The Battle of Karánsebes - When the Austrians Fought Themselves

The Battle of Karánsebes was perhaps one of the greatest military blunders in all of history. Although this is some debate among historians about the facts of the battle or whether or not it even happened, it is still an interesting story and teaches a valuable lesson about communication and keeping your soldiers in line.
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Script:
In 1788, during the Austro-Turkish War, one of history’s greatest military blunders occurred. On the night of September 21, the Austrian army made a terrible mistake near the Romanian town of Karánsebes.
The Austrian army had decided to set up camp near Karáncebes and sent a vanguard unit of hussars ahead to scout for Ottoman troops. When the vanguards arrived, they found Hungarian Tzigani (Romani) selling schnapps. The hussars began drinking heavily, and when the infantry arrived behind them, they refused to share. Some of the drunk hussars began setting up makeshift barricades as a fight broke out. Soon enough one infantryman fired a shot, and total chaos ensued.
The Austrian infantry and cavalry had broken out into complete combat with one another. Someone shouted out “Turks! Turks!” and many troops attempted to flee, believing the Turks were actually attacking. Austrian officers tried to dissipate the battle, shouting “Halt!” Many of the soldiers, being Italians, Serbs, Croats, Czechs, and other minorities, did not understand German and mistook the command for cries of “Allah!”, only solidifying the thought that these were Turks attacking. As some hussars fled the area, officers mistook them for an Ottoman cavalry charge and ordered artillery fire on the area. By September 22nd, the Ottomans discovered Karánsebes undefended and filled with Austrian casualties.
The number of casualties in the “battle” is unknown, but estimated to be over 1,000. It is important to note that many historians don’t believe this battle ever happened, as the first references to it weren’t written until 1831. Historians in support of the battle argue that such a massive confusion was probable given the diverse makeup of the Austrian army. Furthermore, 1831 was the first time anything about the war was written down, so there’s no reason to doubt this battle any more than anything else from the Austro-Turkish War. Regardless of historians’ consensus, the Battle of Karánsebes makes for an amusing story and a warning about the effects of drunken miscommunication.