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

insurrection was the already mentioned National Assembly representative
György Adonyi Hir who, with others (captains Iván Héjjas, Miklós Budaházy
and József Szabó, former officers of the Szekler Division; Fr. Lajos Bónis;
chief district magistrate Lajos Förster) recruited members of the volunteer force
all across southern Hungary in August of 1921.
The organizational structure of the rebel forces, given the size of the
effective force, was as simple as possible. It was divided into two parts: front
line and police / gendarme units. The smallest unit of fighters was the squad, of
3-4 men, then patrols of 10-15, platoons of 40-60, company sized units of 160-
250, and finally the army [in reality between battalion and regiment size-ed.] of
650-1,000. The units were based on multiples of four.
Apart from this, commander-in-chief Prónay organized the so-called rebel
gendarmerie, under the command of Maj. Count Tamás Erdődy, 386 who filled
the post – as cited in Lt.Col. Ferenczy’s report – beginning on September 8. On
orders issued September 23, Prónay set up two gendarme districts, north and
south of a horizontal line drawn across lower Lake Fertő. The northern one was
commanded by Tibor Héjjas, headquartered in Pándorfalu, the southern by
Tamás Erdődy, 387 headquartered in Felsőőr. At the same time – covered by the
same directive – a ‘rebel police force’ began its activities in the village of
Rödöny, near Pinkafő, under the command of Miklós Potyondi. 388 With this
instruction, Prónay not only bolstered the rebels’ fighting strength but also
created the basis for an independent, sovereign power. The gendarmes of Lajta-
Banate wore an armband, which carried the differentiating symbol in a
rectangle. In the middle was a flattened circle, encircling it was the text:
WESTERN HUNGARY / BURGENLAND. 389 On September 21, Prónay
issued a proclamation of summary court proceedings on charges of robbery,
violence against natural and legal persons, and treason against Lajta-Banate.
In the midst of reorganizing his forces – Prónay divided the students’
Officer Company into two units on September 16 and 17 – visited zone ‘A’
under his jurisdiction, the sectors bounded by Fraknónádasd – Nagymarton –
Darufalva and Kelénpatak – Kismarton – Sérc – Szentmargitbánya. Lajos Krug,
a member of the second unit, wrote thus of their activities: “All of us were
supplied with armbands printed with ‘Home Guard -- Bürgerwehr’ (The
necessary 80 armbands were made by my sisters; the writing was printed by us
386 Count Tamás Erdődy (1868–1931) had a great role in the secret negotiations during
WWI between the Emperor and the West. Queen Zita’s brothers, Sixtus and Xavier,
took part in secret talks between Feb.-April 1917, unbeknownst to Germany, between
the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and the Entente Powers. The separate peace
agreement was rejected because Italy clung to possession of South Tyrol. A year later,
French PM Georges Clemenceau publicized the letters in a treacherous move, forcing
Austria to sign a long-term alliance with Germany. Erdődy played an important role in
both of Charles VI’s 1921 attempts to regain the throne.
387 Héjjas J., 1929, op. cit., pp. 65-67.
388 Missuray-Krúg, 1935, op. cit., p. 172.
389 Zsiga, 1990, op. cit., p. 136.
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