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Anonymous
>>176324 he Battle of Karánsebes was an early episode in the Austro-Turkish War of 1787-1791. Different portions of an Austrian army which was scouting for forces of the Ottoman Empire fired on each other by mistake, in a self-inflicted disaster. The battle took place on the evening of 17 September 1788.
The army of Austria, approximately 100,000 strong, was setting up camp around the town of Karánsebes (now Caransebe?, in modern Romania). The army's vanguard, a contingent of hussars, crossed the Timi? River nearby to scout for the presence of the Ottoman Turks. There was no sign of the Ottoman army, but the hussars did run into a group of Gypsies, who offered to sell schnapps to the war-weary soldiers. The cavalrymen bought the schnapps and started to drink.
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 them any of the schnapps, and while still drunk, they set up makeshift fortifications around the barrels. A heated argument ensued, and one soldier fired a shot.
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