Hungarian–Czechoslovak War

The Hungarian–Czechoslovakian War, also known as the War for Upper Hungary, was a military conflict between Czechoslovakia and Hungary. It lasted from November 1918 until August 1919. The military operation launched by the Hungarian Red Army in 1919 against Czechoslovak forces referred as Northern Campaign () in Hungary.

Background

At the end of 1918, the final year of World War I, the collapse of Austria-Hungary led to the declaration of independence of Czechoslovakia.

Occupation of Upper Hungary

On 28 October 1918, Czechoslovakia was proclaimed, but its borders were not settled for several months. Edvard Beneš wanted to present the Paris Peace Conference with a situation that could not be changed, so Czech forces tried occupy unsuccessfully the northern counties of Hungary in November 1918 without any official permission. The future territory of Slovakia (then Upper Hungary), which until now belonged to Hungary, was supposed to be part of Czechoslovakia. At the beginning of November 1918, clashes began to occur between Hungarians and Czechoslovak military units. At the end of the month, the Entente drew a provisional demarcation line, this was revealed to the Hungarian government on December 23, in the document known as the Vix Note. Czech legions were ordered back from Italy, they began to occupy the southern, Hungarian-inhabited regions of Upper Hungary (the future Slovakia) on 31 December 1918, and took control before mid-January.

However, on December 2, French lieutenant colonel Ferdinand Vix, who was the head of the Entente military mission in Budapest, informed Hungary that the Czechoslovak army was recognized as part of the Entente army. He also drew attention to the fact that Slovakia is part of the Czechoslovak Republic, which has the right to militarily occupy the territory of Slovakia, and Hungary has the obligation to withdraw its troops from there.

The dominant Hungarian and German population tried to prevent annexation of Pozsony (today Bratislava) to Czechoslovakia and declared it a free city. However, the Czechoslovak Legions occupied the city on 1 January 1919, and made it part of Czechoslovakia, against the wish of the local population, on reasons of its economic importance for the new state. On 12 February 1919, the German and Hungarian population started a protest against the Czechoslovak occupation, the Czechoslovak Legions opened fire on the unarmed demonstrators. The intervention by the Czechoslovak soldiers firing on the peaceful demonstrators caused 8 deaths and 14 injuries.

Czechoslovak soldiers began occupying Northern Hungary on November 2, 1918. A Holíč detachment of 120 men penetrated as far as Malacky. The Hungarian prefect in Bratislava sent several dozen soldiers against them, but they were unable to push them back. The tension was calmed by the drawing of a temporary demarcation line leading from Děvínská Nová Ves to the Little Carpathians. Bratislava remained in Hungarian hands. Based on the agreement, Czechoslovak soldiers occupied the area from Stupava to Devín Lake. They managed to take control of Trenčín on November 10 and Žilina two days later. However, when 120 Czechoslovak soldiers occupied Trnava on November 9, the local guard, supported by Hungarian soldiers sent from Bratislava, pushed them back to Senica, where the Hungarian advance was halted on November 17. Czechoslovak soldiers advancing on Ružomberok also had to retreat to Žilina. Under Hungarian pressure, they had to retreat to Ostrava. The provisional border between Czechoslovakia and Hungary was then established on November 28; it was formed by the river Ipeľ up to Lučenac and continued through Rimavská Sobota to Uzhhorod. The new commander of the Czechoslovak troops in Northern Hungary, Colonel František Schöbl, who took office on November 25, decided to occupy the Nitra Valley on December 6. On December 4, however, he already faced a Hungarian attack on Hlohovec, and the first company of Czechoslovak sailors had to repulse an attack at Žilina a day later, which it succeeded in, and occupied the town. After securing Hlohovec, Sereď and Pezinok were also occupied. Nitra, from which the Hungarians retreated to Nové Zámky, was occupied on December 11. This was followed by an operation whose goal was to control the center and east of Northern Hungary. Poprad was captured with the support of an armored train on December 15, and Spišská Nová Ves was occupied a day later. After the clash with the Poles near Kežmarok, the demarcation line between Czechoslovakia and Poland had to be established, which ran from Lomnický štít through Magura to Stará Ľubovna. Zvolen was occupied on December 22, Banská Štiavnica and Banská Bystrica a day later. By December 25, all of Považie and the territory extending to Spišská Nová Ves were already under control. Only eastern Northern Hungary remained to be secured, and this was not done until the end of the year. Prešov was occupied on December 28 and Košice a day later. On the same day, the Italian general Luigi Piccione took command of the Czechoslovak troops. The occupation of southern Northern Hungary was given the task of the Czechoslovak army legionary corps from Italy. Piccione started the advance to Bratislava on December 30. He controlled the city from January 1 to 2, 1919. Lučenec was occupied on the night of January 2 to 3, Nové Zámka was occupied on January 9 without a fight, and Komárno a day later. By January 11, the northern bank of the Ipeľ was cleaned. As Piccione's line of demarcation crossed the key railway line from Bratislava to the east, Piccione decided to advance south. The southern bank of Ipeľ was occupied on January 16, and by January 20 the entire territory of future Slovakia was under control. Since Czechoslovakia was not satisfied with the border established on November 28, because the railway line leading to the east did not remain on the Czechoslovak side of the border, the Council of the Agreement in February 1919 allowed that the Czechoslovak troops occupied a line much more southerly, leading from Esztergomi through Mátra to Čop.Alex Švamberk, Novinky, Československá válka s rudými Maďary (in Czech)
/ref>Aliaksandr Piahanau: Czechoslovak-Hungarian Border Conflict, in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War, ed. by Ute Daniel, Peter Gatrell, Oliver Janz, Heather Jones, Jennifer Keene, Alan Kramer, and Bill Nasson, issued by Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin 2023-07-11. DOI: 10.15463/ie1418.11274/1.1
/ref>During the war, the Hungarian Red Army fought separate battles against troops from Czechoslovakia and Romania, and France was also highly involved diplomatically in the conflicts, too. By the war's final stage, more than 120,000 troops on both sides had become involved.

On 26 April 1919 Hungarian troops left the border areas with Czechoslovakia. The withdrawal facilitated the operation of the Czechoslovak troops, who joined the Romanians on April 27, based on the order of April 7. Their task was not only to secure the territory of the new state, but also to prevent the connection of the Hungarian Red Army with Russia. Therefore, part of the soldiers headed east, where, after crossing the Carpathian passes, they penetrated Transcarpathian Rus (today's Subcarpathian Ukraine), which they controlled by April 30. As the Hungarians withdrew, the advance to the south was also rapid. The units led by the Italian general Luigi Piccione did not stop at the newly drawn demarcation line, but continued on and entered Miskolc on May 2. The Romanians stopped on the Tisza on May 1 because Bessarabia, which they had taken over after the fall of Tsarist Russia, was threatened. On May 1, Soviet Foreign Minister Gerogii Chicherin gave Bucharest an ultimatum to withdraw from Bessarabia or face attack. Therefore, on May 2, Romania agreed to a truce with Budapest so that they could defend Bessarabia. This was used by the Hungarian forces who decided to more focus on Czechoslovakia.

Northern campaign

Battle of Salgótarján and aftermath

Appealing to Hungarians with promises of regaining the land lost to neighbouring countries within a week of his rise to power, communist revolutioner Béla Kun declared war upon Czechoslovakia. That increased Kun's domestic support by making good on his promise to restore Hungary's borders. The Hungarian Army recruited men aged between 19 and 25. Industrial workers from Budapest volunteered, and many former Austro-Hungarian officers re-enlisted through patriotism. The Hungarian army moved its 1st and 5th artillery divisions (40 battalions) to Upper Hungary (partially modern day Slovakia). The Hungarian counterattack launched on 9 May 1919 in the area of Hatvan. On 20 May 1919 Colonel Aurél Stromfeld, attacked in force and routed Czechoslovak troops from Miskolc (Miškovec), also recapturing Košice (Kassa) and Prešov (Eperjes), thus successfully separated the Czechoslovak and Romanian Armies from each other. Through that successful action, Hungary controlled territory up to its old northern borders and regained control of industrial areas around Miskolc, Salgótarján and Banská Štiavnica (Selmecbánya).
The 1st Division, unable to cross the Hernád River due to strong Czechoslovak resistance, did not complete its daily objective. However, the rest of the corps successfully advanced. Particularly successful were the 80th and 46th brigades of the 3rd Division, which pushed forward towards Losonc (today Lučenec). As a result, the enemy evacuated Losonc on the evening of 30 May.

On 1 June, the troops captured Tiszalúc, Szendrő, Tornalja, and Léva (today Levice). By 3 June, they had entered Érsekújvár (today Nové Zámky), and on 5 June, the Hungarian soldiers marched into Sárospatak and Korpona (today Krupina). The Hungarian forces of the 6th Division operated towards Kassa (today Košice) and on 6 June they had captured the city. In the following days, the III Corps continued to push their attack towards Tőketerebes (today Trebišov), Eperjes (today Prešov), Bártfa (today Bardejov).

Proclamation of Slovak Soviet Republic and moral collapse of army

Despite the communists' promises on the restoration of the former borders of Hungary, they declared the establishment of the independent Slovak Soviet Republic in Eperjes (today Prešov) on 16 June 1919. After that proclamation, the Hungarian nationalists and patriots soon realized that the new communist government had no intentions to recapture the lost territories, only to spread communist ideology and establish other communist states in Europe, and was thus sacrificing Hungarian national interests. Despite the series of military victories against the Czechoslovak Army, the Hungarian Red Army started to disintegrate because of the fundamental tension between patriots and communists during the establishment of the Slovak Soviet Republic, and that concession shook the popular and military support of the communist government, particularly among professional military officers, patriots and nationalists in the Hungarian Red Army. In fact, even the chief of the general staff, Aurél Stromfeld, resigned his post in protest.

On 7 June, French Prime Minister Clemenceau sent a note to the Hungarian government on behalf of the Peace Conference, urging the immediate cessation of hostilities. He emphasized that it was their intention to invite Hungarian representatives to Paris. Since it was clear, even to politicians, that the note was intended to provide a breathing space only for the Czechoslovak army, the Hungarian Soviet government immediately responded to the note, stressing that the hostilities had been initiated by the Czechoslovaks, who had arbitrarily crossed the demarcation line. Furthermore, they suggested that the common concerns of the states formed in the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy be addressed at a more restricted conference.

On 13 June, the Hungarian Soviet government received another note from Clemenceau about the Paris Peace Conference's decision on Hungary's borders, with orders for the Hungarian army to withdraw within those borders. Clemenceau promised that if the Hungarians ceased their northern offensive and withdrew from the occupied territories, they would also instruct the Romanian forces to immediately retreat to the demarcation line. After 13 June, a serious debate broke out among the leaders of the Hungarian Soviet government regarding whether to accept or reject the note. Following the retreat in the north, the Tisza front collapsed, leading to the downfall of the Hungarian Soviet Republic. On 4 August, the Romanian army entered Budapest.

Meanwhile, the Czechoslovak Army had changed. The few unreliable Italian commanders were replaced by French generals and officers. The head of the newly organized Czechoslovak 2nd Infantry Division was the French Legion Colonel and veteran Foreign Legion Josef Šnejdárek. Battalions and regiments broken in previous battles were formed and, along with new units, receded in mountainous terrain from one defensive line to another. It was enough for a week for Šnejdárek to consolidate subordinate troops and prepare them for offensive actions.

On 24 June, following multiple exchanges of notes between the High Command of the Red Army and General Pellé, who was appointed by the Czechoslovak side, a ceasefire took effect on the northern front. This marked the end of the Red Army's northern campaign.

Battle of Zvolen (Zólyom)

On the morning of 10 June the 2nd Infantry Brigade launched a demonstration attack on Zvolen (Zólyom). Its left wing surprisingly appeared in the side of the Hungarian troops, the right wing entered Banská Štiavnica (Selmecbánya). All Hungarian attacks on the following day were repelled, and the 2nd Division continued to attack. Šnejdárek changed the direction of the strike, and on 13 June he ordered a by-passing attack on Zvolen. After four hours of fighting, his troops occupied the dominant dimensions and began attacking the key positions of the Hungarian defense. At around noon, the first unit of the Elected, and the queue were punched to a depth of 10 km. The whole central flow of Hron (Garam) was given to the Czechoslovak control, and the Hungarian command no longer had advances to break the breakthrough. The recapture of Zvolen meant a turnaround of combat. The Czechoslovak Army took the initiative and attacked the Hungarians in two directions: Levice (Léva) and Lučenec (Losonc). Weekly battles exploded, and all of the Hungarian advances were exhausted. The Hungarian Army Command agreed with the ceasefire and retreated to the demarcation line. The Czech soldiers, most of whom had fought in World War I in the ranks of the Austro-Hungarian Army, as well as Slovak Army volunteers, showed that they were as good as the Czechoslovak Legions, which were still in Russia in 1919.

Renewed conflict

In August 1919, the Bolshevik regime in Hungary collapsed and the Romanians occupied central parts of the country, including its capital. Czechoslovakia also took advantage of the situation. The offer that it could take part in the occupation of Budapest was rejected, but on August 14 it captured Petržalka and Salgótarján. While they had to leave Salgotarjan, Petrželka became part of Bratislava. Transcarpathia was occupied in September 1919.

Aftermath

The defeat of the Hungarian Soviet Republic and the Slovak Soviet Republic, and the Romanian occupation of Budapest in August 1919, ended the war. Romanian troops withdrew from the occupied territory in March 1920. In this war, Czechoslovakia gained control over the territory of Slovakia, which before the war was part of Hungary. In the final phase of the war, there were more than 120,000 soldiers on both sides. Volunteers signed up for the Czechoslovak army, and Slovak volunteer units were established in Slovakia - Jánošík's troupe, Zbor Turčianských volunůník, Dobrovoľnická družina Slovákov, Tisovský volunůníci.''Zrod nové Evropy : Versailles, St-Germain, Trianon a dotváření poválečného mírového systému''. Praha: Historický ústav 517 s
Dostupné online
ISBN 978-80-7286-188-0, ISBN 80-7286-188-3. OCLC 775329874 Kapitola Maďarská republika rád a československo–maďarský konflikt v roku 1919 (autor. Marián Horský), s. 159–177. Slovak volunteers mainly came from northern Slovak counties - they fought mainly in the battles for Zvolen, Banská Bystrica and Košice.KÁRNÍK, Zdeněk. ''Malé dějiny československé : 1867–1939''. 1. vyd. vyd. Praha: Dokořán, 2008. ISBN 80-7363-146-6, ISBN 978-80-7363-146-8. OCLC 231754986 S. 82–85. According to historian Zdenek Kárník, 90 fallen soldiers on the side of the Czechoslovak army came from Slovakia and Subcarpathian Rus; 895 fallen soldiers (of which 640 were volunteers) came from the Czech Republic.

Sources

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*

References

Literature

* Aliaksandr Piahanau, ''Czechoslovak-Hungarian Border Conflict'', In: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin 2018-06-19. DOI: 10.15463/ie1418.11274. https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/czechoslovak-hungarian_border_conflict
* Petr Čornej, Pavel Bělina, ''Slavné bitvy naší historie'', Marsyas 1993

External links

*Aliaksandr Piahanau
Czechoslovak-Hungarian Border Conflict
in


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20091210234612/http://www.wittmannholding.sk/fam/snejdarek.pdf zabudnutý generál

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hungarian-Czechoslovak War

1918 in Hungary
1919 in Hungary
1918 in Czechoslovakia
1919 in Czechoslovakia
Conflicts in 1918
Conflicts in 1919
Wars involving Hungary
Wars involving Czechoslovakia
Wars between the Czech Republic and Hungary