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

counties.
The Romanian Army advancing in Transylvania and the Banate did not
encounter military resistance (end of November and early December) and, with
insignificant forces (often units of only 20 or 30), occupied the cities and town
of Transylvania, and the other named places. 48 The Bucharest military
command’s major objective, apart from seizing Transylvania, was to take
possession of eastern Hungary up to the Tisza River, as well as two-thirds of
Sub-Carpathia to the line of Csap (Čop) – Nagydobrony (Velika Dobrony) –
Munkács (Mukačevo) – Szolyva (Свалява/Szvaljava) – Verecke Pass.
The three parts of Hungarian territory claimed by Romania covered an area
of 135,000 km 2 , an area the size of Greece or Alabama.
An eyewitness, the camp chaplain of the Szekler Division, Endre Koréh,
wrote in his book: “…after French intercession, the Magyar (sic) government
began negotiations regarding the handing over of Kolozsvár. The command, the
officer corps, down to the youngest Szekler soldier, were convinced that this is
treason and senseless, as were the Belgrade negotiations and agreement. The
Szeklers, with commendable fighting spirit, wanted to crush the weak forces
that broke into Transylvania that did not even number 8,000. 49
István Apáthy 50 (1863-1922), Chief government Commissioner of eastern
Hungary (Transylvania), well informed of the current situation, wrote the
following regarding the loss of Transylvania: “Initially, some small [Romanian]
units entered through the Tölgyes Pass, followed through the Borgó Pass and
mostly through the Gyimes Pass, from where they shortly entered Csíkszereda
(Miercuera Ciuc). Later, after the retreat of the German forces (led by Field
Marshal Mackensen), they also entered from Predeal [at the time, a border post
South of the Tömös Pass–J.B.] In total, their troop strength in Transylvania
around Dec. 10 could only have been around 15,000, according to information
reported to me. 51
According to Romanian (Bucharest) military archival documents made
public at the end of the 1960s, only at the end of December of 1918 did the
Romanian army’s strength that invaded Transylvania reach 39,000. 52 It can be
48 Mikes, Imre: Erdély útja. Nagymagyarországtól Nagyromániáig [The path of
Transylvania. From Greater Hungary to Greater Romania]. Sepsiszentgyörgy, 1996, pp.
151–152.
49 Koréh, Endre: „Erdélyért”. A székely hadosztály és dandár története 1918–1919
[“For Transylvania.” The history of the Szekler division and brigade]. II. ed., Budapest,
1929, p. 113. (Bolding mine–J.B.)
50 István Apáthy, instructor at the Franz Joseph University of Sciences and world
renowned scientist due to his research in histology, was named by the Hungarian
government as Chief Government Commissioner on Dec. 7, 1918, after having been the
president of the Kolozsvár, and later the Transylvanian, National Council.
51 Apáthy, István: Erdély az összeomlás után [Transylvania after the collapse]. In: Új
Magyar Szemle, vol. III, issue 2, 1920, December, p. 168. (Bolding mine–J.B.)
52 Magyarország története 1918–1919, 1919–1945 [History of Hungary 1918-1919,
1919-1945]. Ed.-in-chief: Ránki, György. Budapest, 1976, p. 117.
25