The Habsburg-Ottoman war of 1788-91 was not the happiest for the Austrian monarch Joseph II who, anyway, was not distinguished for his military talents. However, the "defeat" at Caransebe, in the Vanuatu region of today's southwestern Romania, was one of the most embarrassing that a military leader has suffered in history.
The Habsburg emperor at the head of a strong army of about 100,000 men had campaigned in the region. On the night of September 21, 1788, Joseph and his men were encamped near the town of the same name.
Units of light cavalry - hussars - had been deployed around the perimeter of the camp as a cover to avoid any Turkish surprise attempt. However, some hussars, crossing the river Tami, met a group of Gypsies from whom they obtained drinks. Soon the hussars got drunk and the disaster was not long in coming...
The news spread and some pedestrians also crossed the river asking the hussars for drink. The latter refused and even created a makeshift "fortress" with barrels. Soon the situation escalated and insults from both sides were followed by the first shot and the fatal skirmish.
Some panicked soldiers who heard the sound of the skirmish started shouting "the Turks, the Turks".
The drunken hussars then ran away. Panic soon prevailed throughout the camp. Austrians, Serbs, Croats, Italians and other soldiers from every corner of the multi-ethnic and multilingual Habsburg Empire, unable to agree, began to fire on what was moving with fatal results.
Some cool officers tried to stop the panicked soldiers but their cries of "Alt, Alt" were mistaken for "Allah, Allah". Believing that they were being attacked by Turkish infantry and artillery, they began to charge the cavalry. Soon the entire Austrian army had fled. Emperor Joseph was unable to stop the panic and was nearly killed when he fell from his horse.
The Austrian army had been defeated alone. The number of dead and injured has not yet been determined. Sources of the time spoke of 150 dead and 1,200 wounded. Other, contemporary sources, however, raise the casualties of the battle to 10,000, a number that is probably over-inflated.
In any case, this shameful affair dramatically damaged the prestige of the emperor and his men.