The Story: September 17, 1788. The Austrian army accidentally fought a battle with itself which resulted in 10,000 dead and wounded - a few days prior to the real enemy showing up. Needless to say, when the Ottomans arrived, they were able to defeat the remaining Austrians without much difficulty. But there is a lot of questions about the authenticity of the story.
Regardless of whether or not the story is true, there are lessons in it - both militarily and in most other regards as well, when it comes to leadership.
The lesson: The Battle Karánsebes serves as a what can happen when there is poor communication at the leadership level. A series of unfortunate occurrences can lead to a disaster. It's an example of action by reaction as opposed to planning. The White House seems to have completely missed the boat on this particular lesson from history (or mythology). Consider all of the areas where the Obama administration is at odds with itself.
