Ignác Török (23 June 1795 in

Gödöllő Gödöllő (; german: Getterle; sk, Jedľovo) is a town in Pest County, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary, about northeast from the outskirts of Budapest. Its population is 34,396 according to the 2010 census and is growing rapidly. It can ...

– 6 October 1849 in Arad) was a honvéd general in the

Hungarian Army The Hungarian Ground Forces ( hu, Magyar Szárazföldi Haderő) is the land branch of the Hungarian Defence Forces, and is responsible for ground activities and troops including artillery, tanks, APCs, IFVs and ground support. Hungary's ground f ...

. He was executed for his part 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 ...

, and is considered one of

the 13 Martyrs of Arad The Thirteen Martyrs of Arad ( hu, aradi vértanúk) were the thirteen Hungarian rebel generals who were executed by the Austrian Empire on 6 October 1849 in the city of Arad, then part of the Kingdom of Hungary (now in Romania), after the H ...

Family

He was born to a minor Hungarian noble family with some significant, although not very large, landholdings.

Life

He received his education at the Royal Grammar Catholic University (now University of Budapest Catholic High School). He next enrolled at the military engineering academy in Vienna, and commissioned into the imperial army as a second lieutenant (1816). In 1839 he joined the noble Bodyguards where he taught siege tactics. He taught many notable people, including

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 ...

. Before the revolution, he served as a lieutenant first in Lemberg, then served as a lieutenant colonel in Zagreb.

War of Independence

In October 1848 he served at the castle of Komárom, and joined the full army of waiting for the defense. In the winter of 1848-1849 he was fortified in Komárom castle, building the defences. After Windisch-Gratz's success at Komárom, commander Majthényi along with many of the other officers at the castle were forced to resign, causing Ignác transfer to fill the position. The decision was confirmed by the government, and he was appointed General on 28 January. In April 1849 he was replaced by János Lenkey. In June, he was ordered by the government to raze the defences of the recently liberated Buda to prevent its recapture. The ramparts at Szeged and to the right bank of the Tisza were razed.

Death

After the surrender of the army at Arad, Török was court-martialed before an Austrian military court and sentenced to death by hanging. He defended himself by stating that "I went with my conscience". He was the sixth to be executed, second to be hanged. In 1932 his remains were found in the Arad crypt.

References

1795 births 1849 deaths People from Gödöllő The 13 Martyrs of Arad Executed Hungarian people {{Hungary-mil-bio-stub