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

document. De Ligny does not know what to do with it: if he accepts, the
Entente’s prestige suffers, if he doesn’t, he is unable to move. He complains
that he gets no instructions from the Entente generals [in Sopron] and does not
know the context in which to operate. He would very much like to relocate to
Szentgotthárd but does not want to suggest it, lest he be seen as a coward. He
does not know the numbers of the rebels, they are very secretive. He saw
nothing of yesterday’s clash. Only heard that both sides believed that the other
attacked and that began the shooting. Otherwise, the situation is unchanged.” 437
Two detectives from the police department of the Interior Ministry, Sándor
Hollósi and Károly Baláskovits, graphically described the functioning of the
country of Lajta-Banate in their report of October 29. “The population of
Western Hungary treat the rebels with due respect and confidence. The rebels
earn the respect and confidence by maintaining order and good public safety
over the territory in their jurisdiction. The rebels have their own gendarmerie,
customs and finance officers, who collect duties on exports and imports. (…)
They have their own laws and regulations for resistors and anti-Hungarian
persons. (…) In conversation with one rebel, their goal is: categorical retention
of the territory awarded to Austria for Hungary. (…) they will be able to retain
the territory in question against the Czechs because, they expect an irredentist
movement to arise in the occupied area. There is now a Bosnian company in the
rebel forces. Initially, there were acts of robbery and blackmail by the rebels
against the locals. These abuses were committed by bands formed under
individual officers, at their initiative, which, after the reorganization of the rebel
forces, their commander, former-Major Prónay [actually Lieutenant Colonel-
J.B.], brought to an end with severe regulations and a few instances of hanging.
Now, the rebels form a reliable, disciplined military force. In some villages, the
small garrison units of rebels are fed by the people. Those assigned to border
duty maintain themselves from the collected customs duties. The rebels are
mostly royalists but not Habsburg supporters. The attempted coup of a few days
ago [meaning Charles IV’s second return attempt-J.B.] was distinctly rejected
by them and expressed their delight at its failure.” 438
It was not by accident that Hungarian diplomacy urged a plebiscite for the
contested area of Western Hungary regarding their affiliation, a move Austria
hotly rejected. This clearly indicated the belief of both sides that the population
would decide with staying a part of Hungary, in spite of the fact that the area in
question had a minority ethnic Hungarian population. The government of Lajta-
Banate issued its Declaration of Independence based on the representatives of
the local populace and the apprehensiveness of the affected villages of a Social
Democratic–Communist Austria. It is important to remember that the
proclamation of sovereignty by the new state was made in the name of all three
nationalities living in the area – Germans, Croats and Hungarians – and not
merely based on their mother tongues. Although the official language of Lajta-
437 MOL. K 26. 1264. csomó. 1921–XLII. Tétel, pp. 3–5. old.
438 Ibid, 1921–XLII–9260. szám, p. 3.
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