"The most Blunder battle - The Battle of Karansebes" Topic

"The Austrian Battle Of Karansebes in 1788 has to go down in history as one of the dumbest battles in history, ever. The battle resulted in the Austrians inflicting defeat on themselves, and it wasn't a civil war either, they were at war with the Ottoman Turkish Empire.

On the 17 September 1788, the Austrian army, force of about 100,000, had split into two searching for Turkish forces. That evening the Austrians set up camp on the outskirts of Karansebes, known today as Caransebeº, in modern Romania. A contingent of hussars, who were the army's vanguard, crossed the Timis River nearby to look for enemy Turks. But they did not find any. What they did find were some Gypsies, with schnapps. The soldiers bought the schnapps and started drinking.

Not long after, some infantrymen crossed the river and found the hussars in full party mode. They demanded some schnapps themselves, but the hussars refused, and actually setup fortifications around the barrels. The argument soon escalated and a shot was fired…"
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Easy to win the wargame if you play the Ottomans… (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

There is an ongoing debate if this battle actually happened, as there really is just one source on it, and refers to it very little. I am not saying some kind of set-back did not happen , but what really happened might have nothing with what people report happened. Also note that Joseph II faced considerable enmity from many circles in the Empire opposed to his massive reform programs, so there was lots of propaganda targeted to him both during his lifetime, and after his death

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Thanks for the link.

Amicalement
Armand