15. History’s Greatest Act of Collective Battlefield Incompetence?
During the fight between Austrian infantry and drunken hussars, an infantryman decided to prank the hussars by shouting “Turci! Turci!” (“Turks! Turks!”). The drunken hussars fled in panic – along with many infantrymen, unaware that it had been a trick by a comrade. Across the river, the Austrian camp stirred uneasily at the sounds of distant gunfire and screams. When the panicked hussars and infantry neared the camp, shouting “Turci! Turci!“, they were challenged by sentries who shouted at them to “Halt! Halt!” That was misheard by non-German speaking soldiers as “Allah! Allah!“
In the confusion, an artillery officer concluded that the camp was under attack, and ordered his cannons to open fire. As startled and confused soldiers woke up to the sounds of combat, some began firing wildly. Within minutes, fear and wild firing had engulfed the camp. Soon, entire regiments were firing volleys at each other, before the entire army dissolved and scattered in panicked flight. The Turks arrived two days later and captured the Austrian camp, where they found 10,000 dead and wounded.
