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

detailed the duties and responsibilities of the assigned Entente officers. The
secret instructions specified the distribution of the officers by districts and
named the highest ranking or oldest as head. Under the supervision of the group
of generals in Sopron, they had two main tasks to complete: supervise and
control the handover process, with the cooperation of the Hungarian and
Austrian officials sent to the scene. As well, thirdly, to prevent any abuses
toward the population. They were to remedy any possible grievances in
collaboration with the representatives of both Hungary and Austria. At the time
of the handover, set for August 26-28, the Entente officers were expected to
send reports every six hours to the generals of the Military Mission in Sopron.
The gendarmerie, working alongside the local authorities, was asked to provide
courier services. The Entente officers were empowered to requisition local cars
and other means of transportation, typewriters, etc., over and above any
resources provided to them. They were also to have free use of the railways,
mail and telegraph services, and official and private telephones, day or night on
a priority basis. 261
The Hungarian-Austrian negotiations continued in August. The first
discussion at the highest level took place in Vienna on the 3 rd , attended by,
among others, former Foreign Minister Gustav Gratz and Chancellor Schober.
Here, they came to an agreement that about one-third of Western Hungary will
remain as part of Hungary. The affected parts were: the part of Moson County
stretching to Lake Fertő, Sopron County to Vulka Creek, the city of Sopron, as
well as a strip of Vas County. The agreement was strongly supported by prelate
Ignaz Seipel, the most influential member of the Christian-Socialist Party and
later chancellor. Schober also stressed that this territorial agreement would have
to be ratified by the Foreign Affairs committee of the Austrian parliament. 262
The committee, however, did not ratify the agreement at either its 13 th or 27 th
meetings. In fact, it declared that any possible territorial concession will be
contingent on the prior handing over of Burgenland. The committee was only
willing to consider renouncing its claim to the almost entirely Hungarianpopulated
village of Nagycenk because the body of the “greatest Hungarian,”
Count István Széchenyi, was resting there in the family crypt. This, in spite of
Foreign Minister Miklós Bánffy coming to terms with the handing over of the
territory if Sopron and its surrounding area remain in Hungarian hands until the
conclusion of the negotiations. 263
In the meantime, the Hungarian government submitted another territorial
proposition in which it laid claim to Sopron, a portion of the Lake Fertő area
and about a 5 km. wide strip of Vas County. It, however, made no offer of any
261 Mollay, Károly: A Szövetségközi Katonai Bizottság bizalmas utasítása a hozzá
beosztott antanttisztekhez. 1921. augusztus 1 [Confidential instructions to the officers
delegated to the Inter-Allied Military Mission. Aug. 21, 1921]. In: Soproni Szemle,
1991, issue 4, pp. 316–317; unabridged French-language instructions, pp. 317–319.
262 Fogarassy, 1971, op. cit., p. 302.
263 Fogarassy, 1982, op. cit., p. 16.
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