1788 Austrian army attacks. The Persians returned to Genghis Khan only the head of his ambassador, thereby incurring the wrath of Mongolia

Austria-Hungary 1618-1913

Part XII

War of Joseph II against Turkey 1788-90

For this war, also undertaken in conjunction with Russia, the most impressive armies were mobilized by the Austrian side that the Habsburg Monarchy had ever fielded. At the outbreak of hostilities, 264,000 men were in line near the border. The results did not match this huge force, especially since Turkey divided its forces and sent more than half of its forces against the Russians. The Austrians captured Belgrade and the Austrians and Russians fought and won battles together at Focsani and Martinesti on August 1 and September 22, 1789. These cases cost the victors comparatively little losses. In addition, due to the separation of forces, the war consisted mainly of minor skirmishes and sieges, the results of which were not always favorable for Austrian weapons, and often caused relatively high losses. However, total losses Austrian armies barely reached 10,000 men, in contrast to the death toll from disease, which, as in the previous war, must have been high.

Adapted from Bodart Gaston Losses of life in modern wars - Oxford: at the claredon press, London, 1916

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The Austro-Turkish war of 1788-1790 was the last in a series of Austro-Turkish wars of the 16th-18th centuries. Austria intervened in the ongoing Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791, as it had obligations to Russia under the union treaty of 1781. In January 1788, Austria entered the war. Huge Austrian forces were supposed to cover the Austro-Turkish border, only the army of the Prince of Saxe-Coburg was to operate in the Principality of Moldova, along the Prut River, and take the fortress of Khotyn. July 2, 1788 Khotyn was besieged by the Austrian army (15,000 people). The Turks tried to unblock Khotyn from the outside, but the Russian Ukrainian army prevented a Turkish breakthrough. On September 19, 1788, the 7,000-strong Turkish garrison surrendered Khotyn. In 1789, the Austrians were to operate with the main forces in Serbia, while a separate army remained in Wallachia to communicate with the Russians. On August 1, 1789, the Austro-Russian army (17,000 Austrians and 6,000 Russians) under the command of Suvorov attacked and defeated the Turkish army (30,000 people) at Focsani, 45 kilometers northwest of Galati, Romania. The Allies lost 300 people killed and wounded (of which 200 were Austrians), the Turks - 1,100 people, 10 guns. The Turks decided to strike at a small Austro-Russian army, but on September 22, 1789, near Martinesti, 54 kilometers northwest of Brailov, 17,000 Austrians and 10,000 Russians attacked 100,000 Turks dispersed over several camps. The Allies lost 600 men, the Turks 5,000 men. This victory thwarted all offensive plans of the Turks. Meanwhile, the Austrians occupied Bucharest, 13 thousand Austrians on September 12, 1789 besieged Belgrade, which fell on October 8 of the same year. The siege cost the Austrians 900 men. In November 1789, the Austrians occupied Craiova. In the campaign of 1790, Austrian troops acted against Turkish fortresses on the Danube. In the spring of 1790, the Austrians captured Orsovo, laid siege to Zhurzha (Zhurzhovo), but the sortie of the Turks on June 18, 1790 forced the Austrians to lift the siege. June 27, 1790 at Calefat, 7 thousand Austrians defeated equal forces Turks, losing 100 people. The Turks lost 2,000 people. By the middle of 1790, the war was going well for Austria, but at that moment Austria entered into separate negotiations with Turkey under the influence of Great Britain and Prussia, who were interested in Austria as an anti-French force. Russian troops left Wallachia (Romania) and retreated across the Seret River. On August 4, 1791, a peace treaty was signed between Austria and Turkey in Sistovo (Bulgaria). Austria returned to the Turks all the gains of this war, except for Khotyn, which was returned to the Turks after the end of the Russian-Turkish war.

Sources:

Soviet Historical Encyclopedia. In 16 volumes. - Soviet Encyclopedia, Moscow 1961-1974

Shirokorad A.B. Russian-Turkish wars 1676-1918 years. - Harvest, Minsk, 2000

Militar-historisches Kriegslexikon (1618-1905), Herausgegeben von G. Bodart, Wien und Leipzig, 1908

3270 years ago, in 1260 BC. e., according to Herodotus, the most famous war antiquity - Trojan. According to Homer, this conflict began with the ridiculous kidnapping of Helen the Beautiful and ended with an even more ridiculous operation with a Trojan horse. It is not known whether this war actually took place, but since then there have been many armed conflicts that seem to be the epitome of stupidity and absurdity. However, behind each of them there were always quite meaningful economic interests.

KIRILL NOVIKOV

Favorites and alcohol

Wars often receive unflattering epithets from the townsfolk and historians. They are often called dirty, unfair, meaningless, and for the most part they deserve all these names.

Examples of wars that, it would seem, promised considerable benefits, but in fact were not worth the effort expended, have been known since ancient times. So, in 356 BC. e. The Phocis Union, which was located in the central part of Greece, coveted the treasures of the Delphic oracle and captured the city of Delphi, sacred to all Hellenes, without a fight. At first, the Phocians believed that they had pulled off a brilliant raider operation, because they had in their hands more than 10 thousand talents of gold, that is, about 1.7 thousand tons of metal accumulated by the Delphic temple over several centuries. However, a powerful coalition soon rallied against the Phocians, outraged by such sacrilege, and a war broke out that lasted ten years. During this time, all the captured treasures had to be used to pay for mercenary armies, and after the defeat, the Phocis Union was forced to pay reparations to the winners - 60 talents of gold per year.

In the Middle Ages, people, as before, fought, hoping to get countless treasures and new lands. However, in that era, interest in enrichment was closely intertwined with religion, and therefore people went to another holy war in the hope of plundering well and at the same time getting a pass to paradise. Some of these military campaigns were planned in such a way that the role of the main striking force was assigned to God's providence, which usually ended in disaster.

It would seem that in the era of reason, everything should have become reasonable, including war. But modern times turned out to be just as rich in military frenzy as previous centuries.

At the dawn of the New Age global politics, as in the Middle Ages, was determined mainly by dynastic interests, state affairs often incompetent favorites were in charge, and the troops had little idea of ​​discipline. All this sometimes led to ridiculous military adventures with disastrous consequences. One such war took place in 1625 between England and Spain. It all started with the same thing that most wars start with - with money. King James I of England really wanted to rule the country without the intervention of Parliament. But parliament collected taxes, and the king could not do without his support. Help came from an unexpected quarter: the Spanish ambassador offered to arrange a dynastic marriage between his son English king Prince Charles and daughter of Philip III of Spain Maria Anna. The Spanish princess was promised a dowry of £600,000, which was comparable to the budget of a large kingdom. In return, the Spaniards asked to rein in the unbridled pirates of the Caribbean, many of whom enjoyed the patronage of the English crown.

Karl was in dire need of funds and hastened to accept the offer. The favorite and lover of the king, the Duke of Buckingham, also seized on this idea, and Prince Charles was not averse to marrying a Spanish infanta. But Parliament was categorically against it, since the English Protestants did not want to have anything to do with the Spanish Catholics. As a result, the marriage agreement reached was annulled. And then Buckingham got down to business, and if this man undertook something, then failure was almost guaranteed. Buckingham and Prince Carl arrived incognito in Madrid, hoping to pull off a profitable marriage away from the English Parliament. Since England and Spain were worst enemies, the secret journey of the heir to the throne and the host statesman England to the Spanish court was a pure gamble. As expected, the Spaniards did not give the Infanta to the prince, who had sneaked into Madrid like a spy, and, apparently, they laughed cruelly at Buckingham. One way or another, the prince and royal lover returned to England as implacable enemies of the Spanish crown.

The Austrians - the great masters of being beaten - in 1788 did the impossible, but proved that they can be defeated even by themselves

In the spring of 1625, King James died, and the sickly short man Charles I ascended the throne. The new king wanted to get even with Spain, and Parliament willingly supported him. Buckingham, who held the post of Lord Admiral, undertook to plan operations, but, since he knew little about military affairs, the matter ended very badly. It was decided to send a major military expedition to capture Cadiz. Buckingham hoped to capture there loaded with gold Spanish Navy, coming from America, but due to storms, the English squadron missed the galleons. The misfortunes of the British did not end there. The English commander, Sir Edward Cecil, had no intelligence and was therefore quite surprised to find that Cadiz was perfectly fortified, and it was unlikely that it would be possible to take it by storm. The supply, for which Buckingham was responsible, was organized very badly, and it soon became clear that the English army, in which there were about 10 thousand people, had neither food nor drink. And then Cecile allowed the soldiers to drink the trophy wine found in the houses abandoned by the Spaniards. Even the Spaniards could not hurt the British more than this order. In a few hours, the entire English army was lying around drunk, and those soldiers who could still stand on their feet were fighting and firing at each other with muskets. To save the army, Cecil ordered a retreat, after which the besiegers boarded ships and departed for England. In the morning, the Spaniards entered the deserted camp of the British and found there more than a thousand deadly drunk soldiers. Angry Spaniards slaughtered them all to the last. This is where the war ended. The financial losses of England from the failed expedition amounted to about £ 250 thousand, and the blow to its prestige was simply colossal. Three years later, Buckingham was killed by a religious fanatic, and King Charles I ended up losing the war against his own parliament and was executed in 1649.

Poor management, low morale of the troops and alcohol abuse more than once led to sad consequences. Perhaps the most grandiose military disaster generated by these causes was the Battle of Caransebes, in which Austrian army managed to destroy herself.

For the right to start a war for the free sale of slaves to the Spanish colonies, Captain Robert Jenkins gave his right ear

War for the severed ear

With the development of navigation, Europeans increasingly fought each other for trade advantages on distant shores. The powers actively pursued the so-called trade wars, during which they sought to oust competitors from overseas markets, seize foreign colonies, or simply reduce the tonnage of someone else's merchant fleet. In the era of mercantilism, when the idea that the main source of wealth for any country is foreign trade dominated the minds, wars were fought with the prudence of merchants. From time to time, conflicts broke out in Europe, the pretexts for which were literally sucked out of the finger. But behind even the most ridiculous conflicts in those days there was an obvious commercial interest. So, for example, Oliver Cromwell imposed a war on Holland, which was a commercial rival of England, but politically its traditional ally. To do this, the Lord Protector passed a law through Parliament that obliged all foreign ships passing through the English Channel to lower the flag at the sight of English warships. The lowering of the flag was already in those days considered a symbol of shame and surrender, so a conflict with the Dutch, who were proud of their naval power, became inevitable. And so it happened: in 1652, the Dutch squadron refused to lower the flag in front of the English, after which the guns started talking.

The British were generally masters of inventing ridiculous pretexts for unleashing wars. In the 18th century, the slave trade was in the order of things, but it was still considered indecent to fight for the right to import black slaves. From the beginning of the century, there was an "asiento" agreement between England and Spain: the Spaniards granted English merchants the right to import an unlimited number of slaves into their American colonies. The British, of course, did not limit themselves to the export of forced Africans and, in addition to slaves, imported all kinds of contraband into the Spanish colonies. In response, the Spaniards began to inspect English ships and punish violators. By the end of the 1730s, it came to the point that Spain decided to take away the "asiento" from the British. The question of war with Spain was raised in the English Parliament, but the head of the British cabinet, Robert Walpole, was not at all eager to plunge the country into war for the sake of the interests of the slave traders. And then the pro-war lobby found a worthy pretext for war. A certain Robert Jenkins was brought to Parliament and told the parliamentarians the story of how he had lost his ear.

Robert Jenkins was the captain of the brig Rebecca. In 1731, his ship was detained by a Spanish warship on suspicion of piracy and smuggling. The captain of the Spanish ship Julio Leon Fandinho ordered Jenkins to be tied to the mast and cut off his ear with his own hand. At the same time, according to Jenkins, he said: "Go and tell your king that if he does the same as you, then I will do to him what I did to you." In fact, Jenkins should have been glad he got off so lightly, because pirates used to be hung from a yardarm. But upon returning to England, the smuggler began to beat up the thresholds of various institutions and complain about Spanish arbitrariness. In 1731, when the Asiento was safe, the captain's severed ear did not bother anyone. But in 1739, Great Britain felt insulted by the act of Captain Fandinho and declared war on Spain, which became known as the "War for Jenkins' Ear". The war lasted a year, after which it imperceptibly grew into the War of the Austrian Succession. England and Spain, already at war, simply joined different warring coalitions and continued to fight, forgetting about Captain Jenkins and his severed ear. After the war, England agreed to abandon the Asiento, receiving £100,000 as compensation and a lucrative trade agreement with Spain. The War for the Ear left a noticeable mark on British culture, since it was then that the famous patriotic song "Rule Britannia" appeared. Slaves were also mentioned in this song: "Rule, Britannia! Rule the waves; the Britons will never be slaves."

Almost all the rebels who escaped from the English gallows from the famous frigate "Bounty" died at the hands of the Tahitians, from whom they took away their wives

Women, chair and flagpole

Perhaps the most absurd conflict of the era of early colonialism was the civil war on Pitcairn Island, and it was not fought for gold or land at all. The background of that war is well known from the movie "Mutiny on the Bounty" with Marlon Brando as the main rebel Fletcher Christian. In 1778, the British government sent the ship of His Majesty's fleet, the Bounty, under the command of Captain William Bligh, to the Pacific Ocean. The expedition was supposed to collect breadfruit sprouts in the Pacific Islands, which was supposed to be bred in the Caribbean colonies of Great Britain. After a long and difficult voyage, the sailors ended up in Tahiti, where they tasted all the delights of resort life in the arms of liberated Tahitian women. On the way back discipline began to decline rapidly, and in April 1779 a mutiny broke out on the ship, led by First Officer Fletcher Christian. Captain Bly and his loyal people were put on a boat and sent to the ocean, and the Bounty returned to Tahiti. There was a split among the rebels. The majority were going to stay on the island and enjoy life, and the minority listened to the words of Christian, who predicted that one day british navy and the rebels will go to the gallows. Christian gathered a team of eight like-minded people, lured six Tahitians and eleven Tahitians to the Bounty and sailed away to look for a new home. Later, the rebels who remained in Tahiti were indeed arrested by the British military, but the people who left with Christian sailed to the uninhabited island of Pitcairn, where they founded their colony. The film is silent on further events. Meanwhile, the colonists for some time were quite satisfied with life, since the gifts of nature on the island were enough for everyone. However, there was one "resource" that was very limited on Pitcairn - women. Because of them, the war started.

When in 1793 the Tahitian wife died of one of the rebels, the white settlers did not think of anything better than to take the wife from one of the Tahitians. He was offended and killed the new husband of his girlfriend. The rebels killed the avenger, and the remaining Tahitians rebelled against the rebels themselves. Christian and four of his men were killed by the Tahitians, but the war did not end there. The Tahitian wives of the sailors went to avenge their murdered husbands and killed the rebellious Tahitians. As a result of the war, the male population of the island was reduced to four people, and even then they constantly fought and quarreled until one of them was killed and the other died from drunkenness. But the remaining two divided the women among themselves and enjoyed eternal peace until one of them died natural causes. When an American ship landed on the island in 1808, the only man living on Pitcairn was John Adams, who had nine wives and about forty children.

In the heat of the fight against British colonialism, Maori chief Hone Heke dug up his war ax and cut down the flagpole with the British flag

Photo: Mary Evans Picture Library/PHOTAS

The further history of colonialism knows many wars with ridiculous names, although the essence of these conflicts was not so ridiculous. The fact is that over time, the natives got tired of the oppression of the colonialists, and the bowl of their patience at some point turned out to be overflowing. As a result, a war could break out due to an insignificant reason, or resistance could result in forms unusual for Europeans. Thus, in 1846, South Africa an "axe war" broke out, and a year earlier, a "flagpole war" began in New Zealand. In South Africa, the indigenous people attacked the native soldiers of the British army, who were escorting their fellow tribesman who stole an ax, after which a war broke out between the colonialists and local tribes. In New Zealand, Maori chief Hone Heke learned from French traders that the British flag flying over a hill near an English settlement was a symbol of his submission. british crown. The chief went up the hill and cut down the flagpole. The British put up a new flagpole, and Hone Heke cut it down again. Then the British set up a mast, bound with iron, and put a guard on it. The Maori killed the sentries and again cut down the pole with the Union Jack, after which a full-scale war began. It ended, by the way, just as ridiculously as it began. The Maori were excellent at building fortresses, and even English artillery was of little help against strong palisades and high earthen ramparts. But one Sunday, when the British army was besieging the fortress of Hone Heke himself, the English soldiers noticed that the fortress was suspiciously quiet. The British broke into the walls, which almost no one guarded, and easily occupied the fortress. It turned out that most of the Maori at that time were praying in the church. The brave and skillful Maori warriors were converted to Christianity long ago, and they believed so devoutly that it never occurred to them to fight on Sundays.

The colonialists themselves often incurred the wrath of the natives by the fact that they treated local customs and beliefs with contempt, which caused even more ridiculous wars. So, in 1900, the British governor of the Gold Coast (modern Ghana), Lord Hodgson, tried to annex the warlike African kingdom of Ashanti. In the past, the Ashanti people fought back the British more than once and had every reason to be proud of their military traditions. The symbol of the independence of the kingdom was the Golden Chair, on which the king of Ashanti sat. Hodgson captured the king and sent him into exile, and demanded from the Ashanti to issue the Golden Chair, declaring that now he himself would sit on it as the full ruler of the conquered country. The Ashanti hid the chair and soon revolted, killing many of the English in the process. England with considerable difficulty won the "war for the Golden Chair", but the colonialists did not find the relic itself.

El Salvador--Honduras 3:0

AT late XIX centuries, the great powers argued about the division of the world and increasingly resorted to "gunboat diplomacy", that is, they got their way using the threat of use military force. This style of conducting international politics was fraught with permanent border conflicts, each of which could escalate into a full-scale war. Suffice it to recall the Fashoda incident of 1898, when England and France almost started a war because a small French detachment occupied the city of Fashoda in southern Sudan, where the climate was so bad that the Egyptian authorities once exiled criminals there. At that time, the great powers sought to conquer any territory, even deserted, swampy or covered with impenetrable jungle, without any guarantee that at least some valuable resources would be found in these places, which in itself was quite absurd. But sometimes people who were directly involved in territorial conflicts acted so recklessly that contemporaries did not know what to say. Thus, the incident that occurred in 1899 off the coast of Samoa was called a mental error that will forever remain a paradox of human psychology.

At the end of the 19th century, Germany and the United States claimed control of the islands. Pacific Ocean, and the Samoa archipelago was of particular interest to both powers. True to the principles of "gunboat diplomacy", Berlin and Washington sent their squadrons to the islands, which met in the harbor of the capital of Samoa - Apia. Both squadrons had three warships and several supply ships each, so the bay was quite crowded. On March 15, 1889, both squadrons noticed the approach of a terrible tropical cyclone. Any ship left in the harbor would inevitably be wrecked on the rocks. The only salvation was immediate access to the open sea. But neither the German nor the American admirals could decide to be the first to move away from the coast. Leaving the harbor first meant admitting defeat in a mini-confrontation for the possession of Samoa, and therefore both squadrons were in port until the typhoon hit. The results were more than disastrous. Of the ships that were in the bay, only one American and one German ship survived, and they had to be removed from the reefs and repaired. The number of victims was in the hundreds. However, if the squadrons still opened fire, there would have been much more victims of a possible German-American war. And so the confrontation between the United States and Germany ended with the fact that the islands were simply divided.

Years of litigation over illegal labor migration and clashing football ambitions lead Honduras and El Salvador into a brief but bloody war

In general, the most ridiculous thing about most of the wars of the twentieth century was not the way they were fought, and not the pretexts by which they were justified. What was rather ridiculous was the discrepancy between the funds spent on the war itself and the economic benefits that were supposed to be received in the event of victory. So, Germany began the First world war, although she had every chance to get around her English and French competitors peacefully, and for the weakened Austria-Hungary, the first to open fighting, a major conflict did mean inevitable collapse.

The era of world wars was followed by the collapse of the colonial system, and the Europeans, having stopped dividing the world, stopped fighting each other. But the young states that arose on the ruins of colonial empires were ready to fight for a place under the tropical sun. Some of the conflicts in the emerging Third World were the product of the diseased imaginations of new dictators. So, the famous ruler of Uganda, Idi Amin, once declared war on the United States, and since Washington did not react to this in any way, the next day he proclaimed himself the winner. In 1978, "the master of all earthly creatures and sea fishes" had the idea to start a real war with neighboring Tanzania, which was hopelessly lost, after which the cannibalistic dictator went into exile.

However, most of the wars of the second half of the twentieth century still had an economic basis. This applies even to the most ridiculous conflict of the past century, known as the "football war". By the end of the 1960s, relations between El Salvador and Honduras deteriorated sharply. Both countries were members of the Central American Common Market organization. According to the rules of this organization, the more economically developed El Salvador had some trading privileges, which Honduras really did not like. Meanwhile, Salvadoran peasants suffered from lack of land and moved in thousands to Honduras, where they illegally seized vacant land. By 1967, about 300 thousand Salvadoran migrants lived in Honudras, many of them were engaged in trade and actively forced the Hondurans out of business. In the end, the authorities of Honduras could not stand it and began to actively evict Salvadorans to their historical homeland, which was accompanied by massive oppression of labor migrants. In response, a wave of anti-Honduran sentiment rose in El Salvador. The military regimes of both countries were eager to strengthen their position, so the patriotic frenzy was very useful for the authorities on both sides of the border.

"Lord of all creatures of the earth" President of Uganda Idi Amin declared war on the United States, and due to the lack of reaction from across the ocean, he declared himself the winner in it

Photo: REUTERS/Uganda National Archive

In 1969, the play-offs for tickets to the 1970 FIFA World Cup began, and the teams of El Salvador and Honduras had to measure their strength. The first match was won by the Hondurans with a score of 1:0, after which one Salvadoran fan and patriot shot herself, unable to bear the national shame. The second match was won by the Salvadorans with a score of 3:0, after which the Salvadorans rushed to beat the enemy fans and burn the Honduran flags. The third match ended with a score of 3:2 in favor of El Salvador, after which the Hondurans beat two Salvadoran vice-consuls and went to smash illegal immigrants that had not yet been expelled, and the Honduran government broke off relations with a potential enemy. On July 14, El Salvador moved troops to Honduras. The war lasted six days and ended with the victory of El Salvador. Honduras was forced to pay compensation to robbed immigrants, but El Salvador lost its trade advantages and, in general, all its trade with Honduras. After this war, both countries faced a long streak of economic and political turmoil. But both military juntas are on the wave patriotic sentiments significantly strengthened their power.

It was far from the last ridiculous war. Suffice it to recall at least the futile search for weapons mass destruction in occupied Iraq and economic difficulties USA followed suit. However, when states start another stupid war, someone always wins.

They say that history repeats itself, and all the feats and achievements constantly serve as an example to us. This is why it is important to teach history, which helps to guide civilization and our lives. But in history there were also major mistakes, which sometimes led to catastrophic consequences. Here are the wrong decisions, stupid mistakes and unwise actions that should not be repeated.

1. NASA accidentally deleted the moon landing record. In fact, there are no original records of this event.


2. It took 177 years to build leaning tower of pisa and only 10 years old for her to lean.

3. The lack of a sufficient number of lifeboats on board the Titanic, since it was considered unsinkable.

4. The refusal of the record company Decca Records to the group "The Beatles", as they considered that it was not sold.

5. Loss of NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter, due to the fact that part of the team used metric system measurements, and the other - British.

6. Napoleon, who thought he could capture Russia in the winter.

7. Hitler, who thought he could do it better than Napoleon.

8. The Persians who sent the beheaded ambassadors of Genghis Khan back to the Khan, incurring the wrath of Mongolia.

Source 9The Dutch who discovered Australia 100 years before the British did, but ignored the discovery because they thought it was a useless wasteland.

10. Russian sale of Alaska for 2 cents per acre.

11. The Inca ruler Atahualpa, who agreed to meet with the conquistador Francisco Pissaro when 200 Spanish horsemen ambushed and defeated 80,000 Inca warriors.

12. Those who fell for the bait" Trojan horse" if it actually existed.

13. Filling the world's largest airship "Hindenburg" with flammable hydrogen, which then caught fire and crashed.

14. Someone who opened the gates of the city and allowed the Turks to capture Constantinople in 1453.

15. China in the 14th century, which abandoned navy and began to pursue a policy of isolation. Perhaps he would become more influential than any European power.

16. The driver of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who made a wrong turn, which led him to the feet of the murderer Gavrilo Princip. This murder was the reason for the outbreak of the First World War.

17. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor when there was not a single American aircraft carrier in the port, which hastened America's entry into World War II.

18. The faulty design of the Chernobyl reactor, the consequences of the accident of which are still being felt.

19. 12 publishing houses that refused to publish "Harry Potter".

20. Alexander the Great, who did not name the heir to the throne, which led to the death of his empire.

21. Although no one knows the culprit, the burning of the Library of Alexandria was the biggest loss of knowledge in history.

22. Killing Caesar to save the Republic and not realizing that this will only lead to its end.

23. In 1788, the Austrian army accidentally attacked their own and lost 10,000 people.

NASA employees accidentally erased all the tapes of the landing of people on the moon. Therefore, the original records of this event have not been preserved.

Every time you do something stupid, remember that even the greats of this world have made mistakes. See for yourself:

NASA employees accidentally erased all the tapes of the landing of people on the moon. Therefore, the original records of this event have not been preserved.

It took a whopping 117 years to build the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and only 10 years for it to begin to lean.

The Titanic was considered unsinkable, so there were few lifeboats on board.

18. The Persians returned to Genghis Khan only the head of his ambassador, thereby incurring the wrath of Mongolia.

17. In fact, Australia was discovered by the Dutch 100 years before the British. However, the Dutch ignored this discovery, considering Australia a useless wasteland.

16. Russia sold Alaska to the United States for 2 cents per acre (0.4 hectares), considering it worthless tundra.

15. The Inca ruler Atahualpa, knowing that the Spaniards had weapons, friendly accepted the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, for which 80 thousand unarmed Inca warriors and the ruler himself paid the price.

The largest airship, the Hindenburg airship, was filled with hydrogen, which caused it to explode and kill 36 people.

In the 14th century, China abandoned its navy and adopted a policy of isolationism. But he, perhaps, could become much more influential than any European power.

The driver of Archduke Frans Ferdinand made a fatal wrong turn, which led the heir to the throne right at the feet of his murderer Gavrila Princip, and the whole world - to the First World War.

The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor when there was not a single American aircraft carrier in the port.

A structural defect caused the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the consequences of which are felt to this day.

Twelve book publishers have refused to publish the Harry Potter novel.

On his deathbed, Alexander the Great refused to name his heir. This led to the fall of the empire he created.

Perhaps the biggest loss of ancient knowledge was the burning of the Library of Alexandria, the culprit of which was never found.

A group of conspirators were sure that by killing Caesar, they would thereby save the republic from his imperious dictatorship. However, they did not assume that by doing so they would unleash a civil war and elevate his heir to the throne.

In 1788, the Austrian army attacked their randomly separated regiments and lost 10,000 men.

This military disaster was perhaps the largest in history of those that were committed by their own sloppiness. Near the city of Karansebes, the Austrian army managed to defeat itself. Here is how it was.

By September 17, 1788, Austria had been at war with Turkey for about a year in alliance with Russia. The assembled army of about 100 thousand people approached the city of Caransebes, now located on the territory of Romania.

In the evening, the vanguard of the hussars crossed the Timish River, where, as expected, the Turkish camp was located. But instead of the Turkish camp, a gypsy camp was discovered. It was fun in the camp, and most importantly, there was a lot of wine, which the gypsies shared with the soldiers.

While the hussars were having fun, the first infantry detachments approached the camp. The infantrymen demanded that drinks be shared with them as well. But the hussars refused in a rude manner, or, more simply, sent the infantry through the forest, for whoever is ahead of him and slippers. And in general - the French will come up with equality and fraternity and only in a few years, and the brave Austrian hussars will drink everything themselves.

The infantrymen did not like this situation either, and they took up defensive positions behind the gypsy carts, saying that if the infantrymen climbed, they would start shooting. And the shooting started. It is not clear who fired first, but in any case, a fight ensued between their units.

And then someone, not understanding what was happening, shouted "Turks!". The cry was picked up and panic began. The mess was also intensified due to the fact that there were representatives in the army different peoples, united in Austrian Empire. The Germans, Slavs, Hungarians, Italians, Romanians did not understand well, but everyone ran together.

The officers were mostly Germans and it was customary to give commands to German. Runners were stopped by shouting “Halt! Halt!”, which in the minds of panicked soldiers who did not know German was perceived as “Allah! Allah!". On top of that, the commander of one artillery unit, mistook the fleeing cavalry for the advancing Turks, deployed the guns and opened fire with grapeshot.

In general, who could, fought with their own fleeing troops, but most of just ran. And so quickly that they almost trampled their own emperor Joseph, who took part in the campaign. With that, his adjutant was trampled, and Joseph himself was saved only by falling into a ditch.

Two days later, I approached the same city Turkish army, which discovered a field strewn with the bodies of the Austrians. The army fled, and the losses in the battle with themselves amounted to about 10 thousand people.

To the honor of Emperor Joseph, it should be noted that Austria did not withdraw from the war, but continued the war, gathering the remnants of its forces and recruiting a new army in the future.