[1] Earliest sources about the detailed account of the battle were written about 40 years after the battle which is from Austrian Military Magazine. Other sources include the well-titled The History of the 18th Century through the 19th till the overthrow of the French empire, with particular reference to mental cultivation and progress by F.C. Schlosser, which was published in 1843. The best source about the battle comes from the German Geschichte Josephs des Zweiten by A. J. Gross-Hoffinger, and while it’s often cited by people when referring to the battle, it was also written nearly 60 years after the fact. This made some scholars felt difficulty to draw reliable source and evidence for the detailed account of the battle.

The battle[]

Different portions of an Austrian army, which was scouting for forces of the Ottoman Empire, fired on each other by mistake, causing a self-inflicted decimation. The battle took place on the evening of 17 September 1788. Ottomans were victorious and captured the city.

The army of Austria, approximately 100,000 strong, was setting up camp around the town of Karánsebes (now Caransebeş, in modern Romania). The army's vanguard, a contingent of hussars, crossed the Timiş 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 gypsies, 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, Slavs from the Balkans, 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 dead and wounded Austrian soldiers and easily took Caransebeş. In determining losses, accounts of this incident do not distinguish between losses that were caused by friendly fire, those that were caused by the Turks, and those that resulted from pillaging by the Austrians or by the local Wallachians. One account states that the Austrian rear guard suffered 150 casualties. Another account states that in the days following the incident, 1,200 wounded men were taken to the fortress at Arad, 60 km (37 mi) north of Timișoara. Another source claims that 538 men, 24 jäger, and one officer went missing after the incident, but most returned to duty. Also lost were 3 cannons and the chest containing the army's payroll.

Although tens of thousands of casualties occurred within the Austrians' ranks during the course of the 1787 campaign against the Turks, the vast majority of the casualties were the result of disease, particularly malaria and dysentery.

See also[]

References[]

  • Regan, Geoffrey (2000). The Brassey's Book of Military Blunders. Washington, D.C.: Brassey's. ISBN 1-57488-252-X.  Relevant excerpt on Google Books.
  • Durschmied, Erik (2000). The Hinge Factor: How Chance and Stupidity Have Changed History. Arcade Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55970-515-8.  Relevant excerpt on Google Books.
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The original article can be found at Battle of Karánsebes and the edit history here.
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