Hungarian–Romanian War of 1919
Encyclopedia
The seeds of the Hungarian–Romanian war of 1919 were planted when the union of Transylvania with Romania
was proclaimed, on December 1, 1918. In late March 1919, the Bolsheviks came to power in Hungary, at which point its army attempted to retake Transylvania
, commencing the war. By its final stage, more than 120,000 troops on both sides were involved. The destruction of the Hungarian Soviet Republic
and the Romanian occupation of parts of Hungary proper, including its capital Budapest
in August 1919, ended the war. Romanian troops withdrew from Hungary in March 1920.
. On October 31, 1918, the success of the Aster Revolution
in Budapest brought the left-liberal Count Mihály Károlyi
, an Entente
devotee, to power as Prime Minister. On 13 November 1918 in Belgrade he signed an armistice with the Entente, establishing demarcation lines for the territory that was to remain under Hungarian administration. By the terms of the armistice, Serbian and French troops advanced from the South, taking control of the entire Banat
and Croatia
. At the same time Czechoslovakia took control of Upper Hungary
and of Carpathian Ruthenia
and Romanian troops were allowed to advance to the Mures river
. However, the demarcation lines were not to hold for long, the Serbians occupying Pécs
as soon the 14'th of November. The armistice limited the size of the Hungarian army to eight Divisions. Károlyi however, yielded to Woodrow Wilson's
pacifism by ordering the full disarmament of the Hungarian Army . Károlyi proclaimed the advent of the First Republic, of which he was President.
By February 1919 the government had lost all popular support, having failed on domestic and military fronts. On March 21, after the Entente military representative demanded more and more territorial concessions from Hungary, Károlyi turned over the government to the Socialist Party of Hungary, a coalition of Social Democrats and Communists. Although Károlyi believed he was handing power to the Social Democrats, it was the Communists, led by Béla Kun
, who were actually in control. The new government proclaimed the Hungarian Soviet Republic
and promised equality and social justice.
The Communists, or "Reds," came to power largely thanks to being the only group with an organized fighting force, and they promised that Hungary would defend its territory without conscription (possibly with the help of the Soviet Red Army
). Initially, most soldiers of Hungary's Red Army were armed factory workers from Budapest. Later the Hungarian Red Army became a truly national army, the ranks of which were filled out of patriotic rather than ideological reasons.
entered World War I
on the side of the Entente
, with the main goal of uniting all territories with a Romanian national majority into one state (see Treaty of Bucharest (1916)). In 1918, after the communists took power in Russia
and signed a separate peace in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
with the Central Powers
, Romania was left alone on the Entente's Eastern Front
, a situation that far surpassed its military capabilities. Therefore, it sued for peace, and reached an understanding with the Central Powers in May 1918 in the Treaty of Bucharest. Alexandru Marghiloman
signed the Treaty of Bucharest with the Central Powers
on May 7, 1918. However, this treaty was never signed by King Ferdinand.
The situation in Romania at the end of 1918 was dire. Romania was suffering from the consequences of the punitive war reparations imposed by the Central Powers, Dobrogea was under Bulgarian occupation and a large German army under the command of field marshal August von Mackensen
was on its way to retreat through the country. The Romanian army was demobilized and could cont only on four full-strength Divisions while further eight Divisions were at peace-time strength. The army had to keep the order and protect Basarabia from hostile actions of the Soviet Union, for which purpose it used the four battle-able Divisions, while at the same time counter the Bulgarian presence in Dobrogea and supervise the retreating German forces.
On 10 November 1918, taking advantage of the Central Powers' precarious situation, Romania reentered the war on the side of the Entente with the same objectives as in 1916. King Ferdinand called for the mobilization of the Romanian Army and ordered it to attack over the Carpathian mountains into Transylvania
. The end of World War I that followed very soon did not bring the end of fighting for the Romanian Army. The fighting continued later that year and into 1919 during the Hungarian–Romanian war.
. In the second phase, after the communists took power in Hungary
, the Romanian Army overcame the Hungarian Red Army to reach the Tisza
river. Finally, in the third phase, the Romanian Army destroyed the Hungarian Army and occupied Budapest
, ousting the communist regime of Béla Kun
.
from the attacks of the Russian Reds
. The 1st, 7th and 8th Vânători divisions, stationed in Moldavia
, were the first units mobilized under these circumstances. The 8th was sent to Bukovina
and the other two divisions were sent to Transylvania. On November 13, 1918, the 7th division was the first Romanian Army unit to enter Transylvania at Prisacani, in the Eastern Carpathians, followed at Palanca by the 1st.
On December 1st, 1918
, the Romanian ethnics of Transylvania proclaimed the union with Romania
, being supported by the Transylvanian Saxons
and the Banat Swabians
, but not by the Hungarian ethnics of Transylvania that wanted to be part of the newly emerging Hungarian state
.
In December 1918 Romanian Army units reached the line of the Mureş river
, which was the demarcation line agreed upon by the representatives of the Entente and of Hungary in Belgrade
on November 13, 1918. At the same time, units of the German Army, under the command of Marshal von Mackensen
, retreated westward.
Following a Romanian request, the Allied Command in the East under the leadership of the French general Franchet d'Espèrey allowed the Romanian Army to advance up to the line of the Western Carpathians. The 7th Vânători division advanced in the direction of Cluj, and the 1st in the direction of Alba-Iulia. On December 24, units of the Romanian Army entered Cluj
. By January 22, 1919, the Romanian Army controlled the entire territory up to this demarcation line.
At this point the Romanian Army in Transylvania was stretched thin, having to simultaneously deter the Hungarian Army and maintain order in the territories under its control. Hence, the Romanian High Command decided to send two more divisions into Transylvania: the 2nd Vânători division to Sibiu
, and the 6th infantry division to Braşov
. A unified command of the Romanian Army in Transylvania was also established, with the headquarters at Sibiu
; General Traian Moşoiu
was put in charge of this command.
Romania started organizing the territory it had taken, which at this point was far from encompassing the ethnic Romanian population in the region. Two new infantry divisions, the 16th and the 18th, were organized from Romanian soldiers previously mobilized in the Austro-Hungarian Army
.
On February 28, the Allied council
decided to notify Hungary of the new demarcation line to which the Romanian Army would advance. This line coincided with the railways connecting the cities of Satu Mare, Oradea
and Arad
. However, the Romanian Army was not allowed to enter these cities. A demilitarized zone was to be created, stretching from there up to 5 km beyond the border marking the extent of the Romanian territorial requests on Hungary. The retreat of the Hungarian Army behind the westward border of the demilitarized zone was to begin on March 22, 1919.
The notification reached Hungary on March 19 through French Lieutenant-Colonel Fernand Vix. The Károlyi government
resigned rather than accepting the notification, and on March 21 gave control to Béla Kun
, who instituted a Communist regime
in Hungary.
Within this period of time, only limited skirmishes took place between the Romanian and Hungarian troops, and on one occasion between Romanian and Ukrainian troops. Some Hungarian elements engaged in the harassment of the Romanian population outside the area controlled by the Romanian Army.
. The Romanian delegation at the Peace Conference in Paris
requested that the Romanian Army be allowed to oust the Hungarian communists from power. Although well aware of the communist danger, the Allied council was marked by dissension between the US president Woodrow Wilson
, the British prime minister David Lloyd George
, and the French prime minister Georges Clemenceau
about the guarantees required by France
for its borders with Germany
. In particular, the American delegation was convinced that French hardliners around Marshal Foch
were trying to initiate a new conflict that would eventually lead to a new war, this time against Germany and the Soviet Union. Acting on these premises, the participants at the conference tried to defuse the situation in Hungary. Hence, the South African General Smuts
was sent to Budapest on April 4 with a proposition for the Kun government to abide by the conditions previously presented to Károlyi. This action of the Allies also amounted to recognizing Communist Hungary. In exchange for fulfilling the conditions in the Vix Note, the Allied powers would lift the blockade of Hungary and adopt a benevolent attitude towards it in the question of the territories it had to yield to Romania, Czechoslovakia
and Yugoslavia
. Kun however asked that the Romanian Army be ordered back to the line of the Mureş river
, and the discussions stalled.
Meanwhile, Kun sought to gain time in order to be able to build up a military force able of waging war with Romania and Czechoslovakia. On the Romanian front, there were some 20,000 troops in the first line facing the Romanian Army. Kun managed to mobilize another 60,000 in the second line by the use of recruitment centers in Oradea
, Gyula
, Debrecen
, and Szolnok
, among others. This Hungarian Army was a mix of some elite units and officers from the former Austro-Hungarian Army
, and poor-quality volunteers. They were equipped with some 137 cannons and 5 armored trains. Although a colorful mix, this army was held together by nationalist rather than communist ideals, and was therefore highly motivated. Kun hoped also that the Soviet Union would come to its help and attack Romania from the east.
Once the discussions with Kun stalled, the Romanian Army was ordered by the Romanian government to take action and force the Hungarian authorities to comply with the Allied council decision on February 28 concerning the new demarcation line. The Romanian Army in Transylvania comprised 64 infantry battalions, 28 cavalry squadrons, 160 cannons, 32 howitzers, 1 armored train, 3 air squadrons, 2 pioneer battalions, organized into two groups: North and South. The overall command of the Romanian Army in Transylvania was entrusted to General George Mărdărescu, while General Moşoiu was appointed commander of the Northern Group. The Romanian battle plan was to strike with the more powerful Northern Group and take Carei and Oradea, thus separating the elite Szekely
division from the rest of the Hungarian Army, made primarily of volunteers. Then the Group should proceed with the flanking of the Hungarian Army. At the same time, the Southern Group would advance only up to Radna and Beiuş
, and then serve as pivot for the flanking maneuver of the Northern Group. The overall advance was to stop only at the Tisza
river. The start of the offensive was planned for April 16.
Aware of the Romanian preparations, the Hungarians fortified the mountain passes in their possession and launched a preemptive attack on the night between April 15 and 16. The attack was stopped with the help of the reserve formations and the Romanians defensive lines held. Between April 16 and 18, the Romanians started their own offensive, forcing the mountain passes after heavy fighting. On the front of the 2nd Vânători division, a battalion of Hungarian cadets offered heavy resistance, and was defeated by the Romanian 9th regiment only towards the evening of April 16. On April 18, the first phase of the Romanian offensive was over, and the Hungarian front was broken. Carei was taken by the Romanian troops on April 19, Oradea
and Salonta
on April 20. At this moment, the Romanian Army reached the line set by the Allies in the Vix Note. However, the Romanian High Command decided to go over this line and advance to the Tisza river, for military reasons: the Tisza makes a natural obstacle that is easy to defend, and at the same time the Hungarian Army was beaten but not destroyed. By doing so, the Romanians went against the wishes of the Allies.
, Debrecen
and Békéscsaba
. At the same time on the front of the Northern Group, the best unit of the Hungarian Army, the Szekely division under the command of Colonel Kratochwil
was retreating towards Nyíregyháza, being constantly harassed by the Romanian troops, mainly from the 2nd cavalry division. They tried to stop their retreat and fight around the city, but were dislodged by the Romanians, and Nyíregyháza was occupied on April 26. The Division tried to flee west over Tisza, but by this time the entire eastern bank of the river was controlled by the Romanians, the last Hungarian troops defending a bridgehead over the river being defeated on April 29 at Rakamaz
. With their retreat route cut, the Székely division capitulated on April 29.
Debrecen was occupied by the Romanians on 23 April, and the Romanian Army started preparing for the assault on Békéscsaba. This began on 25 April and, on 26 April, the city fell after some heavy fighting. Most of the remains of the Hungarian Army converged towards Szolnok
, where they tried to escape west over Tisza, establishing two concentric defense lines around Szolnok whose ends lay on the Tisza. Between 29 April and 1 May the Romanian Army managed to break through these lines, despite the reinforcements sent from the west bank of the Tisza. On the evening of 1 May 1919 the entire east bank of the Tisza was controlled by the Romanian Army.
On 2 May, the Kun government sued for peace. In the peace proposition sent through Lt. Col. Werth, Kun was ready to recognize all territorial demands of the Romanians and asked in exchange for a cessation of hostilities and no intervention in the internal Hungarian affairs. The Romanians offered only an armistice and this only under pressure from the Allied Supreme Command, as on 30 April the French foreign minister Pichon
had summoned the Romanian representative at the Peace Conference, prime minister Brătianu
, and asked him to stop the advance of the Romanian troops on the Tisza river and eventually retreat on the demarcation line imposed by the Allies. Brătianu promised that the Romanian troops would not cross the Tisza and would remain on the east bank of the river.
Gen. Moşoiu was named governor of the military district between the Romanian frontier and the Tisza river, being replaced at the command of the Norther Group by Gen. Mihăescu. At the same time, the Romanian 7th division was transported from the Hungarian front to the Russian front in Northern Moldavia.
Béla Kun tried to make use of the lull in fighting against the Romanians to improve his battered international position. He prepared an attack against Czechoslovak forces, which he deemed the weaker of its enemies, as he had just been defeated by the Romanians, and believed that action against the Serbs was impossible due to the presence of allied French troops in Serbia
. By attacking Czechoslovak troops
, he tried to gain support from within Hungary, by making good on his promise to restore Hungary's borders. Kun also sought to establish a link to his Bolshevik allies in Russia. Internationally he argued that he acted on the belief that granting the territory where Hungarians were an ethnic majority to the newly-formed Czechoslovakia following World War I was unjust.
(today's Slovakia
), the Hungarians concentrated two divisions, the 1st and the 5th, totaling 40 battalions with plenty of artillery.
. The Romanian Command tried to hold the link to the Czechoslovak Army and attacked the Hungarian flank with some troops from the 16th infantry division and the 2nd Vânători division. However, this action was to no avail and it could not stop the rout of the Czechoslovak Army. The Romanians retreated to their bridgehead at Tokaj
and defended their position against Hungarian attacks between 25 and 30 May. The Hungarian attack against the Czechoslovak Army evolved well and consequently the Romanian troops in the North were in danger of being outflanked. On the 3 of June, the Romanians were thus forced to retreat from Tokaj on the east bank of Tisza, destroying all bridges over the river in the process and breaking any contact with the Hungarian troops. To deal with the danger of being outflanked and hinder the communication between the Hungarians and the Soviets, the Romanian troops along Tisza extended their defense line further north and linked with the troops of the Romanian 8th division, which since the 22 of May had advanced from Bukovina
to meet them.
. At the end of the operations, the Hungarian Army had reached the old frontiers
in the northeastern Carpathians. In the northwest, the campaign reoccupied important industrial regions around Miskolc
, Salgótarján
and Selmecbánya
. They also started to plan to march against the Romanian Army in the east.
The unification act that brought these old Romanian lands within the modern Romanian state was not recognized by the Bolshevik Russia, and later it was challenged by the Soviet Union
as unlawful. Having to fight the Whites
, the Poles, the Ukrainians
and later an allied invasion
in that region, the Red Army had no resources available to seriously threaten Romania at that time. The Russian hopes to use Otaman Grigoriev
for an expedition against Romania were shattered after much procrastination and later refusal of the rogue general. Furthermore, numerous peasant uprisings took place near Kiev.
Before the communist takeover in Hungary, the Bolsheviks used the Odessa Soviet Republic
as a buffer state to invade Romania, which only turned into several sporadic attacks over the Dniester
river in order to reclaim the territory of the former Bessarabia Governorate
. A somewhat similar role was taken later by the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which covered roughly the territory of the present-day Transnistria
. During that period of time the Romanian Army was being reorganized and such attacks were more or less successful. However, they were always met with force by the Romanian troops stationed in Bessarabia, which managed on all occasions to throw the Bolsheviks back over the Dniester (see Iona Yakir
). After the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
the Soviet forces were pushed out of neighboring Ukraine eastward and until late 1918 were no longer a threat.
. They held the city for a few days before being routed by the Romanian Army. After that, starting February 1919, enough Romanian troops were present in Bessarabia to thwart most attack attempts. The situation was further eased by the fact that the Bolsheviks lacked the resources to seriously threaten Bessarabia. At that moment they had to deal with the advancing Armed Forces of South Russia
led by Anton Denikin. Furthermore, a French–Greek army of five divisions (three French and two Greek) under the command of the French general d'Anselme and with support from some Polish, Ukrainian and Russian volunteers, attacked near Odessa
in western Crimea
. All these events led to a calm-down of the situation in Bessarabia over most of the next two months.
In support of the allied attack, Romanian troops of the 39th regiment occupied Tiraspol
on the 21 of March. Fighting at the same time in Transylvania, the Romanian Army could not provide more soldiers. In April, however, the army under general d'Anselme was defeated at Berzov by the Soviet 3rd Army and forced to retreat towards Odessa. With the change of government in France
the allied forces were ordered to withdraw from Odessa later that month. Most of the Entente forces retreated by ship abandoning part of their heavy equipment. Some troops, together with their Russian and Ukrainian allies, retreated through southern Bessarabia. At the same time, the Romanian Army started fortifying its positions in Bessarabia in preparation of a possible Bolshevik large-scale attack.
On the 1st of May, the Russian Bolshevik foreign minister Georgy Chicherin
issued an ultimatum to the Romanian government, asking it to evacuate Bessarabia and threatening with the use of force in case of non-compliance. At the same time more Bolshevik troops were concentrating along the Dniester. Anotonov-Ovsiyenko planned for a massive charge on May 10, 1919. By this they tried to ease the pressure against the Hungarian Bolsheviks, forcing the Romanian Army to prepare for an attack in the East. This is why the Romanians brought the 7th division as reinforcement from the Tisza front into Bessarabia.
After the ultimatum, the attacks on the Romanian troops in Bessarabia intensified, peaking on 27–28 May when a few hundreds of Bolshevik troops attacked Tighina
. In preparation of this attack, they threw manifestos out of a plane, inviting the allied troops to fraternize with them. However, only 60 French soldiers switched sides and supported the Russians crossing the Dniester. The Bolsheviks managed to enter Tighina, but were repulsed later that day by the Romanians with the help of some French troops in town.
To counter the Bolshevik threat, two more Romanian divisions were sent in the area: the 4th and the 5th infantry divisions. Furthermore, a territorial command was organized in southern Bessarabia, consisting mainly of the 15th infantry division. Starting end of June the situation calmed down in Bessarabia.
The Council put pressure on Kun to stop its advances into Czechoslovakia, under the threat of a coordinated attack of the French, Serb and Romanian troops from the South and the East respectively. They also promised a favorable attitude towards Soviet Hungary in the peace talks to follow, and in delineating Hungary's new borders. On the 12th of June, these borders were brought to the attention of the governments of Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Hungary. Under these circumstances, Hungary signed an armistice with Czechoslovakia on the 23rd of June and by July 4, the Hungarian troops retreated 15 km south of the demarcation line. The Council demanded that the Romanians leave Tiszántúl
and retreat also to their new borders, but the Romanians replied that they would comply only after the Hungarian Army would have demobilized. Upon hearing the Romanian demands from the Council representatives, Kun answered that from now on he would rely solely on the might of his army.
This new turn of events swung the Council against Kun, and on the 11th of July it decided to start a coordinated attack of the Serb, French and Romanian troops against Soviet Hungary. The planning for this attack was entrusted to Marshal Foch. However, immediately after the Czechoslovak armistice, Hungary started to mobilize its army against the Romanians along Tisza and on the 17th of July the Hungarians were the first to strike.
, where they were neighboring with French and Serb troops, up to north of Tokaj
, where they were neighboring with Czechoslovak troops.
In comparison to April 1919, the Hungarian Army facing the Romanians now along the Tisza
river had greatly improved. It was better organized and equipped, and it had a high morale as it fought for its motherland. The morale was further boosted by the successes against the Czechoslovak Army. The communists held control of the army command through their political commissar
ies, but they were supported by experienced professional officers. At division level and below mostly professional officers were in command. The Hungarians mustered 100 infantry battalions, with some 50,000 men, 10 cavalry squadrons with 1365 men, 69 artillery batteries of calibers ranging up to 305 mm, and nine armored trains. The troops were organized for attack into three groups, North, Central and South, with the Central group being the strongest. They planned to cross the Tisza with all three groups, and then advance towards Satu Mare, Oradea
and Arad
respectively, expecting to ignite a communist revolt in Romania, as well and counting on some form of support from the Soviet Russia
, which they hoped would launch an all-out attack into Bessarabia
, on Romania's eastern border.
The Romanian Army had some 92 battalions with some 48,000 men, 58 cavalry squadrons with 12,000 men, some 80 artillery batteries of calibers ranging up to 155 mm, two armored trains, as well as some support units. They were positioned along three lines. The first line included the 16th division in the north and the 18th division in the south. In the second line more powerful formations were located, the 2nd Vânători division in the North, concentrated in and around Nyíregyháza
, and the 1st Vânători division in the south, concentrated in and around Békéscsaba
. The third line included the most powerful Romanian formations and had to be used as maneuvering mass; it was composed of the 1st and 6th infantry divisions, 1st and 2nd cavalry divisions, as well as some support units. These troops took positions along the railway link stretching from Carei, through Oradea, up to north of Arad. The 20th and the 21st infantry divisions were tasked with maintaining the security and public order behind the third line. The first line was rather thin, as it was supposed to fight delay actions until the true intentions of the attacking Hungarians were to be revealed. After that, together with the troops in the second line they were to hold the attackers until the counterattack of the troops in the third line could commence. For such maneuvering actions, the Romanian command planned to make use of the railway links in their control and had prepared a sufficient number of trains. The Romanians were also highly motivated, fighting for their dream to unify (into a single country) all the lands inhabited by ethnic Romanians. This long yearned dream was now supported by Woodrow Wilson
's principles of self-determination
and nation state. Most soldiers were experienced World War I veterans.
Between the 17th and the 20th of July, the Hungarians bombarded the Romanian positions and conducted reconnaissance operations. On the 20th of July, around 3:00 AM, after a violent bombardment, the Hungarian infantry of all three groups crossed the Tisza and attacked the Romanian positions.
with troops of the 80th international brigade but they were stopped there by troops of the Romanian 16th division. The Romanians brought also some troops of the 20th infantry division into combat and managed to clear the bridgehead at Tiszafüred on 24 July. Not being able to break out of Rakamaz, the Hungarians started fortifying their positions and redeployed some troops somewhere else. There was a lull in fighting in the north, as the Romanians followed suit. Only on 26 July did the Romanians attack again and after some violent fighting that held until 10:00 PM, managed to clear the Hungarian bridgehead. After this, the Romanians were in complete control of the northern part of the Tisza's eastern bank.
In the south, the Hungarian 2nd division needed two days to take Szentes, which was being hold by the 89th and the 90th regiments of the Romanian 18th division. On 21 and 22 July, Hódmezővásárhely
changed hands several times between Hungarian troops and Romanian troops of the 90th infantry regiment supported by the 1st Vânători brigade. Then on 23 July, the Romanians finally reoccupied Hódmezővásárhely, Szentes
and Mindszent
, thus throwing the Hungarians back over the Tisza and ending the fighting in this sector of the front. This allowed the Romanians to take the 1st Vânători brigade from the south front and use it in the center, where the Hungarian attack was progressing very well.
, despite the opposition of the Romanian 91st regiment of the 18th infantry division. The attackers brought the entire 6th and 7th divisions within the bridgehead and overwhelmed the troops in the first line of defense. The Hungarian 6th infantry division attacked to the east and took Törökszentmiklós
, while the 7th division advanced towards Mezőtúr
. At the same time, the 5th division was brought over the Tisza and attacked towards Túrkeve
. On the 22nd of July, the Hungarians advanced towards Kunhegyes
, after crossing the Tisza some 20 km north of Szolnok and defeating the Romanian 18th Vânători regiment. The Romanian troops of the 18th division were reinforced with formations from the second line, including some troops from the 1st cavalry division, and the entire 2nd Vânători brigade. On the 23rd of July, the Hungarians manage to take Túrkeve and Mezőtúr. On the night of the 23rd of July, the Hungarians controlled a 80 km-wide, 60 km-deep chunk of the right bank of the Tiza, opposite of Szolnok. Facing them to the east and to the south were the troops of the Romanian first and second line. To the north, a Romanian maneuver group was forming with troops from the third Romanian line, including the 1st infantry division of Gen. Obogeanu in the center, the 6th infantry division under Gen. Olteanu to the left and the 2nd cavalry division of Gen. Davidoglu to the right of the group, along Tisza.
. The Romanian 1st infantry division attacked the Hungarian 6th infantry division head-on and pushed them back, managing to take Fegyvernek
. The Romanian 6th division was less successful, being counterattacked on the left flank by the Hungarian reserve formations. In total, on the 24th of July, the Romanians managed to push the Hungarians back some 20 km and retake the initiative. They reinforced the maneuver group with troops from the North, which became available when the fighting decreased in intensity there. These included the 2nd Vânători division and some cavalry units. The Romanian troops along the entire front received the order to attack the enemy the next day. On the 25th of July the fighting continued, being particularly violent on the front of the Romanian 1st infantry division, in and around Fegyvernek, where the Hungarians chose to counterattack. Towards the end of the day, the Romanians maneuver group started breaking through the Hungarian positions in the north. Also, Hungarian positions in the south were overrun. The Hungarians started a general retreat towards the Tisza bridge in front of Szolnok, which they blew up on the 26th of July in order to stop the Romanians from following them. On the evening of 26 July, the entire east bank of the Tisza was again under firm Romanian control.
After repulsing the Hungarian attack, the Romanians started planning to cross the Tisza and deliver the final blow to Soviet Hungary, despite some opposition from the Allied council. They brought the 7th infantry division back from the Bessarabian front, where the Russians were holding still, and also the 2nd infantry division as well as some smaller infantry and artillery units. For crossing the Tisza the Romanian command prepared 119 battalions with some 84,000 troops, 99 artillery batteries with 392 guns and 60 cavalry squadrons with 12,000 men. The Hungarians made efficient use of their artillery, attacking the Romanian concentration areas. Between 27 and 29 July, the Romanians tested the strength of the Hungarian defense with small attacks. They finally decided to cross the Tisza in the vicinity of Fegyvernek, where the river makes a turn. On the night of 29th to 30 July, the Romanians crossed the Tisza. The main crossing at Fegyvernek was covered by decoy operations on other points of the front, where intense artillery duels took place. The Romanians managed to surprise the Hungarians at Fegyvernek who decided on the 31st of July to abandon the Tisza line and retreat towards Budapest.
After the bulk of the Romanian troops crossed the Tisza, they started advancing towards Budapest. The Romanian cavalry covered the flanks of the main body of troops and tried to discover the points of concentration of the Hungarian Army. At the same time, it severed the links between the different corps of the Hungarian Army. On the 1st of August, most fighting took place in the south, in and around Szolnok, the town having been severely affected by the fighting. At the end of the day, the Hungarians sent representatives to negotiate their surrender. In the center and in the north, the Hungarian troops were completely surrounded by the evening of the 3rd of August and the units start to surrender or to disintegrate. The 3rd of August saw the end of the Hungarian Red Army.
.
was installed in Budapest with the help of some representatives of the Allied council, but it was short-lived. Power was taken then by a nationalistic group trying to instate Archduke Josef
as head of state and István Friedrich
as prime minister. However, the Allies would not accept a Habsburg as head of state and hence a new government was needed. The Romanians occupied all Hungary, with the exception of a piece of land around the Balaton
lakes. There, a far-right nationalist group formed around Admiral Horthy
was preparing to take over after the Romanians would eventually leave. The troops supporting Horthy were supplied with arms by the Romanian Army. In the regions under their control, the Romanians took over police and administration duties.
The terms of the Romanian-imposed armistice were harsh on Hungary. When the Romanian troops finally departed Budapest at the beginning of 1920, they took extensive booty, including food, trucks, locomotives and railroad cars, and factory equipment, in revenge for the Central Powers' plundering of Romania during the war. The Hungarians had to cede all war materials, excepting those weapons necessary for the troops under Horthy's command. Furthermore, they had to hand over to the Romanians their entire armament industry, 50% of the rolling stock of the Hungarian railroad, 30% of the livestock, 30% of all agricultural tools, and 35,000 wagons of cereals and animal feed. Also all the goods identified as war booty taken from Romania after the Peace of Bucharest in 1918 were confiscated.
The entire Hungarian–Romanian War of 1919 was waged over a period of nine months. The Romanians lost 188 officers and 11,478 soldiers, out of which 69 officers and 3,601 soldiers dead. The Romanians started retreating from Hungary in November 1919. Between February 14 and March 28, 1920 all Romanian Army units left the Hungarian territory.
Union of Transylvania with Romania
Union of Transylvania with Romania was declared on by the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia.The national holiday of Romania, the Great Union Day occurring on December 1, commemorates this event...
was proclaimed, on December 1, 1918. In late March 1919, the Bolsheviks came to power in Hungary, at which point its army attempted to retake Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, commencing the war. By its final stage, more than 120,000 troops on both sides were involved. The destruction of the Hungarian Soviet Republic
Hungarian Soviet Republic
The Hungarian Soviet Republic or Soviet Republic of Hungary was a short-lived Communist state established in Hungary in the aftermath of World War I....
and the Romanian occupation of parts of Hungary proper, including its capital Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
in August 1919, ended the war. Romanian troops withdrew from Hungary in March 1920.
Introduction
Hungary
In 1918 the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy collapsed as a result of losing World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. On October 31, 1918, the success of the Aster Revolution
Aster Revolution
The Aster Revolution or Chrysanthemum Revolution was a revolution in Hungary led by leftist liberal count Mihály Károlyi, who founded the Hungarian Democratic Republic....
in Budapest brought the left-liberal Count Mihály Károlyi
Mihály Károlyi
Count Mihály Ádám György Miklós Károlyi de Nagykároly was briefly Hungary's leader in 1918-19 during a short-lived democracy...
, an Entente
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
devotee, to power as Prime Minister. On 13 November 1918 in Belgrade he signed an armistice with the Entente, establishing demarcation lines for the territory that was to remain under Hungarian administration. By the terms of the armistice, Serbian and French troops advanced from the South, taking control of the entire Banat
Banat
The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
and Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. At the same time Czechoslovakia took control of Upper Hungary
Upper Hungary
Upper Hungary is the usual English translation for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia...
and of Carpathian Ruthenia
Carpathian Ruthenia
Carpathian Ruthenia is a region in Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast , with smaller parts in easternmost Slovakia , Poland's Lemkovyna and Romanian Maramureş.It is...
and Romanian troops were allowed to advance to the Mures river
Mures River
The Mureș is an approximately 761 km long river in Eastern Europe. It originates in the Hășmașu Mare Range in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, Romania, and joins the Tisza river at Szeged in southeastern Hungary....
. However, the demarcation lines were not to hold for long, the Serbians occupying Pécs
Pécs
Pécs is the fifth largest city of Hungary, located on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the south-west of the country, close to its border with Croatia. It is the administrative and economical centre of Baranya county...
as soon the 14'th of November. The armistice limited the size of the Hungarian army to eight Divisions. Károlyi however, yielded to Woodrow Wilson's
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
pacifism by ordering the full disarmament of the Hungarian Army . Károlyi proclaimed the advent of the First Republic, of which he was President.
By February 1919 the government had lost all popular support, having failed on domestic and military fronts. On March 21, after the Entente military representative demanded more and more territorial concessions from Hungary, Károlyi turned over the government to the Socialist Party of Hungary, a coalition of Social Democrats and Communists. Although Károlyi believed he was handing power to the Social Democrats, it was the Communists, led by Béla Kun
Béla Kun
Béla Kun , born Béla Kohn, was a Hungarian Communist politician and a Bolshevik Revolutionary who led the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919.- Early life :...
, who were actually in control. The new government proclaimed the Hungarian Soviet Republic
Hungarian Soviet Republic
The Hungarian Soviet Republic or Soviet Republic of Hungary was a short-lived Communist state established in Hungary in the aftermath of World War I....
and promised equality and social justice.
The Communists, or "Reds," came to power largely thanks to being the only group with an organized fighting force, and they promised that Hungary would defend its territory without conscription (possibly with the help of the Soviet Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
). Initially, most soldiers of Hungary's Red Army were armed factory workers from Budapest. Later the Hungarian Red Army became a truly national army, the ranks of which were filled out of patriotic rather than ideological reasons.
Romania
In 1916, RomaniaRomania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
entered World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
on the side of the Entente
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
, with the main goal of uniting all territories with a Romanian national majority into one state (see Treaty of Bucharest (1916)). In 1918, after the communists took power in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and signed a separate peace in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...
with the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
, Romania was left alone on the Entente's Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War I)
The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. The term is in contrast to the Western Front. Despite the geographical separation, the events in the two theatres strongly influenced each other...
, a situation that far surpassed its military capabilities. Therefore, it sued for peace, and reached an understanding with the Central Powers in May 1918 in the Treaty of Bucharest. Alexandru Marghiloman
Alexandru Marghiloman
Alexandru Marghiloman was a Romanian conservative statesman who served for a short time in 1918 as Prime Minister of Romania, and had a decisive role during World War I.-Early career:...
signed the Treaty of Bucharest with the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
on May 7, 1918. However, this treaty was never signed by King Ferdinand.
The situation in Romania at the end of 1918 was dire. Romania was suffering from the consequences of the punitive war reparations imposed by the Central Powers, Dobrogea was under Bulgarian occupation and a large German army under the command of field marshal August von Mackensen
August von Mackensen
Anton Ludwig August von Mackensen , born August Mackensen, was a German soldier and field marshal. He commanded with success during the First World War and became one of the German Empire's most prominent military leaders. After the Armistice, Mackensen was interned for a year...
was on its way to retreat through the country. The Romanian army was demobilized and could cont only on four full-strength Divisions while further eight Divisions were at peace-time strength. The army had to keep the order and protect Basarabia from hostile actions of the Soviet Union, for which purpose it used the four battle-able Divisions, while at the same time counter the Bulgarian presence in Dobrogea and supervise the retreating German forces.
On 10 November 1918, taking advantage of the Central Powers' precarious situation, Romania reentered the war on the side of the Entente with the same objectives as in 1916. King Ferdinand called for the mobilization of the Romanian Army and ordered it to attack over the Carpathian mountains into Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
. The end of World War I that followed very soon did not bring the end of fighting for the Romanian Army. The fighting continued later that year and into 1919 during the Hungarian–Romanian war.
Outline of the war
The war is divided here into three phases, mirroring the main operations of the Romanian Army. In the war's first phase, the Romanian Army advanced, against only light resistance, up to the Western Carpathian MountainsApuseni Mountains
The Apuseni Mountains is a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Carpathians, also called Occidentali in Romanian. Their name translates from Romanian as Mountains "of the sunset" i.e. "western". The highest peak is "Cucurbăta Mare" - 1849 metres, also called Bihor...
. In the second phase, after the communists took power in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, the Romanian Army overcame the Hungarian Red Army to reach the Tisza
Tisza
The Tisza or Tisa is one of the main rivers of Central Europe. It rises in Ukraine, and is formed near Rakhiv by the junction of headwaters White Tisa, whose source is in the Chornohora mountains and Black Tisa, which springs in the Gorgany range...
river. Finally, in the third phase, the Romanian Army destroyed the Hungarian Army and occupied Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, ousting the communist regime of Béla Kun
Béla Kun
Béla Kun , born Béla Kohn, was a Hungarian Communist politician and a Bolshevik Revolutionary who led the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919.- Early life :...
.
Phase I: November 1918 – March 1919
Following the Treaty of Bucharest, the bulk of the Romanian Army was demobilized. Only the 9th and the 10th infantry divisions and the 1st and the 2nd cavalry divisions were available at war-time strength, but they were used at the time to protect BessarabiaBessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
from the attacks of the Russian Reds
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
. The 1st, 7th and 8th Vânători divisions, stationed in Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
, were the first units mobilized under these circumstances. The 8th was sent to Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
and the other two divisions were sent to Transylvania. On November 13, 1918, the 7th division was the first Romanian Army unit to enter Transylvania at Prisacani, in the Eastern Carpathians, followed at Palanca by the 1st.
On December 1st, 1918
Union of Transylvania with Romania
Union of Transylvania with Romania was declared on by the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia.The national holiday of Romania, the Great Union Day occurring on December 1, commemorates this event...
, the Romanian ethnics of Transylvania proclaimed the union with Romania
Romanian Old Kingdom
The Romanian Old Kingdom is a colloquial term referring to the territory covered by the first independent Romanian nation state, which was composed of the Danubian Principalities—Wallachia and Moldavia...
, being supported by the Transylvanian Saxons
Transylvanian Saxons
The Transylvanian Saxons are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania from the 12th century onwards.The colonization of Transylvania by Germans was begun by King Géza II of Hungary . For decades, the main task of the German settlers was to defend the southeastern border of the...
and the Banat Swabians
Banat Swabians
The Banat Swabians are an ethnic German population in Southeast Europe, part of the Danube Swabians. They emigrated in the 18th century to what was then the Austrian Banat province, which had been left sparsely populated by the wars with Turkey. This once strong and important ethnic Banat Swabian...
, but not by the Hungarian ethnics of Transylvania that wanted to be part of the newly emerging Hungarian state
Hungarian Democratic Republic
The Hungarian People's Republic was an independent republic proclaimed after the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918...
.
In December 1918 Romanian Army units reached the line of the Mureş river
Mures River
The Mureș is an approximately 761 km long river in Eastern Europe. It originates in the Hășmașu Mare Range in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, Romania, and joins the Tisza river at Szeged in southeastern Hungary....
, which was the demarcation line agreed upon by the representatives of the Entente and of Hungary in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
on November 13, 1918. At the same time, units of the German Army, under the command of Marshal von Mackensen
August von Mackensen
Anton Ludwig August von Mackensen , born August Mackensen, was a German soldier and field marshal. He commanded with success during the First World War and became one of the German Empire's most prominent military leaders. After the Armistice, Mackensen was interned for a year...
, retreated westward.
Following a Romanian request, the Allied Command in the East under the leadership of the French general Franchet d'Espèrey allowed the Romanian Army to advance up to the line of the Western Carpathians. The 7th Vânători division advanced in the direction of Cluj, and the 1st in the direction of Alba-Iulia. On December 24, units of the Romanian Army entered Cluj
Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth most populous city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...
. By January 22, 1919, the Romanian Army controlled the entire territory up to this demarcation line.
At this point the Romanian Army in Transylvania was stretched thin, having to simultaneously deter the Hungarian Army and maintain order in the territories under its control. Hence, the Romanian High Command decided to send two more divisions into Transylvania: the 2nd Vânători division to Sibiu
Sibiu
Sibiu is a city in Transylvania, Romania with a population of 154,548. Located some 282 km north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Cibin River, a tributary of the river Olt...
, and the 6th infantry division to Braşov
Brasov
Brașov is a city in Romania and the capital of Brașov County.According to the last Romanian census, from 2002, there were 284,596 people living within the city of Brașov, making it the 8th most populated city in Romania....
. A unified command of the Romanian Army in Transylvania was also established, with the headquarters at Sibiu
Sibiu
Sibiu is a city in Transylvania, Romania with a population of 154,548. Located some 282 km north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Cibin River, a tributary of the river Olt...
; General Traian Moşoiu
Traian Moşoiu
Traian Moşoiu was a Romanian General during World War I, Minister of War in the Alexandru Vaida-Voevod cabinet , Minister of Communications and of Industry and Commerce in the Ion I. C...
was put in charge of this command.
Romania started organizing the territory it had taken, which at this point was far from encompassing the ethnic Romanian population in the region. Two new infantry divisions, the 16th and the 18th, were organized from Romanian soldiers previously mobilized in the Austro-Hungarian Army
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...
.
On February 28, the Allied council
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
decided to notify Hungary of the new demarcation line to which the Romanian Army would advance. This line coincided with the railways connecting the cities of Satu Mare, Oradea
Oradea
Oradea is the capital city of Bihor County, in the Crișana region of north-western Romania. The city has a population of 204,477, according to the 2009 estimates. The wider Oradea metropolitan area has a total population of 245,832.-Geography:...
and Arad
Arad, Romania
Arad is the capital city of Arad County, in western Romania, in the Crişana region, on the river Mureş.An important industrial center and transportation hub, Arad is also the seat of a Romanian Orthodox archbishop and features two universities, a Romanian Orthodox theological seminary, a training...
. However, the Romanian Army was not allowed to enter these cities. A demilitarized zone was to be created, stretching from there up to 5 km beyond the border marking the extent of the Romanian territorial requests on Hungary. The retreat of the Hungarian Army behind the westward border of the demilitarized zone was to begin on March 22, 1919.
The notification reached Hungary on March 19 through French Lieutenant-Colonel Fernand Vix. The Károlyi government
Mihály Károlyi
Count Mihály Ádám György Miklós Károlyi de Nagykároly was briefly Hungary's leader in 1918-19 during a short-lived democracy...
resigned rather than accepting the notification, and on March 21 gave control to Béla Kun
Béla Kun
Béla Kun , born Béla Kohn, was a Hungarian Communist politician and a Bolshevik Revolutionary who led the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919.- Early life :...
, who instituted a Communist regime
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in Hungary.
Within this period of time, only limited skirmishes took place between the Romanian and Hungarian troops, and on one occasion between Romanian and Ukrainian troops. Some Hungarian elements engaged in the harassment of the Romanian population outside the area controlled by the Romanian Army.
Phase II: April 1919 – June 1919
After 21 March 1919, Romania faced two communist neighbors: Hungary and the Soviet RussiaRussian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
. The Romanian delegation at the Peace Conference in Paris
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
requested that the Romanian Army be allowed to oust the Hungarian communists from power. Although well aware of the communist danger, the Allied council was marked by dissension between the US president Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, the British prime minister David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
, and the French prime minister Georges Clemenceau
Georges Clemenceau
Georges Benjamin Clemenceau was a French statesman, physician and journalist. He served as the Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909, and again from 1917 to 1920. For nearly the final year of World War I he led France, and was one of the major voices behind the Treaty of Versailles at the...
about the guarantees required by France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
for its borders with Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. In particular, the American delegation was convinced that French hardliners around Marshal Foch
Ferdinand Foch
Ferdinand Foch , GCB, OM, DSO was a French soldier, war hero, military theorist, and writer credited with possessing "the most original and subtle mind in the French army" in the early 20th century. He served as general in the French army during World War I and was made Marshal of France in its...
were trying to initiate a new conflict that would eventually lead to a new war, this time against Germany and the Soviet Union. Acting on these premises, the participants at the conference tried to defuse the situation in Hungary. Hence, the South African General Smuts
Jan Smuts
Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS, PC was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948...
was sent to Budapest on April 4 with a proposition for the Kun government to abide by the conditions previously presented to Károlyi. This action of the Allies also amounted to recognizing Communist Hungary. In exchange for fulfilling the conditions in the Vix Note, the Allied powers would lift the blockade of Hungary and adopt a benevolent attitude towards it in the question of the territories it had to yield to Romania, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
and Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. Kun however asked that the Romanian Army be ordered back to the line of the Mureş river
Mures River
The Mureș is an approximately 761 km long river in Eastern Europe. It originates in the Hășmașu Mare Range in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, Romania, and joins the Tisza river at Szeged in southeastern Hungary....
, and the discussions stalled.
Meanwhile, Kun sought to gain time in order to be able to build up a military force able of waging war with Romania and Czechoslovakia. On the Romanian front, there were some 20,000 troops in the first line facing the Romanian Army. Kun managed to mobilize another 60,000 in the second line by the use of recruitment centers in Oradea
Oradea
Oradea is the capital city of Bihor County, in the Crișana region of north-western Romania. The city has a population of 204,477, according to the 2009 estimates. The wider Oradea metropolitan area has a total population of 245,832.-Geography:...
, Gyula
Gyula, Hungary
Gyula is a city in Békés county in south-eastern Hungary. It lies close to the border with Romania, on the river Fehér-Körös.-History:The first recorded reference to Gyula was in a document dated 1313 which mentions a monastery called Gyulamonostor . By 1332 the settlement around the monastery was...
, Debrecen
Debrecen
Debrecen , is the second largest city in Hungary after Budapest. Debrecen is the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar county.- Name :...
, and Szolnok
Szolnok
Szolnok is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. Its location on the banks of the Tisza river, at the heart of the Great Hungarian Plain, has made it an important cultural and economic crossroads for centuries....
, among others. This Hungarian Army was a mix of some elite units and officers from the former Austro-Hungarian Army
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...
, and poor-quality volunteers. They were equipped with some 137 cannons and 5 armored trains. Although a colorful mix, this army was held together by nationalist rather than communist ideals, and was therefore highly motivated. Kun hoped also that the Soviet Union would come to its help and attack Romania from the east.
Once the discussions with Kun stalled, the Romanian Army was ordered by the Romanian government to take action and force the Hungarian authorities to comply with the Allied council decision on February 28 concerning the new demarcation line. The Romanian Army in Transylvania comprised 64 infantry battalions, 28 cavalry squadrons, 160 cannons, 32 howitzers, 1 armored train, 3 air squadrons, 2 pioneer battalions, organized into two groups: North and South. The overall command of the Romanian Army in Transylvania was entrusted to General George Mărdărescu, while General Moşoiu was appointed commander of the Northern Group. The Romanian battle plan was to strike with the more powerful Northern Group and take Carei and Oradea, thus separating the elite Szekely
Székely
The Székelys or Székely , sometimes also referred to as Szeklers , are a subgroup of the Hungarian people living mostly in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, Romania...
division from the rest of the Hungarian Army, made primarily of volunteers. Then the Group should proceed with the flanking of the Hungarian Army. At the same time, the Southern Group would advance only up to Radna and Beiuş
Beius
Beiuș is a city in Bihor County, Romania near the Apuseni Mountains. The river Crișul Negru flows through Beiuș, and the city administers a single village, Delani.-Population:According to the 2002 Census, Beiuş has a population of 10,996 inhabitants....
, and then serve as pivot for the flanking maneuver of the Northern Group. The overall advance was to stop only at the Tisza
Tisza
The Tisza or Tisa is one of the main rivers of Central Europe. It rises in Ukraine, and is formed near Rakhiv by the junction of headwaters White Tisa, whose source is in the Chornohora mountains and Black Tisa, which springs in the Gorgany range...
river. The start of the offensive was planned for April 16.
The Hungarian attack
Oradea
Oradea is the capital city of Bihor County, in the Crișana region of north-western Romania. The city has a population of 204,477, according to the 2009 estimates. The wider Oradea metropolitan area has a total population of 245,832.-Geography:...
and Salonta
Salonta
Salonta is a city in Bihor County, Transylvania, Romania, near the Hungarian border.-Population:According to the last Romanian census from 2002, the city has a population of 18,074, made up of Hungarians , Romanians , Roma , and others .In terms of religion, 51.12% are Reformed , 36.46% Romanian...
on April 20. At this moment, the Romanian Army reached the line set by the Allies in the Vix Note. However, the Romanian High Command decided to go over this line and advance to the Tisza river, for military reasons: the Tisza makes a natural obstacle that is easy to defend, and at the same time the Hungarian Army was beaten but not destroyed. By doing so, the Romanians went against the wishes of the Allies.
The fate of the Székely division
Making use of their cavalry, the Romanians hindered any attempts by the Hungarian Army to set a new defensive line between NyíregyházaNyíregyháza
- Tourist sights :Nyíregyháza also has several museums and exhibitions, showing the city's rich cultural heritage.* Collection of the International Medallion Art and Small Sculpture Creative Community of Nyíregyháza-Sóstó – periodic exhibitions of works of contemporary artists-Twin towns — Sister...
, Debrecen
Debrecen
Debrecen , is the second largest city in Hungary after Budapest. Debrecen is the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar county.- Name :...
and Békéscsaba
Békéscsaba
Békéscsaba is a city in Southeast Hungary, the capital of the county Békés.- Geography :According to the 2001 census, the city has a total area of .- Name :...
. At the same time on the front of the Northern Group, the best unit of the Hungarian Army, the Szekely division under the command of Colonel Kratochwil
Kratochwil
Kratochwil is the German spelling of the Czech/Slovak surname Kratochvíl. It may refer to one of the following persons.* Angelika Schwabe-Kratochwil , German female botanist * Anselm Kratochwil , German biologist...
was retreating towards Nyíregyháza, being constantly harassed by the Romanian troops, mainly from the 2nd cavalry division. They tried to stop their retreat and fight around the city, but were dislodged by the Romanians, and Nyíregyháza was occupied on April 26. The Division tried to flee west over Tisza, but by this time the entire eastern bank of the river was controlled by the Romanians, the last Hungarian troops defending a bridgehead over the river being defeated on April 29 at Rakamaz
Rakamaz
Rakamaz is a town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary.-Geography:It covers an area of and has a population of 5091 people ....
. With their retreat route cut, the Székely division capitulated on April 29.
The Romanian Army reaches the Tisza line
Szolnok
Szolnok is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. Its location on the banks of the Tisza river, at the heart of the Great Hungarian Plain, has made it an important cultural and economic crossroads for centuries....
, where they tried to escape west over Tisza, establishing two concentric defense lines around Szolnok whose ends lay on the Tisza. Between 29 April and 1 May the Romanian Army managed to break through these lines, despite the reinforcements sent from the west bank of the Tisza. On the evening of 1 May 1919 the entire east bank of the Tisza was controlled by the Romanian Army.
On 2 May, the Kun government sued for peace. In the peace proposition sent through Lt. Col. Werth, Kun was ready to recognize all territorial demands of the Romanians and asked in exchange for a cessation of hostilities and no intervention in the internal Hungarian affairs. The Romanians offered only an armistice and this only under pressure from the Allied Supreme Command, as on 30 April the French foreign minister Pichon
Stéphen Pichon
Stéphen Pichon was a French politician of the Third Republic. He served as French Minister to China , including the period of the Boxer Uprising...
had summoned the Romanian representative at the Peace Conference, prime minister Brătianu
Ion I. C. Bratianu
Ion I. C. Brătianu was a Romanian politician, leader of the National Liberal Party , the Prime Minister of Romania for five terms, and Foreign Minister on several occasions; he was the eldest son of statesman and PNL leader Ion Brătianu, the brother of Vintilă and Dinu Brătianu, and the father of...
, and asked him to stop the advance of the Romanian troops on the Tisza river and eventually retreat on the demarcation line imposed by the Allies. Brătianu promised that the Romanian troops would not cross the Tisza and would remain on the east bank of the river.
Gen. Moşoiu was named governor of the military district between the Romanian frontier and the Tisza river, being replaced at the command of the Norther Group by Gen. Mihăescu. At the same time, the Romanian 7th division was transported from the Hungarian front to the Russian front in Northern Moldavia.
The Hungarian attack on Czechoslovakia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. By attacking Czechoslovak troops
Czechoslovak Legions
The Czechoslovak Legions were volunteer armed forces composed predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks fighting together with the Entente powers during World War I...
, he tried to gain support from within Hungary, by making good on his promise to restore Hungary's borders. Kun also sought to establish a link to his Bolshevik allies in Russia. Internationally he argued that he acted on the belief that granting the territory where Hungarians were an ethnic majority to the newly-formed Czechoslovakia following World War I was unjust.
Strengthening the Hungarian army
To strengthen the army, Kun's regime recruited heavily from the male population between 19 and 25 years of age in the areas left under his control. Also many workers (mainly from the Budapest industrial area) joined the army. He also enlisted many former Austro-Hungarian officers, who joined the army out of patriotic rather than ideological reasons. For the offensive in Upper HungaryUpper Hungary
Upper Hungary is the usual English translation for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia...
(today's Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
), the Hungarians concentrated two divisions, the 1st and the 5th, totaling 40 battalions with plenty of artillery.
Military operations. A Romanian perspective
On the 20 of May the Hungarians, under the lead of Colonel Aurél Stromfeld, attacked in force and routed the Czechoslovak troops in MiskolcMiskolc
Miskolc is a city in northeastern Hungary, mainly with heavy industrial background. With a population close to 170,000 Miskolc is the fourth largest city of Hungary It is also the county capital of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and the regional centre of Northern Hungary.- Geography :Miskolc is located...
. The Romanian Command tried to hold the link to the Czechoslovak Army and attacked the Hungarian flank with some troops from the 16th infantry division and the 2nd Vânători division. However, this action was to no avail and it could not stop the rout of the Czechoslovak Army. The Romanians retreated to their bridgehead at Tokaj
Tokaj
Tokaj , is a historical town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, 54 kilometers from county capital Miskolc. It is the centre of the famous Tokaj-Hegyalja wine district where the world famous Tokaji wine is produced.- History :...
and defended their position against Hungarian attacks between 25 and 30 May. The Hungarian attack against the Czechoslovak Army evolved well and consequently the Romanian troops in the North were in danger of being outflanked. On the 3 of June, the Romanians were thus forced to retreat from Tokaj on the east bank of Tisza, destroying all bridges over the river in the process and breaking any contact with the Hungarian troops. To deal with the danger of being outflanked and hinder the communication between the Hungarians and the Soviets, the Romanian troops along Tisza extended their defense line further north and linked with the troops of the Romanian 8th division, which since the 22 of May had advanced from Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
to meet them.
Aftermath
The success of their attack on newly forming Czechoslovak state allowed the Hungarian Reds, besides regaining Upper Hungary, to also create a puppet Slovak Soviet RepublicSlovak Soviet Republic
The Slovak Soviet Republic comprised a very short-lived communist state in south and eastern Slovakia from 16 June to 7 July 1919, with its capital in...
. At the end of the operations, the Hungarian Army had reached the old frontiers
Greater Hungary
Greater Hungary can refer to:*The Kingdom of Hungary before 1920, informally also known as "Greater Hungary" or "Historic Hungary".*Greater Hungary , an official political goal of the Hungarian state between the two World Wars and a political goal of small marginalized groups today.*Hungary during...
in the northeastern Carpathians. In the northwest, the campaign reoccupied important industrial regions around Miskolc
Miskolc
Miskolc is a city in northeastern Hungary, mainly with heavy industrial background. With a population close to 170,000 Miskolc is the fourth largest city of Hungary It is also the county capital of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and the regional centre of Northern Hungary.- Geography :Miskolc is located...
, Salgótarján
Salgótarján
Salgótarján is a city with county rights in Nógrád county, north-eastern Hungary.-Location:At the foot of Karancs mountain, in the Cserhát hills, 250 meters above sea level, north-east from Budapest, west from Miskolc...
and Selmecbánya
Banská Štiavnica
Banská Štiavnica is a town in central Slovakia, in the middle of an immense caldera created by the collapse of an ancient volcano. For its size, the caldera is known as Štiavnica Mountains. Banská Štiavnica has a population of more than 10,000. It is a completely preserved medieval town...
. They also started to plan to march against the Romanian Army in the east.
Involvement of Bolshevik Russia
On the 9 of April 1918, Bessarabia united with Romania.Union of Bessarabia with Romania
On , the Sfatul Ţării, or National Council, of Bessarabia proclaimed union with the Kingdom of Romania.-Governorate of Bessarabia:The 1812 Treaty of Bucharest between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empires provided for Russian annexation of the eastern half of the territory of the Principality...
The unification act that brought these old Romanian lands within the modern Romanian state was not recognized by the Bolshevik Russia, and later it was challenged by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
as unlawful. Having to fight the Whites
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
, the Poles, the Ukrainians
Ukrainian War of Independence
The Ukrainian War of Independence was a series of military conflicts between Ukrainian, Anarchist, Bolshevik, the Central Powers forces of Germany and Austria-Hungary, the White Russian Volunteer Army, and Second Polish Republic forces for control of the territory of modern Ukraine after the...
and later an allied invasion
Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War
The Allied intervention was a multi-national military expedition launched in 1918 during World War I which continued into the Russian Civil War. Its operations included forces from 14 nations and were conducted over a vast territory...
in that region, the Red Army had no resources available to seriously threaten Romania at that time. The Russian hopes to use Otaman Grigoriev
Nikifor Grigoriev
Nikifor Grigoriev was born Nychypir Servetnyk in a small village of Zastavlia was a paramilitary leader noted for numerous switching of sides and anti-Semitism...
for an expedition against Romania were shattered after much procrastination and later refusal of the rogue general. Furthermore, numerous peasant uprisings took place near Kiev.
Before the communist takeover in Hungary, the Bolsheviks used the Odessa Soviet Republic
Odessa Soviet Republic
Odessa Soviet Republic was a short-lived Soviet republic formed out of parts the Kherson and Bessarabia Governorates of the former Russian Empire....
as a buffer state to invade Romania, which only turned into several sporadic attacks over the Dniester
Dniester
The Dniester is a river in Eastern Europe. It runs through Ukraine and Moldova and separates most of Moldova's territory from the breakaway de facto state of Transnistria.-Names:...
river in order to reclaim the territory of the former Bessarabia Governorate
Bessarabia Governorate
Bessarabia was an oblast and later a guberniya in the Russian Empire. It was the eastern part of the Principality of Moldavia annexed by Russia by the Treaty of Bucharest following the Russo-Turkish War, 1806-1812...
. A somewhat similar role was taken later by the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which covered roughly the territory of the present-day Transnistria
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
. During that period of time the Romanian Army was being reorganized and such attacks were more or less successful. However, they were always met with force by the Romanian troops stationed in Bessarabia, which managed on all occasions to throw the Bolsheviks back over the Dniester (see Iona Yakir
Iona Yakir
Iona Emmanuilovich Yakir was the Red Army commander and one of the world's major military reformers between World War I and World War II.-Early years:...
). After the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...
the Soviet forces were pushed out of neighboring Ukraine eastward and until late 1918 were no longer a threat.
A Hungarian perspective
After coming to power, the Hungarian Reds had high hopes that Soviet Union would help them by attacking Romania in Bessarabia. Indeed the Soviets applied pressure on Romania at the political level to the best of their abilities, issuing ultimatums and threatening with war. To some extent the Red Army tried also to fulfill such expectations, but what it did never amounted to a threat big enough to have a serious impact on Romanians' military operations against communist Hungary. The most notable achievement was the transfer of one Romanian division from the Hungarian front to Bessarabia. Also some newly formed Romanian formations were sent to Bessarabia to face the Soviet Red Army rather than in Transylvania to face the Hungarian Red Army.Military operations in Bessarabia in 1919
A major attack took place at the end of January 1919, when the Bolsheviks pushing the Ukrainian Army towards Zbruch managed to take control of the Romanian city of HotinKhotyn
Khotyn is a city in Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine, and is the administrative center of Khotyn Raion within the oblast, and is located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. According to the 2001 Ukrainian census, it has a population of 11,124...
. They held the city for a few days before being routed by the Romanian Army. After that, starting February 1919, enough Romanian troops were present in Bessarabia to thwart most attack attempts. The situation was further eased by the fact that the Bolsheviks lacked the resources to seriously threaten Bessarabia. At that moment they had to deal with the advancing Armed Forces of South Russia
Armed Forces of South Russia
The Armed Forces of South Russia was formed on the 8th of January 1919, it incorporated many of the smaller formations of the White army in that area under them, including the Volunteer Army ....
led by Anton Denikin. Furthermore, a French–Greek army of five divisions (three French and two Greek) under the command of the French general d'Anselme and with support from some Polish, Ukrainian and Russian volunteers, attacked near Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
in western Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
. All these events led to a calm-down of the situation in Bessarabia over most of the next two months.
In support of the allied attack, Romanian troops of the 39th regiment occupied Tiraspol
Tiraspol
Tiraspol is the second largest city in Moldova and is the capital and administrative centre of the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic . The city is located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River...
on the 21 of March. Fighting at the same time in Transylvania, the Romanian Army could not provide more soldiers. In April, however, the army under general d'Anselme was defeated at Berzov by the Soviet 3rd Army and forced to retreat towards Odessa. With the change of government in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
the allied forces were ordered to withdraw from Odessa later that month. Most of the Entente forces retreated by ship abandoning part of their heavy equipment. Some troops, together with their Russian and Ukrainian allies, retreated through southern Bessarabia. At the same time, the Romanian Army started fortifying its positions in Bessarabia in preparation of a possible Bolshevik large-scale attack.
On the 1st of May, the Russian Bolshevik foreign minister Georgy Chicherin
Georgy Chicherin
Georgy Vasilyevich Chicherin was a Marxist revolutionary and a Soviet politician. He served as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs in the Soviet government from March 1918 to 1930.-Childhood and early career:...
issued an ultimatum to the Romanian government, asking it to evacuate Bessarabia and threatening with the use of force in case of non-compliance. At the same time more Bolshevik troops were concentrating along the Dniester. Anotonov-Ovsiyenko planned for a massive charge on May 10, 1919. By this they tried to ease the pressure against the Hungarian Bolsheviks, forcing the Romanian Army to prepare for an attack in the East. This is why the Romanians brought the 7th division as reinforcement from the Tisza front into Bessarabia.
After the ultimatum, the attacks on the Romanian troops in Bessarabia intensified, peaking on 27–28 May when a few hundreds of Bolshevik troops attacked Tighina
Tighina
Bender or Bendery, also known as Tighina is a city within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova under de facto control of the unrecognized Transnistria Republic since 1992...
. In preparation of this attack, they threw manifestos out of a plane, inviting the allied troops to fraternize with them. However, only 60 French soldiers switched sides and supported the Russians crossing the Dniester. The Bolsheviks managed to enter Tighina, but were repulsed later that day by the Romanians with the help of some French troops in town.
To counter the Bolshevik threat, two more Romanian divisions were sent in the area: the 4th and the 5th infantry divisions. Furthermore, a territorial command was organized in southern Bessarabia, consisting mainly of the 15th infantry division. Starting end of June the situation calmed down in Bessarabia.
Phase III: July 1919 – August 1919
The Allied council was deeply displeased by the Romanian advance to the Tisza without Allied approval. There were even voices blaming the Romanians for the troubles in Hungary and asking for an immediate retreat to the original demarcation line, concomitantly with a downsize of the Romanian Army. The Council tried also to persuade the Romanians to start talks with the Kun government. However, the Romanian government stood by its decision, and argued that the Tisza line was the sole military meaningful demarcation line until the final border line between Romania and Hungary was established and internationally recognized.The Council put pressure on Kun to stop its advances into Czechoslovakia, under the threat of a coordinated attack of the French, Serb and Romanian troops from the South and the East respectively. They also promised a favorable attitude towards Soviet Hungary in the peace talks to follow, and in delineating Hungary's new borders. On the 12th of June, these borders were brought to the attention of the governments of Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Hungary. Under these circumstances, Hungary signed an armistice with Czechoslovakia on the 23rd of June and by July 4, the Hungarian troops retreated 15 km south of the demarcation line. The Council demanded that the Romanians leave Tiszántúl
Tiszántúl
Tiszántúl region is a geographical term referring to the area of Hungary which lies to the east of the Tisza river and the eastern borders of Hungary. It is a mainly a flat area, being part of the Great Hungarian Plain. The area is divided by the tributaries of the Tisza: the Körös and Maros rivers...
and retreat also to their new borders, but the Romanians replied that they would comply only after the Hungarian Army would have demobilized. Upon hearing the Romanian demands from the Council representatives, Kun answered that from now on he would rely solely on the might of his army.
This new turn of events swung the Council against Kun, and on the 11th of July it decided to start a coordinated attack of the Serb, French and Romanian troops against Soviet Hungary. The planning for this attack was entrusted to Marshal Foch. However, immediately after the Czechoslovak armistice, Hungary started to mobilize its army against the Romanians along Tisza and on the 17th of July the Hungarians were the first to strike.
The opposing forces
The Romanians were facing the Hungarians on a front of some 250 km, along the Tisza, from south of SzegedSzeged
' is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county town of Csongrád county. The University of Szeged is one of the most distinguished universities in Hungary....
, where they were neighboring with French and Serb troops, up to north of Tokaj
Tokaj
Tokaj , is a historical town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, 54 kilometers from county capital Miskolc. It is the centre of the famous Tokaj-Hegyalja wine district where the world famous Tokaji wine is produced.- History :...
, where they were neighboring with Czechoslovak troops.
In comparison to April 1919, the Hungarian Army facing the Romanians now along the Tisza
Tisza
The Tisza or Tisa is one of the main rivers of Central Europe. It rises in Ukraine, and is formed near Rakhiv by the junction of headwaters White Tisa, whose source is in the Chornohora mountains and Black Tisa, which springs in the Gorgany range...
river had greatly improved. It was better organized and equipped, and it had a high morale as it fought for its motherland. The morale was further boosted by the successes against the Czechoslovak Army. The communists held control of the army command through their political commissar
Political commissar
The political commissar is the supervisory political officer responsible for the political education and organisation, and loyalty to the government of the military...
ies, but they were supported by experienced professional officers. At division level and below mostly professional officers were in command. The Hungarians mustered 100 infantry battalions, with some 50,000 men, 10 cavalry squadrons with 1365 men, 69 artillery batteries of calibers ranging up to 305 mm, and nine armored trains. The troops were organized for attack into three groups, North, Central and South, with the Central group being the strongest. They planned to cross the Tisza with all three groups, and then advance towards Satu Mare, Oradea
Oradea
Oradea is the capital city of Bihor County, in the Crișana region of north-western Romania. The city has a population of 204,477, according to the 2009 estimates. The wider Oradea metropolitan area has a total population of 245,832.-Geography:...
and Arad
Arad, Romania
Arad is the capital city of Arad County, in western Romania, in the Crişana region, on the river Mureş.An important industrial center and transportation hub, Arad is also the seat of a Romanian Orthodox archbishop and features two universities, a Romanian Orthodox theological seminary, a training...
respectively, expecting to ignite a communist revolt in Romania, as well and counting on some form of support from the Soviet Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
, which they hoped would launch an all-out attack into Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
, on Romania's eastern border.
The Romanian Army had some 92 battalions with some 48,000 men, 58 cavalry squadrons with 12,000 men, some 80 artillery batteries of calibers ranging up to 155 mm, two armored trains, as well as some support units. They were positioned along three lines. The first line included the 16th division in the north and the 18th division in the south. In the second line more powerful formations were located, the 2nd Vânători division in the North, concentrated in and around Nyíregyháza
Nyíregyháza
- Tourist sights :Nyíregyháza also has several museums and exhibitions, showing the city's rich cultural heritage.* Collection of the International Medallion Art and Small Sculpture Creative Community of Nyíregyháza-Sóstó – periodic exhibitions of works of contemporary artists-Twin towns — Sister...
, and the 1st Vânători division in the south, concentrated in and around Békéscsaba
Békéscsaba
Békéscsaba is a city in Southeast Hungary, the capital of the county Békés.- Geography :According to the 2001 census, the city has a total area of .- Name :...
. The third line included the most powerful Romanian formations and had to be used as maneuvering mass; it was composed of the 1st and 6th infantry divisions, 1st and 2nd cavalry divisions, as well as some support units. These troops took positions along the railway link stretching from Carei, through Oradea, up to north of Arad. The 20th and the 21st infantry divisions were tasked with maintaining the security and public order behind the third line. The first line was rather thin, as it was supposed to fight delay actions until the true intentions of the attacking Hungarians were to be revealed. After that, together with the troops in the second line they were to hold the attackers until the counterattack of the troops in the third line could commence. For such maneuvering actions, the Romanian command planned to make use of the railway links in their control and had prepared a sufficient number of trains. The Romanians were also highly motivated, fighting for their dream to unify (into a single country) all the lands inhabited by ethnic Romanians. This long yearned dream was now supported by Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
's principles of self-determination
Self-determination
Self-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...
and nation state. Most soldiers were experienced World War I veterans.
The Hungarian attack
Fighting on the flanks
In the North, on 20 July, the Hungarians took Rakamaz and some villages around it. Troops of the Romanian 16th division took back the villages but managed to retake Rakamaz only the next day, with the help of the 2nd Vânători division. However, the Hungarians renewed their efforts and, supported by their artillery, retook Rakamaz and two villages around it, but could not break out of the bridgehead. Therefore, they tried to outflank the Romanian positions and cross the Tisza further south at TiszafüredTiszafüred
Tiszafüred is a town in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county, in the Northern Great Plain region of central Hungary.-Geography:It covers an area of and has a population of 13,953 people .-External links:*...
with troops of the 80th international brigade but they were stopped there by troops of the Romanian 16th division. The Romanians brought also some troops of the 20th infantry division into combat and managed to clear the bridgehead at Tiszafüred on 24 July. Not being able to break out of Rakamaz, the Hungarians started fortifying their positions and redeployed some troops somewhere else. There was a lull in fighting in the north, as the Romanians followed suit. Only on 26 July did the Romanians attack again and after some violent fighting that held until 10:00 PM, managed to clear the Hungarian bridgehead. After this, the Romanians were in complete control of the northern part of the Tisza's eastern bank.
In the south, the Hungarian 2nd division needed two days to take Szentes, which was being hold by the 89th and the 90th regiments of the Romanian 18th division. On 21 and 22 July, Hódmezővásárhely
Hódmezovásárhely
Hódmezővásárhely , Romanian: Ioneşti) is a city in south-east Hungary, on the Great Hungarian Plain, at the meeting point of the Békés-Csanádi Ridge and the clay grassland surrounding the river Tisza...
changed hands several times between Hungarian troops and Romanian troops of the 90th infantry regiment supported by the 1st Vânători brigade. Then on 23 July, the Romanians finally reoccupied Hódmezővásárhely, Szentes
Szentes
-External links:* * http://www.szentes.hu/index1-eng.htm*...
and Mindszent
Mindszent
Mindszent is a town in Csongrád county, in the Southern Great Plain region of southern Hungary.-Geography:It covers an area of and has a population of 7031 people ....
, thus throwing the Hungarians back over the Tisza and ending the fighting in this sector of the front. This allowed the Romanians to take the 1st Vânători brigade from the south front and use it in the center, where the Hungarian attack was progressing very well.
Fighting in the center
On the 20th of July, the Hungarians managed to establish a solid bridgehead on the east bank of the Tisza across SzolnokSzolnok
Szolnok is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. Its location on the banks of the Tisza river, at the heart of the Great Hungarian Plain, has made it an important cultural and economic crossroads for centuries....
, despite the opposition of the Romanian 91st regiment of the 18th infantry division. The attackers brought the entire 6th and 7th divisions within the bridgehead and overwhelmed the troops in the first line of defense. The Hungarian 6th infantry division attacked to the east and took Törökszentmiklós
Törökszentmiklós
Törökszentmiklós is a town in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county, in the Northern Great Plain region of central Hungary. It is the third largest settlement in the county.-Geography:It covers an area of and has a population of 23,145 people ....
, while the 7th division advanced towards Mezőtúr
Mezotúr
Mezőtúr is a town of Hungary, in the county of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, 88 m. southeast of Budapest by rail. It possesses important potteries. Large herds of cattle are reared on the communal lands, which are productive also of wheat, rapeseed and maize...
. At the same time, the 5th division was brought over the Tisza and attacked towards Túrkeve
Túrkeve
Túrkeve is a town in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county, in the Northern Great Plain region of central Hungary.-Geography:It covers an area of and has a population of 10,181 people ....
. On the 22nd of July, the Hungarians advanced towards Kunhegyes
Kunhegyes
Kunhegyes is a town in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Hungary. It is located at around ....
, after crossing the Tisza some 20 km north of Szolnok and defeating the Romanian 18th Vânători regiment. The Romanian troops of the 18th division were reinforced with formations from the second line, including some troops from the 1st cavalry division, and the entire 2nd Vânători brigade. On the 23rd of July, the Hungarians manage to take Túrkeve and Mezőtúr. On the night of the 23rd of July, the Hungarians controlled a 80 km-wide, 60 km-deep chunk of the right bank of the Tiza, opposite of Szolnok. Facing them to the east and to the south were the troops of the Romanian first and second line. To the north, a Romanian maneuver group was forming with troops from the third Romanian line, including the 1st infantry division of Gen. Obogeanu in the center, the 6th infantry division under Gen. Olteanu to the left and the 2nd cavalry division of Gen. Davidoglu to the right of the group, along Tisza.
The Romanian counterattack
The Romanian maneuver group attacked on the morning of the 24th of July. Elements of the 2nd cavalry division, supported by troops of the 18th infantry division took KunhegyesKunhegyes
Kunhegyes is a town in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Hungary. It is located at around ....
. The Romanian 1st infantry division attacked the Hungarian 6th infantry division head-on and pushed them back, managing to take Fegyvernek
Fegyvernek
Fegyvernek is a village in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county, in the Northern Great Plain region of central Hungary.-Geography:It covers an area of and has a population of 7087 people ....
. The Romanian 6th division was less successful, being counterattacked on the left flank by the Hungarian reserve formations. In total, on the 24th of July, the Romanians managed to push the Hungarians back some 20 km and retake the initiative. They reinforced the maneuver group with troops from the North, which became available when the fighting decreased in intensity there. These included the 2nd Vânători division and some cavalry units. The Romanian troops along the entire front received the order to attack the enemy the next day. On the 25th of July the fighting continued, being particularly violent on the front of the Romanian 1st infantry division, in and around Fegyvernek, where the Hungarians chose to counterattack. Towards the end of the day, the Romanians maneuver group started breaking through the Hungarian positions in the north. Also, Hungarian positions in the south were overrun. The Hungarians started a general retreat towards the Tisza bridge in front of Szolnok, which they blew up on the 26th of July in order to stop the Romanians from following them. On the evening of 26 July, the entire east bank of the Tisza was again under firm Romanian control.
The Romanians cross the Tisza
The debacle of the Hungarian Army
The Romanians occupy Budapest
The Romanians continued their push towards Budapest. The first Romanian units to enter Budapest on the evening of the 3rd of August were three squadrons of the 6th cavalry regiment of the 4th brigade, under the command of Gen. Rusescu. The 400 men with two artillery guns were the only forces to occupy the city until midday on the 4th of August, when the bulk of the Romanian forces entered Budapest and a parade took place through the center of the city in front of their commander, Gen. Moşoiu. The Romanian troops continued their advance until they stopped in GyőrGyor
-Climate:-Main sights:The ancient core of the city is Káptalan Hill at the confluence of three rivers: the Danube, Rába and Rábca. Püspökvár, the residence of Győr’s bishops can be easily recognised by its incomplete tower. Győr’s oldest buildings are the 13th-century dwelling tower and the...
.
Casualties, prisoners and war booty
The third phase of the Hungarian–Romanian War saw the most intense fighting of the entire conflict. The Romanians lost 123 officers and 6,434 soldiers: 39 officers and 1,730 soldiers dead, 81 officers and 3,125 soldiers wounded and three officers and 1,579 soldiers missing. Until the 8th of August 1919, they captured 1,235 officers and 40,000 soldiers, seized 350 guns, including two with a caliber of 305 mm, 332 machine guns, 52,000 rifles and 87 airplanes. They also seized large quantities of ammunition, and means of transportation.Aftermath
On the 2nd of August 1919, Bela Kun fled Hungary towards the Austrian border and eventually reached the Soviet Union. A socialist government under the leadership of Gyula PeidlGyula Peidl
Gyula Peidl was a Hungarian trade union leader and socialist politician who served briefly as the last prime minister and acting head of state of the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919....
was installed in Budapest with the help of some representatives of the Allied council, but it was short-lived. Power was taken then by a nationalistic group trying to instate Archduke Josef
Archduke Joseph August of Austria
Archduke Joseph August Viktor Klemens Maria of Austria, Prince of Hungary and Bohemia was for a short period head of state of Hungary, a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and the eldest son of Archduke Joseph Karl of Austria and his wife Princess Clotilde of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
as head of state and István Friedrich
István Friedrich
István Friedrich was a Hungarian politician and factory owner who served as prime minister of Hungary for three months in 1919....
as prime minister. However, the Allies would not accept a Habsburg as head of state and hence a new government was needed. The Romanians occupied all Hungary, with the exception of a piece of land around the Balaton
Balaton
Balaton may refer to:* Lake Balaton in Hungary, the largest lake in central Europe* Balaton Principality , a Slavic state* Balaton , a Hungarian microcar* Balaton, Minnesota, a city in the United States* 2242 Balaton, a main-belt asteroid...
lakes. There, a far-right nationalist group formed around Admiral Horthy
Miklós Horthy
Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya was the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary during the interwar years and throughout most of World War II, serving from 1 March 1920 to 15 October 1944. Horthy was styled "His Serene Highness the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary" .Admiral Horthy was an officer of the...
was preparing to take over after the Romanians would eventually leave. The troops supporting Horthy were supplied with arms by the Romanian Army. In the regions under their control, the Romanians took over police and administration duties.
The terms of the Romanian-imposed armistice were harsh on Hungary. When the Romanian troops finally departed Budapest at the beginning of 1920, they took extensive booty, including food, trucks, locomotives and railroad cars, and factory equipment, in revenge for the Central Powers' plundering of Romania during the war. The Hungarians had to cede all war materials, excepting those weapons necessary for the troops under Horthy's command. Furthermore, they had to hand over to the Romanians their entire armament industry, 50% of the rolling stock of the Hungarian railroad, 30% of the livestock, 30% of all agricultural tools, and 35,000 wagons of cereals and animal feed. Also all the goods identified as war booty taken from Romania after the Peace of Bucharest in 1918 were confiscated.
The entire Hungarian–Romanian War of 1919 was waged over a period of nine months. The Romanians lost 188 officers and 11,478 soldiers, out of which 69 officers and 3,601 soldiers dead. The Romanians started retreating from Hungary in November 1919. Between February 14 and March 28, 1920 all Romanian Army units left the Hungarian territory.
Order of battle
- Phase I
- Romanian Army
- 1st Vânători division
- 2nd Vânători division
- 7th Vânători division
- 6th infantry division
- 16th infantry division
- 18th infantry division
- Romanian Army
- Phase II
- Romanian Army
- Northern Group (gen. Mosoiu)
- gen. Olteanu Group
- two infantry battalions
- one cavalry brigade
- one artillery battery
- 2nd cavalry division (Baia Mare)
- 7th Vânători division (Zalău)
- 6th infantry division (Huedin)
- Group Reserve
- 16th infantry division (Dej)
- gen. Olteanu Group
- Southern Group (gen. Mărdărescu)
- 2nd Vânători division (Roşia)
- Beiuş regiment
- Group Reserve
- 1st Vânători division (Deva)
- Army Reserve
- 18th infantry division
- Northern Group (gen. Mosoiu)
- Romanian Army
- Phase III
- Romanian Army
- Northern Group
- 16th infantry division (first line)
- 2nd Vânători division
- Southern Group
- 18th infantry division (first line)
- 1st Vânători division
- Army Reserve
- 1st infantry division
- 6th infantry division
- 20th infantry division
- 21st infantry division
- 1st cavalry division
- 2nd cavalry division
- Northern Group
- Hungarian Army
- Northern Group (Tokaj)
- 2nd Székely brigade
- 3rd Székely brigade
- 39th infantry battalion
- Szanto detachment
- Group Reserve (Miskolc)
- 1st infantry division
- Central Group (Szolnok)
- 5th infantry division
- 6th infantry division
- 7th infantry division
- 80th international inf. brigade
- Group Reserve (Cegléd)
- half of the 3rd infantry division
- South Group (Csongrád)
- 2nd infantry division
- Group Reserve (Kistelek)
- 4th infantry division
- Army Reserve (Abony-Cegléd)
- half of the 3rd infantry division
- one cavalry regiment
- Northern Group (Tokaj)
- Romanian Army