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

unchanged and calm everywhere in Western Hungary.” 401
At noon the following day, the 17 th , Köller again informed: “In front of the
Italian captain located in Nezsider, the people of Királyhida arrested and carried
off as hostages, not released to this day by the Austrians, are exposed to the
most horrible brutality.” The management of the Hungarian Railways /MÁV/
turned to PM Bethlen in a telegram sent in the early afternoon because the
Austrians cut the railway’s only telegraph line along the Bruck–Királyhida–
Pándorfalu line. “Our technician sent to effect repairs to the line has been
rudely prevented from doing it. As a result, we are unable to communicate with
the Bruck–Királyhida stations at this time.” In early evening, a telegram sent by
Villani to PM Bethlen, on instructs of Commissioner Sigray, disclosed: “Count
Sigray begs Your Excellency that the government accept ambassador Kánya’s
view that it will not be us who clear the territory of rebels but leave it to the
Austrians. And that, generally, we will not accept responsibility for the results,
as the free-troops will not obey the government. Removal by armed force will
meet with great difficulty (…) Hungarian soldiers would have to fight against
Hungarian patriots.” 402
In the meanwhile, Marquis Della Toretta, Italian Foreign Minister, went to
Vienna on September 11 and asked Gaetano Castagneto, Italy’s ambassador in
Budapest, to join him. The marquis informed Chancellor Schober that the
Hungarian government asked him to mediate. It was during these talks that the
so-called Sopron formula was created, which Castagneto took to Budapest, as
well as the September 14 suggestion by Foreign Minister Miklós Bánffy, which
became the basis for future negotiations. The crux of the latter was: the
Hungarian government will immediately evacuate and hand over to Austria the
questionable Western Hungary strip to the indicated Trianon border, if it
receives assurance for the permanent retention of Sopron and its surrounding,
and receives a prospect of a just border designation. Bánffy’s proposal was
handed to Chancellor Schober on September 15. 403 This was taken by the
Austrian government that the sole means of relinquishing was after a plebiscite.
On the same day, the secret Austrian-Hungarian negotiations began, with
Italian mediation, which shortly resulted in the outlines of the later so-called
Venice Protocol. However, in this situation, the Hungarian government had to
take definite steps to disarm the rebels.
On September 18, Lt.Gen. Hegedűs informed PM Bethlen in the late
evening hours: “According to a report of the district command in Szombathely,
Lt.Col. Prónay is alleged to be in Felsőőr. Thus, he is in zone ‘A’, which is at
this time outside my jurisdiction. This in spite of the fact that the local
401 MOL. K 26. 1388. csomó. 1922–„H” tétel, p. 539.
402 Ibid, pp. 541–542. Kálmán Kánya was, at this time, Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, permanent deputy of the Foreign Minister, as well as his chief secretary. The
‘ambassador’ title refers is to the fact that he conferred several times with leading
Austrian politicians regarding Western Hungary. [In Hungarian, ‘ambassador’ also
carries the meaning of ‘go-between’-ed.]
403 Ormos, 1990, op. cit., pp. 131–132.
152