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

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Also on September 5, Kálmán Kánya, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs sent a memorandum to the Office of the Prime Minister regarding “the handover of Western Hungary and Colonel Cunningham.” “Our Vienna foreign representation reports, from several reliable sources, that Colonel Cunningham was in Western Hungary in recent days and, while there, gained the confidence of Hungarian military and other sectors. He brought numerous facts to Schober, which bring to light the government’s compromising connections to the Western Hungary insurrection. The chancellor seems not to want to use this information, not wishing to make the situation worse. At the same time, I was asked to ensure that I am to treat Col. Cunningham, whose duplicity we have known for a long time, and generally all Entente people coming from Vienna to Western Hungary, with the utmost caution by our side. I have immediately informed Baron Villani in Sopron, to immediately pass these to Count Sigray.” 353 The battle at Gyanafalva, with its many casualties, signified that the rebels were firm in their resolve. In the early morning hours of September 5, Austrian gendarmes based in the border villages of Létér (Lebenbrunn) and Németgyirót (Deutsch Gerisdorf) reported to the headquarters on the other side of the border in Kirchschlag, that they were attacked by rebels. Reinforcements were sent to their aid, while the rebel unit of Árpád Taby (and a part of Miklós Budaházy’s unit) took the village of Németgyirót, then Lantosfalva (Bubendorf). Afterwards, they attacked Pörgölény (Pilgersdorf) and pushed on towards Kirchschlag, where the rumors of the fleeing Austrian gendarmes reported that a 2,500-strong Hungarian military unit was on its way. Some of the rebels were, indeed, wearing military uniforms, or parts of it. Panic broke out in Kirchschlag, the alarm bells were rung. The entire Austrian garrison marched out to the infantry trenches and an acute battle broke out in front of the village. The battle of Kirchschlag was the largest fight in the history of the Western Hungary insurrection: on the Hungarian side were 290 rebels; on the Austrian, 270 soldiers, joined by 250 gendarmes and revenue officers. On the rebel side, there were seven casualties; the number of wounded and captured: unknown. The Austrians lost 10 dead, 17 wounded and 36 captured. 354 When the rebels reached the first houses of Kirchschlag, Taby ordered a retreat back to Hungarian territory. Austrian military command immediately sent army units from Wiener Neustadt to reinforce Kirchschlag, and defend the border sector. Chancellor Joannes Schober protested sharply about the attack to the Entente Powers. 355 The Inter-Allied Military Mission in Sopron, however, did not comply with the chancellor’s request to order two Austrian battalions to Kismarton (Eisenstadt), and one to Nezsider (Neusiedl am See). The news of the pitched battle at Kirchschlag was picked up by the 353 MOL. K 26. 1388. csomó. 1922–„H” tétel, p. 367. The colonel’s actual name was Col. Sir Thomas Cuninghame. 354 Missuray-Krúg, op. cit., pp. 100-109; Fogarassy, 1972, op. cit., p. 38. 355 MOL. K 26. 1388. csomó. 1922–„H” tétel, pp. 369, 379. 134
international news media and focused attention on the unresolved western Hungarian situation. Naturally, the Hungarian government took immediate steps to shed light on the events. Prime Minister Bethlen instructed Sigray by telegram on September 6 to ask the Entente generals in Sopron to: please send immediately an Entente officer to the scene, accompanied by one or two Hungarian officers. “The Kirchschlag event was blown up by the Austrians, trumpeted to the world that, from the Hungarian side, a regular [army] unit of 2,000 men took part, it is in our great interest to have the Entente commission carry out a determination on-site. (…) I ask to have it definitely pointed out that, after the population looked on the Austrians as unwelcome foreigners, they defend themselves, meaning they side with Hungary and attack the Austrians. The Austrians are doing everything to give the world the impression of the event, as if it was not the population, as if it was not people from the population who organized the defense, as it happened, but that the Hungarian army and the Hungarian government are directing the armed resistance. Thus, as a result, we demand that the impartial commission of the Entente determine and investigate these events. I also ask you to draw their attention to the fact that, along the entire line from the Danube down to the Mura, we do not have 2,000 gendarmes, never mind that so many men would be available in the evacuated area. Even the rebels, according to the officers themselves in Felsőőr, cannot field more than 400 – 500.” 356 Italian General Carlo Ferrario of the Entente Mission in Sopron immediately left for Kirchschlag by car to assess the events, where he forbade the Austrian forces to cross the border. In fact, he ordered them to break off hostilities and pull back. He also did not agree to let the Austrian Republic’s forces, the Bundesheer, occupy the militarily important high grounds in Western Hungary. Then, he turned to exploring the reasons for the clash. He determined that the firefight was carried out, on one side, by rebels in civilian clothes, numbering perhaps a few hundred, reports of 2,000 men are an Austrian exaggeration – reported Sigray to PM Bethlen in his 19:45 telegram. The previous facts he got from Gen. Ferrario, who authorized him to share them with Bethlen. After the assessment, on his way back to Sopron, Gen. Ferrario stopped in Hungarianpopulated Felsőpulya (Oberpullendorf), where the Austrian gendarmes were in the process of withdrawing. They had received word that rebels were approaching from the North. The Italian general gave orders to the Austrian commander, a major, not to get into a pitched battle, but rather to avoid confrontations. 357 Subsequently, the Austrian gendarmes voluntarily gave up the villages of Felsőpulya, Csáva (Stoob) and Lakompak (Lackenbach), as well as the surrounding area. Count Sigray’s relationship with the Entente Mission, due to his previously mentioned negative behavior, also needed to be clarified. Also noted before that his deputy, Baron Villani, signed the previous day’s report as ‘foreign 356 Ibid, pp. 377–378. 357 Ibid, p. 381. 135
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The Fate of Western Hungary 1918-19
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CONTENTS Foreword………………
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contemplate - no matter how the cra
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declaration.” 3 The basis for the
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1918, in its second edition. 8 ) Ge
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of President Woodrow Wilson’s 14
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assessed from this perspective.”
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agreement regarding the delivery of
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goal was to organize, in advance, t
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accompanied by an Austrian military
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The reasons for the minuscule milit
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statements, among other things, is
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counties. The Romanian Army advanci
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were made up of about 20,000 armed
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The tacit support by the Austrian g
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addressed a memorandum 63 to Prime
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county directorates published their
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with its seat in Sopron. It brought
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The later name of ‘Burgenland,’
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the representatives of Romania, Cze
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Romanians, in like manner, wanted t
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191,000 (13.5%) Slavs would have be
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committee of the Peace Conference u
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to a rejection of the Anschluss (un
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Pozsony County and, in the Paris Pe
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István Széchenyi (1791-1860) and
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and consultation of the affected po
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Also significant was the trade in p
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Austria,” and Zoltán Palotás,
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August 16, stating that every armed
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Finally, and once more, we must fir
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The center of the Vend region, 143
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Szombathely travelled to the Vend r
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his co-nationals in the Vend region
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force - 7 battalions, 8 mounted com
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Incidentally, to bolster their clai
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two Szekler battalions and an artil
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odies and contact with foreign enti
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large volumes of maps and statistic
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agenda.” Lansing: “Perhaps it w
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the subject matter and content of t
Page 83 and 84: consideration the existing western
Page 85 and 86: external political education, raisi
Page 87 and 88: Proclamation: “Our historical iss
Page 89 and 90: amount).” 210 French Prime Minist
Page 91 and 92: 31, 1920. 215 French forces pulled
Page 93 and 94: supported by the Styrian government
Page 95 and 96: stronger stance with regard to West
Page 97 and 98: continue talks with Hungary. Howeve
Page 99 and 100: Hungarian Cabinet meeting, that und
Page 101 and 102: involvement in the royal coup attem
Page 103 and 104: closed case - Please do something,
Page 105 and 106: it was a secret report by Lt.Col. O
Page 107 and 108: e ceded to Austria. The area is to
Page 109 and 110: trade concessions. This was justifi
Page 111 and 112: etained lawyer József Östör to a
Page 113 and 114: manifestation, any encouraging word
Page 115 and 116: ackground of this institution becau
Page 117 and 118: Chapter 6: The Western Hungary insu
Page 119 and 120: destination of Felsőőr, the distr
Page 121 and 122: the first clash of Ágfalva. This w
Page 123 and 124: they expressed their thanks for our
Page 125 and 126: of Borostyánkő or the vicinity of
Page 127 and 128: and not to start to travel towards
Page 129 and 130: doctors, and, based on purely their
Page 131 and 132: in the skirmish and the gendarmes t
Page 133: evening. 348 Still back on the 4 th
Page 137 and 138: Zárány was taken into custody by
Page 139 and 140: enemy incursion into Hungarian terr
Page 141 and 142: The second battle of Ágfalva - as
Page 143 and 144: Mayor Mihály Thurner of Sopron and
Page 145 and 146: On September 12, the prime minister
Page 147 and 148: insurrection was the already mentio
Page 149 and 150: the Hungarian government for financ
Page 151 and 152: police bodyguards, which he might n
Page 153 and 154: [Entente] generals’ mission deman
Page 155 and 156: well, they kept the pressure on the
Page 157 and 158: proclamation of the state of Lajta-
Page 159 and 160: They also burned the stamp inventor
Page 161 and 162: our principles from the flood of th
Page 163 and 164: The post of overall commander of th
Page 165 and 166: peace, attempting to bring down pub
Page 167 and 168: Kismarton and Ruszt). According to
Page 169 and 170: handling of issues, as decreed by t
Page 171 and 172: pensions, as well as stipulating a
Page 173 and 174: Banate was declared to be Hungarian
Page 175 and 176: expected. Thus, he asked Bethlen to
Page 177 and 178: Thus, it is clearly evident that th
Page 179 and 180: face, rather it carried four lines
Page 181 and 182: newspapers of the ‘20s and ‘30s
Page 183 and 184: Paris Peace Conference rejected it
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Aladár Boroviczény - Charles Habs
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prerogatives, although they must ha
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Borderland, although not openly wel
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Sopron and János Ambroschitz, colu
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Austria - who were ineligible to vo
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the voting stations, while attempti
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the Hungarians that they must submi
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inventoried the entire house and co
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planted by the bridge over the cree
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territory and 16.1% of the populati
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Bibliography 525 Chapter 1: From al
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Sopronyi-Thurner, Mihály: A magyar
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Romhányi, Zsófia: A saint-germain
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Fogarassy, László: Háború hadü
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Sopron, 1925.) Német nyelven: Trä
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Gévay-Wolff, Lajos: Csoda történ
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Gecsényi, Lajos: Iratok Magyarorsz
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