James Baquet

The Battle of Karansebes took place in 1788, as part of the Austro-Turkish War (1787-1791). It was what is today called a “friendly fire incident,” in which casualties are caused by fellow soldiers on the same side.

It happened like this. The Austro-Turkish War was a very real conflict, and part of the larger Ottoman-Habsburg wars, involving hundreds of thousands of men. But one night in what is now Romania, an Austrian army of some 100,000 men set up camp around the town of Karansebes. In proper fashion, a troop of scouts was sent out to ensure there were no Turks in the area. This is when the trouble began.

The scouts ran into an encampment of Romani people, commonly (and some feel pejoratively) called “Gypsies,” in the erroneous belief that they had come from Egypt. (Linguistic evidence indicates they probably originated in India.)

Anyway, these “Gypsies” were selling schnapps, a kind of fruit brandy, and the weary soldiers eagerly bought some and drank it on the spot. Soon a full-blown party was in progress, when onto the scene came a troop of Austrian infantry. They wanted some drink, too, but the scouts refused to share with their brothers, and set up barriers around the barrels of alcohol. One of them — perhaps by accident — fired a shot at the infantrymen.

Soon, two components of the Austrian army were shooting at each other. In the midst of the melee, someone shouted “Turks! Turks!” believing that the enemy was on the scene. This mistake was aggravated when some of the German-speaking leaders tried to stop the madness by yelling “Halt! Halt!” But many of the Austrian troops spoke no German, and thought they heard “Allah! Allah!” — the Muslim name of God.

The mounted scouts dashed back to camp, causing the sleeping army to think they were under attack by Turks. They fired artillery at their own charging men, and the now-wide-awake troops fled, firing as they ran at anything that moved.

When the Turks actually did arrive two days later, they found hundreds, perhaps thousands, of dead and wounded Austrians, and easily took the town of Karansebes.

Vocabulary:

Which words above mean:

1. mistaken, incorrect

2. people who go ahead of an army to gain information

3. made worse

4. on horseback

5. confusing fight

6. enthusiastically

7. insultingly, not politely

8. completely developed

9. based on language

10. at that time and place, immediately