The battle of Karánsebes is one of the great military blunders of history. It took place on the night of September 17, 1788 and involved only one army. The Austrian army, 100,000 strong was setting up camp around the town of Karánsebes preparing to do battle with the Turks of the Ottoman Empire. Though a large army, they were not a cohesive or united fighting force. The Austrian army was compiled of units from several different ethnic groups and nationalities. There were Italians, Serbs, Croats, Austrians, and other minorities, many of whom spoke different languages.
Earlier in the evening, a scouting party of light cavalry crossed the Timis river searching for signs of their enemy. Instead of Turks, they found a band of Gypsies who offered to sell Schnapps to the soldiers. The war-weary soldiers eagerly bought the Schnapps and started to drink.
They were soon followed by the leading contingent of infantry who began crossing the river. When they saw the party going on, they wanted in on the action. Instead of sharing their alcohol, the light cavalry set up fortifications around the barrels of Schnapps to defend their stash. A fierce argument ensued during which one soldier fired a shot. The light cavalry and infantry began to fight with one another.
Some in the infantry began shouting “Turks! Turks!” and the light cavalry, believing the Ottoman attack was imminent began to flee followed quickly by the infantry. As the fleeing soldiers ran through camp, other troops were caught up in the panic. Adding to the confusion was the fact that many of the units within the army could not understand each other. Officers, attempting to restore order, yelled “Halt! Halt!” in German, which some misheard as “Allah! Allah!” A Corps commander believing this was a Turk cavalry charge ordered an artillery barrage. Believing that they were surrounded by the enemy, soldiers were firing at every shadow that moved, which was only their fellow soldiers.
Two days later, the Ottoman army arrived, and discovered 10,000 dead and wounded soldiers. They easily took the city.
More than a historical footnote, this battle serves as a lesson for the church. How often do we fight ourselves instead of the real enemy? How often does conflict arise within the body because we want something for ourselves? How often do different groups within the church fail to communicate with each other, and instead view each other as the enemy?
James tackles this problem head on in James 4 when he asks the question, “What causes fights and quarrels among you?” We will be looking at James 4:1-12 and talking about who the real enemy is.