Vitéz Kornél Oszlányi (25 September 1893 – 16 November 1960) was a Hungarian military officer who served as division commander during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Military career

Kornél Oszlányi was born 25 September 1893, in Kaposvár,

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 ...

. He graduated from the Kassaer Infantry Cadet School in 1911. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he was a company commander of the 52nd Infantry Regiment. In the battle of Nowica, Eastern Galicia in July 1917, he was decorated with the Gold Bravery Medal for extraordinary heroism. In 1927 he became a member of the Ministry of Defence. Between 1933 and 1936 he was the Head of

Order of Vitéz The Order of Vitéz ( hu, Vitézi Rend; frequently spelled in English as 'Vitez') is a Hungarian order of merit which was founded in 1920. It was awarded as a state honour from 1920 to 1944, and continues as a semi-independent order of chivalry ...

's National Defence Department. In March 1939 as commanding officer of the 15th Bicycle Battalion with the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

, he took part in the recapture of Kárpátalja. Between 1941 and 1942 he was the commander of the 2nd "József nádor" Infantry Regiment with the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. From November 1942 he fought as the commanding officer of III Corps, 9th Infantry Division from Nagykanizsa at the river Don. During the retreat he led his division with extraordinary heroism, but in he had to be cruel with his men to maintain discipline. At the river Don, his division held back the soviet troops for 12 days, and after that, he covered the retreat of the German forces. He suffered serious wounds in the battle, ending his command of 9th Infantry Division. During

he was the only person who received in 1944, the Knight's Cross of the

Military Order of Maria Theresa The Military Order of Maria Theresa (german: Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden; hu, Katonai Mária Terézia-rend; cs, Vojenský řád Marie Terezie; pl, Wojskowy Order Marii Teresy; sl, Vojaški red Marije Terezije; hr, Vojni Red Marije Te ...

. During the invasion of the soviet forces into the Carpathian Basin in 1944, he led the 10th Infantry Division at Kaposvár. After release from American captivity first he lived in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and from 1951 in the United States of America. He was posthumously promoted to

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 ...

in 1993.

Footnotes

References

Életrajza

* Földi Pál: ''A Magyar Királyi Honvédség a második világháborúban'', Anno Kiadó, 2000, * Földi Pál: ''Horthy tábornokai,'' Anno Kiadó, 2007, Debrecen, * Nemeskürty István: ''Requiem egy hadseregért,'' Magvető Könyvkiadó, 1972. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oszlanyi Kornel 1893 births 1960 deaths People from Kaposvár Hungarian soldiers Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Austro-Hungarian Army officers Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa