Vitéz Baron Sándor Szurmay de Uzsok (19 December 1860 – 26 February 1945) was a Hungarian military officer and politician, who served as

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

for the Hungarian portion of the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary between 1917 and 1918.

Life

Early life and career

Sándor Szurmay was born in 1860 at Boksánbánya (now: ''Bocşa,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

'') which located in the historical

Krassó-Szörény County Krassó-Szörény (Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Krassó-Szörény'', Romanian language, Romanian: ''Caraș-Severin'', Serbian language, Serbian: ''Karaš-Severin'' or Караш-Северин) was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingd ...

. He attended the secondary school for sciences in

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 ...

, then interrupting his studies he joined the Imperial Royal Privileged Austrian State Railway Company, where he worked as a trainee and later as an official. In 1882 he chose the military way. Szurmay started his service at the Eighteenth Home Defence Battalion of

Lugos Lugos (; ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Gironde department *Parc naturel régional des Landes de Gascogne Landes de Gascogne Regional Natura ...

. After completing the course of studies at the

Ludovica Military Academy The Royal Hungarian Ludovica Military Academy (, , ), shortened to Ludovica or Ludovica Academy, was Hungary's officer cadets training institute prior to 1945. The main edifice of the academy was erected in 1836 at the ''Ludovica Garden'', in ...

classes he served as adjutant in a rank of Second Lieutenant at the various corps of the

Magyar Honvédség The Hungarian Defence Forces (, ) is the national defence force of Hungary. Since 2007, the Hungarian Armed Forces has been under a unified command structure. The Ministry of Defence maintains political and civil control over the army. A subordi ...

. Between 1886 and 1887 he finished the academy's upper classes and between 1887 and 1889 the Imperial and Royal Staff College (''K.u.k. Kriegsschule''), that is the staff officer's academy. He was promoted to a First Lieutenant in 1889 and he was ordered onto the Fourth Army Corps' headquarters in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Later career

By November 1917 Szurmay held the rank of

General der Infanterie General of the infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Impe ...

and held the ministerial portfolio for the Hungarian branch of the armed forces, the Honvéd. In November 1917 he officially demanded the separation of the joint army of Austria-Hungary into separate Austrian and Hungarian formations. At a crown council chaired by the emperor the following month he again pressed for a full division of the k.u.k. army, adding that "all groups in Hungary are united on the issue of a Hungarian army." This policy was addressed again at a council of marshals in January 1918, where the decision was put off until the end of the war.

Publications

* ''A wörthi (fröschwilleri) csata 1870. 6 Aug.. Harczászati tanulmány''. with maps and images Budapest, 1890. * ''Az anspachi hadseregek ismertetése.'' U. ott, 1891. (Hungarian adaption of Richard Knötel's

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

work). * ''A mohácsi vész 1526-ban''. Battle plan and detailed description onto Ezredéves Országos Kiállítás of 1896 aims. Budapest, 1896. * ''A mohácsi hadjárat 1526-ban.''. Térképvázlattal, rajzmellékletekkel, Budapest, 1901. * ''A szolgálati szabályzat II. részének új kiadása'', Budapest, 1896. * ''A honvédség fejlődésének története annak felállításától napjainkig 1868–1898.'' Képekkel és mellékletekkel. Megjelent a Ludovika Akadémia Közlönyében, Budapest, 1898. * ''A Thaya menti Waidhofen környékén 1891-ben tartott hadtest-gyakorlatok'', megjelent a Ludovika Akadémia Közlönyében, 1892. * ''Weiterentwicklung der kön. ung. Landwehr (A Magyar Királyi Honvédség fejlődése),'' megjelent a Minerva c. katonai folyóiratban, Bécs, 1893. 23. és 24. sz. * ''Die Honvéd-Institution (A Honvédség intézménye),'' megjelent a

Pester Lloyd ''Pester Lloyd'' is a German-language online daily newspaper from Budapest, Hungary with a focus "on Hungary and Eastern Europe". History during the Austrian Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire Its first stint of existence was from 1854 to 1 ...

ban, 1894. okt. 25-i és 26-i sz. * ''A magyar gyalogság'', Budapest, 19...?. * ''Az orosz vörös veszedelem és Magyarország szerepe''. ABC könyvtára, Magyar Bolsevistaellenes Liga, Budapest, 1921. * ''A magyar katona a Kárpátokban'', Királyi Magyar Egyetemi Nyomda kiadása, Budapest, 1940

(Újabb kiadás: N.R.G.-COM Kiadó, Budapest, 2005, összeállította és az előszót írta Pap Krisztián). * Háborús emlékírások, in: ''Diárium 1940–1942'', I. évfolyam 1–10. szám/II. évfolyam 1–12. szám/III. évfolyam 1–12. szám, Királyi Magyar Egyetemi Nyomda kiadása, Budapest, 1942. He wrote several books, and articles, based on military history, on hunting, sport fishing, reptiles, and about the occult: * ''Vadászemlékek, horgászélmények'', with foreword of

Archduke Joseph August of Austria Archduke Joseph August Viktor Klemens Maria of Austria, Prince of Hungary and Bohemia (9 August 1872 – 6 July 1962) was a '' Feldmarschall'' (field marshal) of the Austro-Hungarian Army and for a short period head of state of Hungary. He w ...

Budapest, 1937 * ''Horgászvízen, vadcsapáson'', Budapest, ?. (Hasonmás kiadás: Facsimile Ex Kiadó, Budapest, 1994).

References

Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szurmay, Sandor Hungarian soldiers Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Austro-Hungarian Army officers 1860 births 1945 deaths Ministers of defence of Hungary People from Bocșa Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa