The Battle of Segesvár (
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
, now
Sighișoara,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
), also called the Battle of
Fehéregyháza, was a battle in the
Hungarian Revolution of 1848, fought on 31 July 1849 between the
Hungarian revolutionary army under the command of Lieutenant General
Józef Bem and the
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n V Corps under General
Alexander von Lüders
Count Alexander Nikolayevich Liders (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Ли́дерс, tr. ; 14 January 1790 – 2 February 1874), better known as Alexander von Lüders, was a Russian general and Namestnik of the Kingdom of Pol ...
. The battle ended with the victory of the Russian army, which was presumably the death location of
Hungarian poet and national hero
Sándor Petőfi, though his body was never found. Furthermore, The
Chief of Staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
Russian V corps, General
Grigory Skariatin
Grigory Yakovlevich Skariatin (russian: Григорий Яковлевич Скарятин; 1808 – Segesvár,now Sighisoara, Romania July 9 or July 31, 1849) was a Russian Major general.
On February 3, 1849, on the command of his superior, ...
was killed at the battle. Although heavy, the defeat was not decisive for the Hungarian army of Transylvania, Lieutenant General Józef Bem continuing his resistance in this province until the
Battle of Nagycsűr from 6 August 1849.
Background
Between 20–21 July, after several battles, Lieutenant General Józef Bem chased out the Austrian corps of Transylvania commanded by General
Eduard Clam-Gallas
Count Eduard Clam-Gallas (, in Prague – , in Vienna) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian general. He was the eldest son of Count Christian Christoph Clam-Gallas (1771–1838), patron of Ludwig van Beethoven, Beethoven, and Countess Josephine Clary ...
from
Székely Land. Then, on 23 July, passing the Ojtoz pass, he broke into
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...
, where he defeated the Russian troops of General Ustrugov, advanced to
Onești and
Târgu Ocna, making a proclamation to the people from here.
[.] Seeing that the population had no will to rise up against the Russians, he returned to
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
.
[Bánlaky József]
A segesvári csata. 1849. július 31-én. A magyar nemzet hadtörténete XXI
Arcanum Adatbázis Kft. 2001 His next plan was to take back
Nagyszeben
Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...
and the
Vöröstorony Pass.
On 19–20 June the Russians broke into Transylvania, scoring some victories against the Hungarian forces, but Bem, with his clever tactical movements, managed to prevent them from accomplishing their task of pacifying the Székely Land and breaking into Hungary in order to attack from behind the Hungarian troops fighting against the main Austrian army, led by
Lieutenant Field Marshal
Lieutenant field marshal, also frequently historically field marshal lieutenant (german: Feldmarschall-Leutnant, formerly , historically also and, in official Imperial and Royal Austrian army documents from 1867 always , abbreviated ''FML''), was ...
Julius Jacob von Haynau
Julius Jakob Freiherr von Haynau (14 October 1786 – 14 March 1853) was an Austrian general who suppressed insurrectionary movements in Italy and Hungary in 1848 and later. While a hugely effective military leader, he also gained renown as an agg ...
, and the Russian army led by
Field Marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
Ivan Paskevich.
The commander of the V. Russian corps, General Alexander von Lüders, was forced for the third time to return from the
Maros
Maros is a town in the South Sulawesi province of Indonesia close to the provincial capital of Makassar. It is the capital of the Maros Regency.
Maros is the location of the Indonesian Cereals Research Institute, a branch of the Indonesian A ...
valley because Bem threatened to cut his supply lines in the Székely land.
He decided to eradicate once and for all the resistance from the Székely land, and for this he concentrated all the troops at his disposal: 30,000–35,000 men for a concentric attack against the enemy. For this purpose the army under his command had to advance through Segesvár to
Székelyudvarhely
Odorheiu Secuiesc (; hu, Székelyudvarhely, ; german: Odorhellen) is the second largest municipality in Harghita County, Transylvania, Romania. In its short form, it is also known as ''Odorhei'' in Romanian and ''Udvarhely'' in Hungarian. The Hun ...
the column of General Magnus Johann von Grotenhjelm to
Marosvásárhely, the Austrian corps led by General Clam-Gallas and the Dannenberg column which had to break into Transylvania by the
Ojtoz Pass to
Csíkszereda, and finally the column of Major General Dyck stationing at
Fogaras
Fogaras was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (south-eastern Transylvania). The county's capital was Fogaras (present-day Făgăraș).
Geography
Fogaras county shared borders ...
to
Kőhalom
Rupea (german: Reps; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Räppes''; hu, Kőhalom, lit=mound of rocks; la, Ripa) is a town in Brașov County in Transylvania, Romania. It administers one village, Fișer (''Schweischer''; ''Sövénység''), which has a fortifi ...
, and to join, if needed, with the main army of Lüders.
Prelude
Lüders's main column, which started its march from
Nagyszeben
Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...
to
Segesvár had 9,100–9,200 soldiers and 32 cannons.
[.] Bem too wanted to crush the Russians also with a concentrated attack. With the column under his command, consisting of the
Beszterce, Nagyszeben and
Székely Székely may refer to:
*Székelys, Hungarian people from the historical region of Transylvania, Romania
**Székely Land, historic and ethnographic area in Transylvania, Romania
* Székely (village), a village in northeastern Hungary
*Székely (sur ...
divisions, the units of the
Kolozsvár and the
brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.
Br ...
of Volonel József Dobay coming from Rika he planned to attack Lüders' Russian troops from three directions.
If all three columns had arrived on the battlefield, Bem would have had around 8000 soldiers at his disposal, while the siege troops from
Gyulafehérvár under the command of Colonel Miksa Stein had to execute a diversion attack towards Nagyszeben.
![G](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/G._Skaryatin.jpg)
But, without Bem's knowing, the troops from Kolozsvár of Colonel Farkas Kemény on 31 July arrived only in Marosvásárhely, while Dobay was beaten on 30 July by the Russian troops of Major General Dyck at
Kőhalom
Rupea (german: Reps; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Räppes''; hu, Kőhalom, lit=mound of rocks; la, Ripa) is a town in Brașov County in Transylvania, Romania. It administers one village, Fișer (''Schweischer''; ''Sövénység''), which has a fortifi ...
.
Initially Bem wanted to march through
Székelykeresztúr towards Székelyudvarhely, but when he heard that Lüders was around Segesvár, he turned towards the same direction.
However, he sent a battalion to help the division of Székely land under the leadership of colonel Sándor Gál, so at the start of the battle he had only 2400 soldiers.
When Bem arrived, he found in Fehéregyháza the Russian vanguard, chasing them out of the village.
Lüders was on the subsequent battlefield when Bem's army arrived in Fehéregyháza from the direction of Székelyudvarhely. Seeing the small number of the Hungarian troops, he could not believe that they wanted to fight, thinking that Bem wanted only to do a
demonstration attack.
At the beginning Lüders believed that Bem wanted to lure all his forces into fighting while the main Hungarian troops would attack him from the direction of Marosvásárhely, so he kept the bulk of his forces on the road coming from this town.
He massed 4500-4600 soldiers (five battalions of infantry, seven cavalry companies and two batteries), augmented with 1000 others to the northern region of the battlefield, to block the road from Marosvásárhely.
The weaker point of the Russian frontline was the Southern section, consisting from the Segesvár forest, because it could be more easily bypassed than the left wing protected by the
Küküllő river.
Here, on the right flank, Lüders placed five
Jäger battalions, one
sapper
A sapper, also called a pioneer (military), pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefie ...
, four cavalry and three Cossack companies and eight cannons to the Eastern exit of Segevár on both sides of the road heading towards Székelykeresztúr.
Here these troops were displayed as follows: three battalions gathered in one mass between the main road and the Nagyküküllő river, another battalion right to the road on the mountain slope, while the fifth battalion was kept in reserve at the Eastern exit of Segesvár, the artillery in the center, while the cavalry was placed behind the left wing, in a loop of the Nagyküküllő, under general Dimidov.
The Hungarian troops deployed on the mostly plain lands between Sárpatak and Ördögpatak (then distinct villages, today they are part of Fehéregyháza), while their left wing in the Ördögerdő, on a hilltop's pronounced slope. The artillery was in the center, on a less steep slope of the same hilltop, between the center and the right wing,
while the bulk of the infantry (seven companies) concentrated on the left wing.
Because Lüders was still waiting for a surprise attack from the direction of Marosvásárhely, he gave the command of the troops facing Bem to Lieutenant General Ivin.
Battle
Bem's artillery started to shoot at the Russian troops at 10 a.m., one of the first cannon balls mortally wounding the Chief of Staff of Lüders's army, Major General Grigory Skariatin,
[.] who some months earlier, on 11 March 1849, was beaten by Bem in the
Battle of Nagyszeben
The Battle of Nagyszeben was a World War I military engagement fought between the forces of the Central Powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary) on one side and the forces of Romania on the other side. It was the decisive engagement during the Battle ...
. The legend says that the shot which killed Skariatin was guided personally by Bem from his horse. This is refuted by the Hungarian historian Róbert Hermann who pointed out the fact that in that period the cannons were not that precise, and aiming on horseback was impossible; it was only possible on foot.
The Hungarian artillerists probably observed the mounted Russian officers on the hill top and shot at them, causing Skariatin's death.
Because Lieutenant General Ivin's task was only to hold his position, he did not try to prevent the deployment of the Hungarian troops while the Hungarian artillery unleashed a devastating cannonade against the Russian light artillery which faced them, and the Russian battalions from the Segesvár forrest,
which he tried to encircle.
The Hungarian soldiers entered the Segesvár forrest, climbed to a height
under the control of a Russian Jäger battalion, shaking their position, but with the arriving reinforcements the Russians managed to push them back in the Ördög (meaning 'Devil') creek valley between the Segesvár forrest and the Ördög forrest. This fight with varying fortune lasted several hours.
![The Battle of Segesvár 31](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/The_Battle_of_Segesv%C3%A1r_31._July_1849.png)
Because of the heavy firing, around 1 p.m. the four cannons of the Székely cavalry battery cracked. These cannons, produced by captain
Áron Gábor
Áron Gábor (27 November 1814 – 2 July 1849) was a Székely Hungarian artillery officer in the 1848-49 Hungarian Revolution. He became one of the leaders of Székely-Hungarian forces in Transylvania during the 1848 revolution against the Aus ...
, the founder of the Székely artillery who died earlier in the
First Battle of Kökös, were produced with not entirely suitable drilling and
turning
Turning is a machining process in which a cutting tool, typically a non-rotary tool bit, describes a helix toolpath by moving more or less linearly while the workpiece rotates.
Usually the term "turning" is reserved for the generation of ...
equipment, as a result of which the interior of their
gun barrel
A gun barrel is a crucial part of gun-type weapons such as small firearms, artillery pieces, and air guns. It is the straight shooting tube, usually made of rigid high-strength metal, through which a contained rapid expansion of high-pressure ...
s were not totally smooth, which made them predisposed to cracking.
As a result of these accidents, Bem remained with only 12 guns.
At 2 p.m. Bem sent from his left wing another two of his infantry companies into the Segesvár forest, the Hungarians attacking the Russian right wing so fiercely that its Russian commander, Colonel Lipski, demanded help from Ivin in order to withstand. The latter sent two Jäger companies, and informed Lüders about this.
![Battle of Segesvár (B](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Battle_of_Segesv%C3%A1r_%28B._Willewalde%29.jpg)
Meanwhile, the patrol sent by Lüders towards Marosvásárhely returned, reporting to him that no Hungarian troops would come from that direction.
Thus understanding that he could attack Bem's army with all his troops, he went from the left wing to the center to take over his troops from Ivin.
During these events Bem decided to make the decisive move to obtain victory, so he sent three infantry companies from his right wing on the left wing to join the attack in the Segesvár forest. On his left wing only three infantry companies and three and a half cavalry companies remained. Lüders observed that Bem strengthened his left wing, weakening his right, so he sent two Jäger companies and a half light battery, which arrived around 5 p.m. to reinforce his left wing. At the same time he replaced his artillery from the center with six guns of a heavy battery. At 4 p.m. Lüders sent four
Uhlan companies and a half light battery against the Hungarian right wing.
[.] The three Hungarian infantry companies crumbled in the fire of the Russian artillery, being stopped and reorganized only in Fehéregyháza.
At 5 p.m. the Russian artillery hit and destroyed Bem's two ammunition wagons.
Around 4 and 5 p.m. the Hungarian left wing consisting of ten companies again attacked the Russian right wing from the Segesvár forest, consisting of 16 companies. The Russians counter-attacked from the back and from the sides the Hungarians, forcing them out of the forest, where they were routed.
![Petofi halala Hegedus Laszlo festmenye 1855 korul](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Petofi_halala_Hegedus_Laszlo_festmenye_1855_korul.jpg)
After the superior Russian artillery defeated the crippled Hungarian artillery, Lüders decided to apply the decisive blow, so he ordered a cavalry charge against the Hungarian right flank under the command of General Dimidov.
Two
uhlan companies attacked the Hungarian infantry, another two the Hungarian cavalry. The attack was so quick that the two companies of Hungarian Hussars, covering the right flank, were unable to change the direction of their line, and also could not achieve the necessary riding speed so the uhlans pushed them back in the village.
The infantry battery withstood for a while by forming a
square, but Dimidov put two cannons to spray them with
canister
Canister may refer to:
* Any container that is roughly cylindrical in shape
* A container for 35mm movie film or 35mm photo film for use in cameras
* Pods used for parachute supply drops
* Gas containers used for riot control
* A perforated metal ...
, breaking their formation, then the uhlans attacked them, killing almost all of them, while the rest routed towards Fehéregyháza.
The Hungarian Hussars tried to regroup and counterattack, but the huge enemy superiority, repulsed them.
The disarray which started on the Hungarian right wing spread on the center, then also on the right wing, thus Bem's whole army was routing towards Fehéregyháza.
The Russian cavalry crossed the Sárpatak creek, and tried to cut off the path of the retreating soldiers.
Bem understood the desperate situation and ordered four companies of the 27th infantry battalion to cover the retreat of the artillery; then he too started to flee.
His whole army was routed. The soldiers from the right wing which were closer to
Nagyküküllő ran towards the northwestern edge of Fehéregyháza: the others ran towards the village's western exit, but there they ran into those who were fleeing back from the left wing, which created massive turmoil.
Meanwhile, a Russian uhlan company turned south, cutting off the path of those who ran towards Monostorkert. Here a company of the Hungarian cavalry ran into their fleeing comrades, riding down many of them.
[.] The horse-pulled retreating Hungarian artillery from the center, near the bridge, turned too quickly on the main road and the guns turned over, blocking the road. Lieutenant Dénes Kozma from the 88th battalion aligned 35 men behind this barricade, and with three salvos chased back the uhlans trying to break into the village.
[.] Kozma then retreated with his men, but in front of the village's tavern he stopped the attacking Russian cavalry in the same way twice.
Bem himself was in grave danger. During the retreat he was wounded,
The Russian cavalry crossed the Sárpatak creek, and tried to cut off the path of the retreating soldiers.
he fell from his horse in a swamp near the road, saved during the night by a Hussar squad which went looking for him.
Aftermath
The defeat was heavy but not fatal. Bem lost 10 % of the Hungarian troops from Transylvania.
He also lost eight cannons, two banners, a large quantity of ammunition, and all the baggage, including Bem's own cart, full of very important documents.
The importance of the defeat was augmented by a symbolic loss: the death of Bem's
adjutant
Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...
, Hungarian national poet
Sándor Petőfi.
On 1 August Bem's army united with the Kolozsvár and Beszterce divisions, and decided that he would prevent Lüders from attacking Székely Land, his base of operations.
On 5 August Bem attacked Lieutenant General Hasford's Russian troops, defeating them in the
Third Battle of Nagyszeben, chasing them as far as the Vöröstorony Pass.
But Lüders reacted quickly to Bem's maneuver, arriving on 6 August in Nagyszeben, and defeating him decisively at Nagycsűr, this battle bringing the end of Bem's resistance in Transylvania.
A day after Bem's defeat at Segevár the Austrian corps led by General Eduard Clam-Gallas crushed the 6000-strong Székely division under Colonel Sándor Gál; then, on 2 August they occupied Csíkszereda, while General Magnus Johann von Grotenhjelm took Marosvásárhely.
[.] During the first week of August 1849 the majority of Transylvania fell into the hands of the Russians and Austrians. During the month and a half which passed until the start of the Russian intervention in Transylvania, the losses of the Hungarian Army of Transylvania mounted to 75 % of its soldiers.
Despite these huge losses, Lieutenant General Józef Bem completed his task of keeping the invading enemy troops away from the main theater of the war: Hungary.
Gallery
File:Józef Bem 111.JPG, Józef Zachariasz Bem
File:Luders.jpg, Alexander von Lüders
File:Eduard Clam-Gallas.jpg, Eduard Clam-Gallas
File:Fehéregyháza-a-segesvári csata emlékműve.jpg, Monument of the Battle of Segesvár in Fehéregyháza
File:Segesvári-obeliszk-oldalán.jpg, Inscription on the obelisk of the Battle of Segesvár
File:Petőfi szobra-Fehéregyháza-a csata emlékművénél.jpg, Statue of Sándor Petőfi in Fehéregyháza
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Segesvar
Conflicts in 1849
Segesvar 1849
Segesvar 1849
Segesvar 1849
Military history of Hungary
Hungarian Revolution of 1848
History of Transylvania (1848–1867)
History of Mureș County