The Fate of Western Hungary 1918-1921 - Corvinus Library ...

it was a secret report by Lt.Col. Ottrubay of July 1, 1921 to the Royal
Hungarian Ministry of Defense. With regard to the situation, he reported the
opinion of the French member of the Inter-Allied Military Mission, Gen.
Hamelin, who: “Pointed out the Greater Germany propaganda in Western
Hungary, working everywhere with ample money and agitation, noted with
shock that the Germans, in some German-populated villages, fly German flags.
He finds it strange of the Hungarian press that it does not raise its voice to
protest against Germany but remains silent in the face of this scandalous
propaganda, while taking every opportunity to protest against the Entente,
especially France.” 250
In the meantime, the Austrian Ministry of War ordered on June 2 that the
command of the six mixed brigades of the Bundesheer 251 prepare for a ‘foreign
engagement,’ meaning the occupation of ‘Burgenland.’ Thus, every large unit
was to make ready two infantry battalions, for a total of twelve. Nine days later,
Col. Rudolf Vidossich, commander of the 1 st Brigade was appointed to execute
the military operation, and to prepare the entry of the Bundesheer in
conjunction with Robert von Davy, ministerial department head and selected
head of Burgenland province. 252
The diplomatic channel for the Hungarian-Austrian dialogue opened once
more at the end of June, 1921. On July 2, Chancellor Schober declared that,
according to the decision of the Austrian Cabinet, units of the Volkswehr would
not be dispatched to occupy Western Hungary. 253 Over the following days, the
negotiating position of Hungary got worse because the Council of Ambassadors
on July 5 handed a memorandum to Ivan Praznovszky, the chargé d’affaires in
Paris. In it, the Council demanded the handover of Western Hungary to Austria
in accordance with Article 71 of the Trianon peace treaty, which stated:
“Hungary renounces in favor of Austria all rights and title over the territories of
the former Kingdom of Hungary situated outside the frontiers of Hungary as
laid down in Article 27 (I), Part II (Frontiers of Hungary).” The Council of
Ambassadors attached two proposed territorial transfer agendas to the
memorandum. 254
The Hungarian side responded with a territorial counter-proposal to the
previous step of the Peace Conference during the July 11-13 Austrian-
Hungarian session, whose gist was: in the interest of good neighborliness,
Hungary should retain Sopron and its surrounding area, whose loss was felt to
be most painful. The new Hungarian-Austrian border should now run: from the
Moson County village of Féltorony, Lake Fertő would be more-or-less divided
250 Fogarassy, László: Hamelin táborok egy titkos jelentés tükrében [General Hamelin
as reflected in a secret report]. In: Soproni Szemle, 1981, issue 1, p. 49.
251 Bundesheer = allied armed force: the new name of the earlier Volkswehr (Nation
Defense Force), as dictated by the Austrian defensive force law of 1920.
252 Fogarassy, 1971, op. cit., p. 301. Robert von Davy was appointed as provincial head
on March 10, 1921, a post he held until March 5, 1922.
253 Soós, 1971, op. cit., p. 130.
254 MOL. K 26. 1388. csomó. 1922–„H”-tétel, 90–94. old.
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