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

Chapter 4: From the Treaty of Saint-Germain
to the Peace Decree of Trianon
September 10, 1919 – June 4, 1920
After the collapse of the Hungarian Soviet Republic on August 1, 1919,
during the period of the short-lived Peidl and Friedrich governments, Romanian
troops occupied the northeast portion of Trans-Danubia to the line of Győr –
Pápateszér – Nemesvámos – Peremarton – Úrhida – Adony. They did not press
on because Colonel Antal Lehár, 165 who had just assumed control of western
Trans-Danubia, took effective military action. Earlier, after the military
disintegration of October 1918, he moved his command center to the Styrian
town of Feldbach, approx. 40 kms. from the Hungarian border, where he
collected Hungarian soldiers in Austria, at loose and looking for their units. He
kept his units outside Hungary’s border to avoid the well-known but irrational
disarmament program of the Károlyi government. 166 He kept his battalion
together, which later grew into a sizeable force. He and his forces crossed the
Hungarian border near Szentgotthárd on August 6, a week after the collapse of
the Hungarian Soviet, and returned home. The firm stand of the colonel played
a part in the Romanian command asking Austrian Chancellor Renner on August
27 for co-operation in military actions. The chancellor’s reply: his forces have
no taste for fighting.
As it happened, on the following day, a battalion-sized Austrian irregular
unit, with a cannon and six machine guns, attempted to take the important trade
and railway center of Lajtaújfalu. They were recruited primarily from among
the Hungarian Communists who escaped to Austria. The place was defended by
only 58 Hungarian border guards. An armored train and a special unit, made up
of Szekler soldiers and artillery, were sent to their aid from Sopron. The
forceful response prompted the Austrian government immediately to cease
military action against Western Hungary.
At the same time, a Romanian unit started from Győr along the Győr-
Sopron-Ebenfurt railway to occupy Sopron and disarm the Szekler brigade’s
officers and men garrisoned there. The commander, Lt.Col. Gaáli dispatched
165 Brenner, Vilmos: Koronás urának hű szolgája volt csupán. Lehár Antal ezredes élete
és szombathelyi működése 1918–1921 között [Merely the faithful servant of his
crowned master. Life and actions of Colonel Antal Lehár between 1910-1921]. In: Vasi
Szemle, 2001, issue 2, pp. 131-146; his memoirs, Lehár, Anton: Erinnerungen.
Gegenrevolution und Restaurationsversuche in Ungarn 1918–1921. Herausgegeben von
Peter Broucek. Verlag für Geschichte und Politik. Wien, 1973, p. 280; Lehár, Antal:
Egy katonatiszt naplója, 1919–1921 [Diary of an officer 1919-1921]. In: História plusz,
XV, 1993, issue 11, pp. 7–48; Zsiga, Tibor: A Nyugatmagyarországi Katonai Körlet
Parancsnokság az ellenforradalmi rendszer újjászervezésében. A katonai szervezet
létrejötte [The restructuring of the command structure of the Western Hungary theater
in the anti-revolutionary period. The creation of a military organization]. In: Vasi
Szemle, 1978, issue 3, pp. 385–395.
166 Nemeskürty, op. cit., p. 49.
72