The Battle of Szőreg was a battle in the
Hungarian Revolution of 1848
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although th ...
, fought on 5 August 1849 at
Szőreg,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, fought between the Hungarian Revolutionary Army led by
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Henryk Dembiński
Henryk Dembiński ( hu, Dembinszky Henrik; 16 January 1791 – 13 July 1864) was a Polish engineer, traveler and general.
Dembiński was born in Strzałków, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 1809 he entered the Polish army of the Duchy of Wars ...
and the main army of the
Habsburg Empire
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
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 ...
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 ...
. The Austrian army was pressing on
Szeged
Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...
, a well fortified city from Southern Hungary. Dembiński decided to leave the fortifications and retreat to Szőreg near the
Tisza
The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders.
The Tisza be ...
river, where he placed many artillery batteries in the place named Kamaratöltés, preventing the frontal attack of Haynau's troops. The Austrian commanders response was sending his cavalry to cross the Tisza and flank the Hungarian troops. The cavalry managed to cross the river between
Törökkanizsa and
Makó
Makó (, german: Makowa, yi, מאַקאָווע Makowe, ro, Macău or , sk, Makov) is a town in Csongrád County, in southeastern Hungary, from the Romanian border. It lies on the Maros River. Makó is home to 23,272 people and it has an area ...
, then engaged with the Hungarian cavalry in a huge battle around and in Szőreg, in which Dembiński himself was wounded, and the Hungarians retreated. The Hungarians retreated quite safely, because the darkness of the evening came. The outcome of the battle was not serious because of the Hungarian losses, but because of the unity of the army was broken up by the Austro-Russian attack. Thanks to the heroic resistance of some units, the Hungarians avoided the catastrophe. After the battle Dembiński made an even greater mistake. Instead of marching towards North, to
Arad, where the Upper Danube Army led by General
Artúr Görgei
Artúr Görgei de Görgő et Toporc (born Arthur Görgey; hu, görgői és toporci Görgei Artúr, german: Arthur Görgey von Görgő und Toporc; 30 January 181821 May 1916) was a Hungarian military leader renowned for being one of the great ...
was heading, and now, united with them, thus having an important numerical superiority, to try to crush Haynau's army, he headed alone with his troops towards South, to
Temesvár where his army will suffer the decisive defeat from the Austrians.
Background
Starting with June, Hungary's Governor-President
Lajos Kossuth's plan was to concentrate the Hungarian troops in southern Hungary, around
Szeged
Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...
, which created a conflict between him and the Hungarian main commander and minister of war
Artúr Görgei
Artúr Görgei de Görgő et Toporc (born Arthur Görgey; hu, görgői és toporci Görgei Artúr, german: Arthur Görgey von Görgő und Toporc; 30 January 181821 May 1916) was a Hungarian military leader renowned for being one of the great ...
, who wanted to stop the Austrian armies at
Komárom
Komárom (Hungarian: ; german: Komorn; la, Brigetio, later ; sk, Komárno) is a city in Hungary on the south bank of the Danube in Komárom-Esztergom County. Komárno, Slovakia, is on the northern bank. Komárom was formerly a separate villag ...
.
[Görgei Artú]
Életem és működésem Magyarországon 1848-ban és 1849-ben
(2004) The result was that Kossuth deposed Görgei from the ministership, allowing him though to lead the Army of the Upper Danube to the concentration point at Szeged.
Kossuth's order of concentrating around Szeged was followed by other Hungarian troops too: after securing the region of
Bácska with his victory from 14 July in the
Battle of Kishegyes, General
Richard Guyon
Richard de Beaufré count, comte de Guyon (1813 – 12 October 1856) was a British people, British-born Hungarian people, Hungarian soldier, general in the Hungary, Hungarian revolutionary army and Turkish pasha (Kurshid Pasha).
Biograp ...
arrived there with the IV. corps, joining together with the Army of the Middle Tisza of General
Mór Perczel
Sir Mór Perczel de Bonyhád ( hu, Bonyhádi lovag Perczel Mór, german: link=no, Ritter Moritz Perczel von Bonyhád; 11 November 1811, Bonyhád, Tolna county – 23 May 1899, Bonyhád), was a Hungarian landholder, general, and one of the lea ...
and the units of the Reserve Corps, concentrating there 48,000 soldiers.
[.] Szeged and its environs were protected by a wide, but not totally finished system of fortifications.
In addition to this, the region from
Orsova to the Tisza-Danube confluence, was protected by the 7000 soldiers of Colonel József Kollmann, the left bank of the Lower Tisza was guarded by the 7000 men strong troops of
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
György Kmety
György Kmety ( Felsőpokorágy, – London, ) was a general in the Hungarian Army, and in the Ottoman Army under the name Ismail Pasha.
Career
Kmety's father was a noble but poor evangelist vicar who died in 1818, so his brother (Pau ...
and the 5000 soldiers of Colonel Lajos Bene. The Austrian held fortress of Temesvár was encircled by the 9300 soldiers of Major General Károly Vécsey, and the fortress of Arad was held by a 1500 strong Hungarian garrison. So the province of
Bánság
Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of ...
was held by around 78,000 Hungarian soldiers.
After his victory at the
Third Battle of Komárom from 11 July, Field Marshal Julius Jacob von Haynau, on 16 July marched from Komárom towards Budapest. Initially he left two corps (28,000 soldiers, 114 cannons) at Komárom, but shortly after that he ordered to one of them (I. corps led by General
Franz Schlik
Franz Joseph von Schlik of Bassano and Weisskirchen (Prague, 23
May 1789 – Vienna, 17 March 1862) was a Count and General officer, general in the Austrian Empire. He was one of the most successful Austrian generals during the ...
) to march to Budapest, and join his troops.
[.] Thanks to this, between 21-24 July Haynau started his march towards Szeged with 46,000 soldiers and 284 cannons.
Haynau learned that Görgei was prevented to march towards Szeged through the
Danube–Tisza Interfluve
Danube–Tisza Interfluve is the landscape in Hungarian territory (Hungary and Vojvodina (Vajdaság) in Serbia) in the Pannonian Basin between the Danube and Tisza rivers, east of Transdanubia. It covers a large part of the Great Hungarian Plain ...
by the Russian army in the
Second Battle of Vác, and had to head towards northwest, followed by the Russian main army. This created for him the opportunity to defeat the Hungarians from around Szeged by himself, and in this way he could claim the glory for the Austrians of defeating alone, without the Russian help, the Hungarians.
For this plan he needed all the troops at his disposal, and because of this, despite the fact that he promised to do so, he did not fulfilled the Russians request of sending one of his corps to
Szolnok
Szolnok (; also known by other #Name and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A City with county rights, city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, i ...
to prevent an eventual crossing of Görgei's troops to the left bank of the Tisza.
Another cause of his advance towards Szeged was the defeat of Lieutenant General
Josip Jelačić in the Battle of Kishegyes, which threatened with total Hungarian occupation of southern Hungary east from the Danube, and he was also concerned about the situation of the Austrian garrison of Temesvár, besieged by the Hungarians.
The troops of Haynau marched in three columns through the Danube–Tisza Interfluve towards Szeged. The main column under the personal leadership of Haynau (the Reserve Corps, the Panyutyin-division, the Bechtold cavalry division), followed the
Pest -
Kecskemét
Kecskemét ( , sk, Kečkemét) is a city with county rights central part Hungary. It is the eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun.
Kecskemét lies halfway between the capital Budapest and the country's third ...
- Szeged road, the left wing consisting of the I. corps of General Schlik marched on the rout through
Cegléd
Cegléd (; german: Zieglet) is a city in Pest county, Hungary, approximately southeast of the Hungarian capital, Budapest.
Name
The name of the town is of disputed origin. The name may be derived from the word "szeglet" (meaning "corner") due t ...
–
Nagykőrös
Nagykőrös is a town in Pest County, Hungary.
János Arany taught there from about 1851, and a local museum is named for him.
Notable people
* Szabolcs Czira (b. 1951), politician
* Frigyes Hegedűs (1920–2008), pentathlete
*István Kecskés ...
–
Tiszaalpár –
Szentes
Szentes is a town in south-eastern Hungary, Csongrád county, near the Tisza river. The town is a cultural and educational center of the region.
Notable people
* Árpád Balázs (born 1937), classical music composer
* János Bácskai 1954. novembe ...
–
Hódmezővásárhely – Makó, and finally the right wing under Lieutenant field marshal Georg Heinrich von Ramberg went through
Soltvadkert
Soltvadkert (german: Wadkert; hr, Vakier; yi, וואדקערט) is a town in Bács-Kiskun county in Hungary with approximately 8,000 inhabitants. The former name of the town is ''Vadkert''. It is surrounded by several areas of the Kiskunság Na ...
–
Kiskunhalas
Kiskunhalas (; german: Hallasch) is a city in the county of Bács-Kiskun, Hungary.
Railroad
The city is an important railway junction. It crosses the Budapest-Subotica-Belgrade railway line. The Kiskunfélegyháza railway ends in Kiskunhalas.
...
–
Szabadka towards Törökkanizsa.
[.]
Haynau's plan was to force the Hungarians to retreat from the fortifications around Szeged by crossing, on 4 August, with his left wing 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 Indonesia ...
, and with his right wing the Tisza rivers.
But behind the fortifications from Szeged the Hungarians were in an advantageous central position, being able from there to attack the separated Austrian columns.
But this opportunity was not sensed by the commander Lieutenant General Henryk Dembiński, designated on 30 July for this position after his predecessor Lieutenant General
Lázár Mészáros
General Lázár Mészáros ''(English: Lazarus Mészáros)'' (20 February 1796 in Baja – 16 November 1858 in Eywood), was the Minister of War during the 1848 Hungarian Revolution.
Biography
He was born into a noble family of landowners. Hi ...
resigned.
[.] He took an inexplicable decision to withdraw from the fortifications of Szeged, retreating on the left bank of the Tisza.
Dembiński's decision caused outrage among the Hungarian officers: hearing about this disastrous decision, Lieutenant General
Antal Vetter
Antal Vetter (german: Anton von Doggenfeld Vetter) was a Hungarian general known for his participation in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 18 ...
resigned of the commandement of the Hungarian troops from Southern Hungary.
Despite of this, if Dembiński would had held the Maros-Tisza line, he would had had still a defendable position. But he did not wanted to engage Haynau, so he retreated further East behind the dike from Szőreg which was connecting the Tisza and the Maros, leaving only a couple of cannons and several hundreds of soldiers in the bridgehead from Újszeged (New Szeged).
When Kossuth heard about these decisions of Dembiński and fearing another similar actions, which could periclitate the fate of the Hungarian war of independence, he immediately sent an envoy in
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 ...
to Lieutenant General
Józef Bem
Józef Zachariasz Bem ( hu, Bem József, tr, Murat Pasha; March 14, 1794 – December 10, 1850) was a Polish engineer and general, an Ottoman pasha and a national hero of Poland and Hungary, and a figure intertwined with other European patriot ...
, to come to Szeged, and take over the high commandment from Dembiński.
[Bánlaky József]
A szőregi csata (1849. augusztus 5-én). A magyar nemzet hadtörténete XXI
Arcanum Adatbázis Kft. 2001 In the same time he ordered Dembiński to lead the army in forced march to Arad, and wait for to arrive there, and he ordered to the commander of the siege corps of Temesvár, Major General Károly Vécsey as well to march with his forces to Arad, sending a couple of infantry battalions and hussar companies ahead, to help to defend Arad, threatened by an Austrian corps. In this way Kossuth hoped to gather 80,000 soldiers.
Prelude
At Szőreg, on the northern side of the dike connecting the Maros and Tisza, Dembiński ordered the digging of a 1,2 km long trench, in which he placed 50 cannons, which had the mission to stop the advance of the imperial troops.
This section was defended by the IX. corps, the Polish Legion and a division of the X. corps. In order to stop Schlik's I. corps crossing of the Maros river, at Makó stood the division of the X. corps led by János Lenkey, while at Gyála the IV. corps of Richard Guyon and the Italian Legion of Colonel Alessandro Monti had the duty to prevent the crossing of the Tisza by the III. corps 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''), wa ...
Georg Heinrich von Ramberg.
![Julius J](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Julius_J._von_Haynau.jpg)
Haynau learned about the retreat of the Hungarian troops from their advantageous defensive position from Szeged at 2 August. He sent immediately two of his brigades to occupy it, then in the next day he established there his headquarters.
From here he sent the Bechtold cavalry division to
Martonos to cross the Tisza there, while he, together with the Reserve corps and the Panyutyin-division started the crossing of Tisza at Újszeged.
Haynau gave the task of crossing first the Tisza, to build a bridge on the river, and to secure the bridgehead to two brigades of the Reserve corps and a Russian
Jäger. The commander of the Reserve corps Lieutenant General
Prince Franz de Paula of Liechtenstein
Prince Franz de Paula Joachim Joseph of Liechtenstein (25 February 1802 – 31 March 1887) was a son of Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein, and his princess consort, Landgravine Josepha of Fürstenberg-Weitra. Prince Franz de Paula was a nep ...
ordered an extensive artillery preparation to ease the job of his units. The four cannons of
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment.
The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...
Zsigmond Szijjártó tried to withstand to the six time more numerous Austrian artillery, but when the Russian cannons joined the fight and caught the Hungarians in a crossfire, they were forced to retreat.
Then, from a place North from szeged two Austrian battalions crossed the Tisza on barges to Újszeged, while the brigade of General Ludwig von Benedek crossed the river between the Szeged castle and the bridgehead, and built a bridge.
The Benedek brigade pushed the Hungarian units out of Újszeged, but these dig themselves in the trenches south and east to the locality, and only with the help of the newly arrived Austrian battalions which crossed the Tisza north from Szeged managed Benedek to force them to retreat behind the dike from Szőreg.
During these fights, Dembiński remained totally inactive, despite the fact that his subalterns, like Lieutenant Colonel
Vilmos Lázár
Vilmos Lázár de Szkáros (24 October 1817, Nagybecskerek (present-day Zrenjanin, Serbia) – 6 October 1849, Arad) was a honvéd colonel in the Hungarian Army. He was executed for his part in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, and is conside ...
, begged him to attack the not yet fully deployed Austrians, which could easily drive the enemy back, taking back Újszeged, and push a part of the Austrian troops into the Tisza river.
Dembiński gave, only after the darkness installed, the order of an uncoordinated attack to merely 4 battalions, and these scattered units lost their way, which forced them to retreat.
[.] In that day the Hungarians lost at Újszeged 70 dead, the Austrians lost 4 dead and 19 wounded, while the Russians 3 wounded soldiers.
[.]
![Henryk Dembinski](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Henryk_Dembinski.jpg)
In the night from 3 to 4 August the Austrians finished the bridges, as a result of which their troops from Szeged could cross the river to Újszeged, then they deployed behind its trenches.
The day of 4 August passed peacefully around Szőreg and Újszeged, although Haynau initially wanted to start the decisive attack at that day, but then renounced to it, because he waited for Schlik's and Ramberg's encircling corps to finish their crossings, and to arrive in the vicinity, to influence
the future battle.
His plan was to encircle from south with his cavalry the Hungarian army, and to sweep them up.
The only Austrian
combat arms
Combat arms (or fighting arms in non-American parlance) are troops within national armed forces who participate in direct tactical ground combat. In general, they are units that carry or employ weapons, such as infantry, cavalry, and artillery ...
which was active on 4 August, was the artillery, which continued to shoot at the Hungarian positions the whole day,
responding to the Hungarian artilleries shootings, which started 7.00 a.m. Dembiński, considering the Austrian artilleries response quite weak, he concluded that the Austrians will not start a decisive attack that day, so he continued to make plans to retreat further eastwards.
In the meanwhile the left and right wings of Haynau's army also approached to their objectives. The I. corps led by General Franz Schlik arrived to the Tisza river on 31 July at
Tiszaalpár, then on the next day they crossed unhindered the river, and at
Kunszentmárton
Kunszentmárton is a small town of the county of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, central Hungary.
Geography
Körös River crosses the town from the north-east to the south.
Twin towns – sister cities
Kunszentmárton is twinned with:
* Teterow
Tet ...
also the
Körös
The Körös () or Criș () ( German: ''Kreisch'') is a river in eastern Hungary and western Romania. Its length is from the confluence of its two source rivers Fehér-Körös ('' Crișul Alb'') and Fekete-Körös ('' Crișul Negru'') to its out ...
. On 2 August they reached Szentes, and on the 3. Hódmezővásárhely, then on the 4. they marched towards the Maros, in order to cross the river at Makó.
At Gajdos Schlik's corps found the rearguard of the Hungarian X. corps's Lenkey division. The 1 infantry battalion, 1 Hussar company and 3 cannons strong Hungarian detachment under the leadership of Major Sándor Szerdahelyi managed to hold back the Austrian corps, until the Lenkey division crossed the Maros, then, dismantling the bridge, retreated on the left bank of the river.
Then the Lenkey division retreated to
Zombor, where they took position. Schlik occupied Makó, Apátfalva and Magyarcsanád, and started to rebuild the bridge over the Maros river, finishing it only on 6 August.
The III. corps led by Lieutenant General Ramberg entered in Szabadka on 30 July, then on 2 August in
Magyarkanizsa, and started to prepare the crossing of the Tisza.
But in the afternoon a strong detachment of the IV. corps of Guyon arrived in
Törökkanizsa from the opposite shore of the Tisza.
Ramberg tried to build a bridge further upstream, but on 3 August around the midnight Haynau ordered him to march towards
Horgos, because he heard a rumour that the Hungarians crossed on the right bank of the Tisza, and want to attack his troops from the side.
Ramberg prepared for the departure, even sending one of his brigades to march towards Horgos, but on 4 August Haynau sent him another order to remain at Magyarkanizsa, and to try again to cross the river.
On 5 July at dawn the troops of Ramberg started to cross the Tisza, chasing away the one battalion and 3 cannons strong Hungarian detachment from the other side, capturing the cannons, then repulsed the two Hungarian battalions attacking from the direction of Törökkanizsa.
A part of the Hungarians retreated to Ráckeresztúr and Gyála the other part through Törökkanizsa towards
Oroszlámos, the first group being chased by the smaller, the second by the larger part of Rambergs corps.
During the fights around Magyarkanizsa and Törökkanizsa the Hungarians lost around 60 dead and 100 men, while the Austrians lost 3 dead, 25 wounded and 1 missing or captured soldiers.
By crossing the river, Ramberg circumvent from the left the Hungarian positions from Szőreg.
On 5 August the IV. Hungarian corps was holding
Szentiván, the IX. corps and the Polish Legion stationed at Szőreg, the X. corps at
Deszk
Deszk ( sr, Деска or ''Deska'') is a village near the city of Szeged, in Csongrád-Csanád County, Hungary. Deszk has a historically important Serb minority that consisted 4.9% of the whole population in 2001. The name of the village was firs ...
, the Szerdahelyi detachment was at the dike from Zombor, facing Makó.
Hearing that Schlik arrived to Makó, Dembiński wanted to retreat from Szőreg that evening.
Believing that a 16,000-20,000 strong enemy corps crossed the Tisza at
Csongrád
Csongrád ( ro, Ciongrad; tr, Conğrad sr, Чонград, Čongrad, archaically also ''Црноград/Crnograd'') is a town in Csongrád County in southern Hungary.
History
At the time of the Hungarian Conquest (the end of 9th century) the ...
, threatening Arad, and controlling the crossings of the Maros river, eh wrote at 9.30 a.m. a letter to Kmety, in which he informed him, that he wants to retreat on that day to Óbéba and on 6 August to
Óbesenyő, then on 7. to
Nagykikinda
Kikinda ( sr-Cyrl, Кикинда, ; hu, Nagykikinda) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the North Banat District in Serbia . The city urban area has 38,069 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has ...
, and ordered him to move towards Nagykikinda, to join on 7 August with him.
Dembiński's letter shows that he disregarded Kossuth's aforementioned order to move towards East to Arad to join his forces with Görgei, but he chose to move southwards.
But, as shown before, he thought that Haynau will not attack that day, so he waited for the evening. But Haynau's attack at that afternoon derailed his plans.
When he heard about Ramberg's crossing of the Tisza, Dembiński gave the order to his subalterns to retreat from the right wing towards the left, towards Óbéba. With this decision he gave up the way to Arad without being forced by the enemy to do so.
[.] Although the retreat initially was postponed twice, at 3 p.m. the X. corps led by Colonel László Gál and the Polish Legion started to retreat, pulling back also the heavy artillery from the left wing.
Battle
Before the fights started, Haynau sent Lieutenant General Liechtenstein in
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
. The latter informed the commander that the Hungarians are still behind the dike from Szőreg, in battle formations.
In the afternoon of 5 August Haynau started to deploy all the troops at his disposal, consisting of 25,000 soldiers and 160 cannons, in the bridgehead from Újszeged, face to face the Hungarian army positioned behind the dike from Szőreg.
Haynau positioned his troops in front of Szőreg as it follows: in the first line was the Lobkowitz division of the IV. corps, with the Benedek brigade on the left side of the road to Arad, while the Jablonowski brigade was on its right side, in the second line was the Herzinger division of the same corps, while in the third line he sent Panyutyin's Russian division. The artillery reserve, protected by the Auersperg
cuirassier
Cuirassiers (; ) were cavalry equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers, discarding their lances and adoptin ...
regiment was deployed right from the Jablonowski brigade.
He did not wanted to cause unnecessary losses to his troops with a frontal attack, so he sent the 22 companies and 3 batteries strong Bechtold cavalry division, from the southeastern end of the Úszeged bridgehead,
to circumvent the Hungarian left wing. To support this action Haynau sent 3 Russian jäger battalions of the Panyutyin division supported by 2 cavalry companies and 2 Austrian
Congreve rocket
The Congreve rocket was a type of rocket artillery designed by British inventor Sir William Congreve in 1808.
The design was based upon the rockets deployed by the Kingdom of Mysore against the East India Company during the Second, Third, an ...
batteries, to occupy the woods from Szentiván, and sent 6 Russian cannons on the right bank of the Tisza, facing the forrest.
The Russian battalions accomplished their task without entering in serious fight with the two Hungarian battalions of the IV. corps, which stationed there, because the latters retreated. The 2 cavalry companies and 2 rocket batteries which were supporting the Russian detachment took position in front of the forrest, facing Szőreg and Szentiván.
In the meanwhile the Austrian cavalry division of Bechtold, after inexplicably delaying an hour in the bridgehead from Újszőny, finally started its action, repulsing with the Imperial uhlans and a battery the weak attack of the a couple companies of Hungarian hussars of the vanguard of the Hungarian cavalry led by General Arisztid Dessewffy (who, at the beginning of the battle, was sent by Dembiński behind the Hungarian left wing, and if its possible, to cross the dike, and encircle the right wing of the Austrian artillery line),
then, finding the dike from Szőreg too high to climb, they tried with their artillery and
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 ...
s to open holes and breaches on it.
At 5,30 p.m. Haynau, who was waiting in vain for Bechtold to accomplish his task quicker (because of this he later removed his cavalry commander from his position), loss his temper, and decided to attack the Hungarians from Szőreg from the front.
He positioned the artillery of the IV. corps, and the main artillery reserve to their right wing, facing Dembiński's artillery, to 700-1000 paces distance from the dike in semicircular position.
This was a risky decision, and if Dembiński would had sent his cavalry against the unprotected 99 Austrian cannons, especially on those from the Austrian firing lines left wing,
or if he would had attacked at the right moment the attacking Austrian infantry, he could cause great troubles to the Austrians.
![Map of the Battle of Szőreg (5 August 1849)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Map_of_the_Battle_of_Sz%C5%91reg_%285_August_1849%29.jpg)
But he remained inactive.
Instead of this, Dembiński was thinking about how to retreat his troops. While the IV. corps led by General Guyon was already marching towards South, after an hour and a half of fighting, he started to pull them out one by one, and send them to Óbéba, leaving his troops without artillery support, and because he sent away also the ammunition, the Hungarian cannons, positioned on the dike, which were anyway inferior to the Austrian ones regarding their number and calibre, now remained without ammunition.
The task of covering the retreat was given to the cavalry of General Arisztid Dessewffy.
Profiting from Dembiński's surprizing decisions, the infantry of the Austrian reserve corps, started its deployment unhindered for a decisive attack.
Lieutenant General Franz Liechtenstein with the infantry organized from left to right in
echelon formation
An echelon formation () is a (usually military) formation in which its units are arranged diagonally. Each unit is stationed behind and to the right (a "right echelon"), or behind and to the left ("left echelon"), of the unit ahead. The name of ...
, with the Benedek brigade on the left wing along the bank of the Maros, followed on his right slightly behind the Jablonowski brigade, more to the right by the Herzinger division organized in two lines, finally more to the right by a brigade of the Panyutyin division, while the 5 battalions and 18 cannons of its other brigade remained behind to take over the bridgehead.
Seeing that the Hungarian artillery is about to completely cease to fire, and believing that the infantry is about to retreat, Liechtenstein gave order to the two brigades from the front to charge.
Initially the units of the IX. corps led by Lieutenant Colonel Vilmos Lázár pushed them down from the dike.
During this charge Lieutenant General Ludwig von Benedek, the commander of a brigade of the reserve corps, was wounded, being replaced by Colonel Siegenthal, who climbed with his soldiers on the dike, finding there no enemy soldiers, but the Jablonowski brigade and the Thun brigade which followed them, met Hungarian resistance.
Some battalions and a battery of the division led by General Józef Wysocki was ordered to hold back the Austrians on the dike until the retreating artillery and the infantry were far away from Szőreg.
So when the Jablonowski brigade climbed the dike, they were pushed back by the counter attack of these Hungarian battalions.
Despite the initial Hungarian successes, the Austrian superiority started to prevail, and the Hungarian infantry, remained without artillery support, was forced to give up the line of the dike, and if Colonel Władisław Zamoyski would had not sent some cavalry companies to their help, the handful of Hungarian soldiers would had been all killed. In the end, thanks to the cavalry support they lost only one cannon and two ammunition wagons.
During these events the Hungarian IV. corps too started to retreat from Törökkanizsa.
Only around these events, after a long delaying, the Bechtold's Austrian cavalry division decided to climb the dike, and the Imperial Uhlans led by General Karl von Simbschen headed towards Szentiván, followed slightly to left by the Lederer cavalry brigade, and around 1000 paces behind, infront of the szentiván forrest the 21/2 battery took position, while 4 companies of Liechtenstein
chevau-léger
The Chevau-légers (from French ''cheval''—horse—and ''léger''—light) was a generic French name for several units of light and medium cavalry.
Their history began in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, when the heavy cavalry forces ...
s with a half battery, joined also by a Russian infantry battalion and an Austrian rocket battery remained behind the dike in order to cover an eventual retreat of the Bechtold division.
Against them General Arisztid Dessewffy deployed the Hungarian cavalry between the southeastern end of Szőreg and the dike, facing the Szentiván woods.
Simbschen's units attacked the left wing of the Hungarian cavalry, pushing back the weak units from here, but the Hungarian batteries prevented them to advance further. In the meanwhile the other units of the Hungarian cavalry line attacked the Lederer brigade, while the Austrian batteries positioned in their back towards left, were attacked by the Bocskay Hussars, being in danger to be captured.
But to their luck, the Lichtenstein chevau-légers came to their rescue, after they quickly crossed the dike and appeared on the Bocskay Hussars left wing, while the Jablonowski brigade and the Austrian batteries, also crossed the dike and entered in fight with the hussars, forcing them to retreat.
But the fight was not over, and the Hungarian Hussars and Polish cavalrymen under the lead of Major General Arisztid Dessewffy and Colonel Władisław Zamoyski beat back several times Bechtold's Austrian cavalry,
and the Jablonowski brigade at Szőreg's Western edge, retreating to Óbéba only after Dembiński gave the order to the infantry to retreat, where the Hungarian army spent the night.
The Hungarian artillery too fought heroically, keeping their positions to the last minute, and retreated only when the Austrian infantry was so close that they were in danger to be captured.
The Bechtold division and the Benedek and Jablonovski brigades did not chased the Hungarian army, because the darkness of the night fell.
Battle maps
File:The Battle of Szőreg. The situation on the wider battlefield before the battle.png, The Battle of Szőreg. The situation on the wider battlefield before the battle. Red - the Austrian troops, Blue - the Hungarian troops. Green - the Russian troops.
File:Battle of Szőreg. The start of the battle.png, Battle of Szőreg. The start of the battle. Red - the Austrian troops, Blue - the Hungarian troops. Green - the Russian troops.
File:Battle of Szőreg. The situation around 6 p.m.png, Battle of Szőreg. The situation around 6 p.m. Red - the Austrian troops, Blue - the Hungarian troops. Green - the Russian troops.
File:Battle of Szőreg. The situation around 7,30 p.m.png, Battle of Szőreg. The situation around 7:30 p.m. Red - the Austrian troops, Blue - the Hungarian troops. Green - the Russian troops.
File:Battle of Szőreg. The situation around 7,50 p.m.png, Battle of Szőreg. The situation around 7,50 p.m. Red - the Austrian troops, Blue - the Hungarian troops. Green - the Russian troops.
File:Battle of Szőreg. The end of the battle.png, Battle of Szőreg. The end of the battle. Red - the Austrian troops, Blue - the Hungarian troops. Green - the Russian troops.
File:The Battle of Szőreg. The situation on the wider battlefield after the battle.png, The Battle of Szőreg. The situation on the wider battlefield after the battle. Red - the Austrian troops, Blue - the Hungarian troops. Green - the Russian troops.
Aftermath
![SzoregiCsataKereszt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/SzoregiCsataKereszt.JPG)
Despite Dembiński's catastrophical leadership, the Hungarian troops fought quite well, and if their commander would had shown some initiative to lead his troops, Haynau's troops would had faced serious problems.
Unfortunately, confused also by Kossuth's orders to retreat towards Arad,
the Polish born Hungarian commander showed a disastrous leadership, which, as it was shown before, these started long before the battle. First he retreated his troops from the well defendable bridgehead from Újszeged, then he let Haynau to cross the Tisza unhindered, then on 4 August he did nothing to push back the Austrian troops after their crossing, then his failure to lead the Hungarian troops in the battle of Szőreg, in which with his hasty decisions, with his given then taken back retreat orders, with sending away the artillery ammunition, with his disparitions in the most important moments of the battle, he managed to maneuver his troops in a situation that it is a miracle that they escaped the annihilation.
[.] Dembiński was saved by the failure of Bechtold to encircle the Hungarian left wing, and to beat their cavalry, so he could retreat his troops in safety.
[.]
But his gravest mistake, which influenced the outcome of the whole Hungarian freedom war, was yet to come. After the battle instead of leading the Hungarian army following the line of the Maros upstream towards Arad, like Kossuth asked from him,
where he could join his troops with the Army of the Upper Danube led by Artúr Görgei, he sent them towards south through Óbéba, Óbesenyő and Nagykikinda towards Temesvár.
With this he enabled to Haynau's troops to join together, and foiled the possibility to join his forces with Görgei's.
On the other hand although Haynau by splitting his troops in three, while he marched from Pest to Szeged and the battle of Szőreg, he took an important risk, but this risk later only augmented his success.
He probably understood from Dembiński's movements, that his opponent is not able to use the opportunities resulting from his decisions, and decided to take those risks for a greater success.
Haynau won the battle even before this started, because Dembiński would had been forced to retreat from Szőreg even without Haynau's attack, thanks to the enveloping movements of Schlik's and Ramberg's two corps.
After the battle Haynau positioned his troops as it follows: the former Benedek brigade led now, because of its commanders wounding, by Major General Eduard Freiherr Bersina von Siegenthal was positioned between Szőreg and Deszk, the Herzinger division inside and behind Szőreg, the Panyutyin division south from Szőreg, the former Bechtold cavalry division led now, thanks to its commanders replacement because of Haynau's dissatisfaction towards his way of leadership during the battle, by Lieutenant Field Marshal Karl von Wallmoden-Gimborn pitched camp at Szentiván, establishing connection with the detachment of the III. corps from Ráckeresztúr. The bulk of the III. corps held Oroszlámos, while the I. corps remained at Makó.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Szoreg, Battle of
Conflicts in 1849
1849 in the Austrian Empire
1849 in Hungary
Szoreg 1849
Szoreg 1849
Hungarian Revolution of 1848
Military history of Hungary
History of Csongrád-Csanád County
August 1849 events