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

statements, among other things, is that, within six months of the disarmament
of the returning armies, in three weeks in May of 1919, the Hungarian Soviet
Republic was able to organize an army of 200,000 battle tested veterans, with a
professional officer corps, under the slogan of territorial integrity and defense
of the country. The Red Army of the Hungarian Soviet dictatorship was able to
carry out a victorious Northern military campaign between May 30 and June
24, 1919 up to a line running along Komárom – Nyitra/Nitriansky –
Besztercebánya/Banská Bystrica – Rozsnyó/Rožňava – Eperjes/Prešov –
Bártfa/Bardejov. In fact, they beat back the invading Czech-Slovak forces to the
proximity of the Polish border. The Hungarian forces were pulled back as a
result of Clemenceau’s mendacious promises – sent in notes on June 7 and 13 –
that the Romanian forces would pull out of the Hungarian Plains South of the
Tisza River. As it was, with Entente permission, the Romanian occupiers were
allowed to remain in possession up the Great Plains up to the Tisza River. 41
In the ranks of the Hungarian Red Army, there were, as young officers –
colonels, brigadiers, division and corps commanders – twenty major- and
lieutenant-generals of what was to become the Hungarian Royal Military in the
1920-1945 period in the Horthy (so-called counter-revolutionary) era. From
their ranks came three minister of defense, four chief-of-staff and various high
ranking officers, whose military career continued unbroken after being accepted
into the new armed forces following a 1920 security check. Of special interest
is the typical story of one Demeter Stojakovics (1883-1946), of Serb origins but
he Hungarianized his name to Sztójay Döme in 1935. During the Hungarian
Soviet Republic days, he was chief of military intelligence and counterintelligence.
He joined the Hungarian National Army in August of 1919, where
he served from 1920 as the chief of military intelligence and counterintelligence
departments of the General Staff. Next, he was posted as military
attaché in Berlin (1925-1933), promoted to full general in 1935, then served as
Hungarian ambassador in Berlin (Dec. 1935-March 1944), finally rising to
Prime Minister (and Foreign Minister) of Hungary between March and August,
1944. In the second half of the Horthy era, fully two-thirds of the Hungarian
military elite (112 officers or 65.12%) served in the Red Army of the
Hungarian Soviet Republic. 42
To return to the situation at the end of WWI, what was the size of the forces
that attacked Hungary beginning on November 1, 1918?
Czech-Slovakia: “Armed Czech forces available in early November of 1918
for the occupation of Northern Hungary were made up of Sokolists, 43 volunteer
units and Slovak recruits of soldiers and irregulars. Their number by the end of
41 Bertényi, Iván – Gyapay, Gábor: Magyarország rövid története [Short history of
Hungary]. Budapest, 1992, pp. 511–513.
42 Szakály, Sándor: A magyar katonai elit 1938–1954 [The Hungarian military elite
1938-1945]. Budapest, 1987, pp. 163–208.
43 A Czech sporting movement. The Czech word ‘Sokol’ means ‘hawk.’ The
association was Czechoslovakia’s most popular athletic organization between the wars.
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