Battle of Karánsebes // canavarlar

The Battle of Karánsebes took place on the evening of 17 September 1788,
between different portions of an Austrian army which was supposed to be
fighting the Ottoman Empire.

The army of Austria, approximately 100,000 strong, was setting up camp
around the town of Karánsebes (now Caransebeş, in Romania). The army's
vanguard, a contingent of hussars, crossed the river Timiş nearby to scout
for the presence of the enemy, who, at the time, was the Ottoman Empire.
There was no sign of an Ottoman army, but the hussars did run into a
group of Gypsies, who offered to sell schnapps to the tired soldiers. The
cavalrymen bought the schnapps and started drinking.

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 out any of the schnapps, and while still drunk, they set up
makeshift fortifications around the barrel. 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
was comprised of Italians from Lombardy, Slavs from the Balkans, and
Austrians, plus other minorities, none of whom could 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 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 Austrian
Emperor Joseph II was pushed off his horse into a small creek.

Two days later, the Ottoman army arrived. They discovered no fewer than
10,000 killed and wounded soldiers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Karansebes