From the Campagnes de larme roumaine, 19161919 The views expressed are those of Colonel Bujac.

My notes
are marked with suare !rackets" [thus] # Mark $lant.
Chapter XI From the Tisza to the Danube
The 1919 Campaign against the Hungarian Soviet Republic
The Hungarian government, directed by Count Krolyi (proclaimed temporary President of the Hungarian epublic on
!! "anuary !#!#$, allo%ed itself to be carried along %ith the advance of &olshevism, hoping perhaps that they could use
this menace as a sort of blac'mail, to %rest concessions from the (llies)
To this end a propaganda office %as set up in &uda*Pest (! +ehmed*(li oad$, publishing tracts in C-ech, .erb and
omanian/ an office lin'ed directly %ith the ma0imilists [far leftists] of +osco%, %ith the uthenian .oviets of %estern
1alicia and %ith the 2'rainian e0tremists) .pea'ing fran'ly, %ithout intending this ironically, Krolyi %as playing
3enin4s game)
&ut there %as a tragic turn of events) Krolyi resigned) 5n 6! +arch po%er %as monopolised by the evolutionary
Party (Forradalmi %orm&ny'(tan&cs/ President .ndor 1arbai$ %hich proclaimed a .oviet epublic
(Tan&csk)'t&rsas&*$/ &7la Kun directed foreign affairs/ "8-sef Pogny held the post of Commissar for 9ational :efence
(+ad,*yi -.p!i'tosse*$) The latter %as scrapped and the ;ar Committee found itself %ith five delegates < &7la Kun,
=ilmos &>hm, &7la .-nt8, e-s? @iedler and "8-sef Haubrich) These puppets, by decree AB!BC of !D (pril, %ere
charged %ith organising a ed (rmy (/)r)s +adsere*$ %ith seven divisions (one of %hich %as uthenian 1uards$, plus
a .-7'ely group (Transylvanian +agyars$)
!
The command fell on E +ay to =ilmos &>hm, former ;ar Commissioner
under Krolyi and e0*type%riter bro'er/ his second %as (ur7l .tromfeld, e0*Colonel of the .taff)
x x x
@utog [near 9ovi .ad] %hich served as the residence of the captive +ac'ensen, %as (as F have indicated in the
preceding chapter$ inside the @ranco*.erb lines/ these follo%ed the line, &aGa (on the :anube$<.-eged<(rad, climbed
the line of the +ureH and at :eva lin'ed %ith the omanian sector, %hich %as then dug in along the line (lba "ulia<CluG
9apoca<&aIa +are) The Transylvanian march had initially been occupied at the end of 9ovember and start of
:ecember !#!B by the troops of 1eneral TraGan +osoiu (!
st
3ight
6
:iv, 6
nd
3ight :iv, J
th
F:$ and then definitively by !!
:ecember, %ith the HK at .ibiu)
This boundary %as e0posed to continual incursions by &olshevi' groups/ these encroached every%here, especially
penetrating the mountainous region of &ihor and +aramureH/ they %ere abundant, and becoming more and more
audacious than's to the vacillating politics of the .upreme Council
L
%ho could not adopt a definite policy %ith regard to
3enin and %ho hesitated to suppress &7la Kun) 5n an Mnglish reNuest, 1eneral .muts %as sent to &uda*Pest (C (pril
!#!#$, in order to negotiate a neutral -one to be guarded by @rench, &ritish and Ftalian troops) The eds demanded first
the %ithdra%al of the omanian posts to the +ureH and the right to spread .oviet propaganda/ it %as useless to carry on
[negotiating]) +ean%hile, the situation gre% %orse, the &olshevi' hordes prepared for an offensive against the
omanian positions, announced for !E (pril) The .upreme Council %as then forced to admit that the &ucharest Cabinet
%ould have to urgent adopt some security measures) (t this point, 1eneral 1) +ardarescu, commander of the border
corps (chief*of*staff 1eneral .) Panaitescu$, intended to ta'e the initiative) He had, on !E (pril, the follo%ing troops
%ith %hich to ma'e an advance across the %hole front, !
st
and 6
nd
3ight :ivs), E
th
, J
th
, !E
th
and !B
th
OTransylvanianP F:s,
6
nd
C:, being EC battalions, 6B sNuadrons, !BC artillery pieces of various calibres, 6 engineer battalions, L air sNuadrons,
some +1 armoured cars, etc) Three groups %ere set into action,
To the north, 1eneral 5lteanu4s detachment (D
th
0osiori
C
&rigade, t%o battalions and a battery$ %ould set out
from .ighetu, in the upper Tis-a valley, to%ards Chop, via Khust)
!
[+P] http,QQme')os-')huQR6!RRQR6!BDQhtmlQDE)html has some figures for the rapid increase in the Hungarian ed (rmy)
5n ! (pril there %ere 6R,ECR men, divided up as
&udapest ! :ivision !,EDD
&udapest 6 :ivision !,EE!
&udapest L :ivision L,6JD
1y?r C :ivision 6,LE6
9ySregyh-a D :ivision 6,LCJ
.-eged E :ivision !,DRR
.-7'ely :etachment J,DC6
+arinesQ9aval 6#B
&y mid*(pril the total %as already DL,D6C men)
6
[+P] &uGac uses Chasseur for these units, %hich are /1natori in omanian) .ome te0ts render it as 23*er)
L
[+P] The .upreme Council of the (llied Po%ers i)e) @rance, &ritain, Ftaly and the 2.)
C
[+P] 0osiori %ere omania4s regular cavalry and formed the core of the separate cavalry divisions) :uring ;;F many 0osiori
%ere dismounted) The Fnfantry :ivisions had a territorial reserve cavalry regiment, termed Calarasi)
Fn the centre, the 6
nd
C: (1eneral Constantinide$ headed from the &aIa +are region into the .omeH corridor in
the direction of .atu +are<+t7s-al'a and 9ySregyh-a) The E
th
and J
th
F:s %ould leave from Timleu .ilvaniei<
UalVu<Huedin
!
, to%ards :ebrecen<5radea +are/ the !E
th
F: %ould be behind)
To the south, the 6
nd
3ight :iv), %as ready to leave &asarabasa via the gorges of the CriHul (lb, %ith &7'7scsaba
as its immediate obGective/ the !
st
3ight :iv) %ould follo% in its trac's/ the !B
th
F: %ould follo% suit)
The eds faced in three directions,
( northern front against the C-echoslova's, three divisions (6B battalions$) 5n the e0treme left, about J,RRR men
facing the 5lteanu detachment)
The eastern, or omanian, front, a division, a reinforced brigade, some other units (6! battalions$/ about !C,RRR
men in contact)
The southern, or @ranco*.erb, front, three divisions and a brigade (6L battalions$)
(ppro0imately, JR,RRR men and !LJ cannons)
These bands only gave %ea' resistance to the approaching omanians, even more localised for the .-7'ely) The
Hungarian ;ar Commissariat, using its last reserves (J<B battalions$, hoped for a %hile to hold the line %ith the help of
a %ide mobilisation/ but the troops assembled in =alea lui +ihai, Carei and 9ySregyh-a, %ith the vie% to returning to
the offensive, scattered (!# (pril$/ but already the day before the commander of the L#
th
F&, pressed by the E
th
F:, had
found out that his soldiers Odid not %ish to fight %ith %eapons, only political arguments %ere %orth%hileP) The faWade
crac'ed) The .-7'ely :ivision retreated, the !
st
F& to Csenger, the 6C
th
F& to 9agyecsed the 6!
st
F& to =alea lui +ihai/
the L#
th
F& ceded ground up to &eretty8Xfalu/ bands of deserters sei-ed hospital trains and forced the rail%ay %or'ers to
ta'e them further a%ay, to%ards &uda*Pest) &y the 6R
th
, the omanian for%ard elements had reached the Khust<.atu
+are<Carei<=alea lui +ihai<5radea line/ the left flan' %as up to 5rosh-a)
The spearhead elements sped up/ that of Colonel otaru, Goined by sNuadrons of the 6
nd
C:, reached out to +t7s-al'a
(66
nd
$/ 1eneral :avidoglu led the 6
nd
0osiori &rigade to Chop/ Colonel Foan and the !C
th
F& thre% aside a rear guard at
9ySregyh-a and pursued on to a'ama-) Colonel Christofor, %ith the 6C
th
F (E
th
F:$, and 1eneral .achelarie, %ith the
!6
th
F&, proceeded, not %ithout some difficulties, to s%eep clear the +onostorplyi<Hoss-Xplyi<Kaba<PYsp>'ladny
area (6D
th
and 6E
th
$/ after this, the .-7'ely :ivision (Colonel Cratovil$, being cornered, surrendered its arms (6E
th
$ < the
E
th
and J
th
F:s consolidated at :ebrecen<5radea)
5n the 6B
th
there %as further progress) The right of the 5lteanu detachment (Colonel Pop$ assured the necessary liaison
%ith the left %ing of the C-echoslova's by %ay of +u'achZvo/ this meant that the line of the 2-h
6
iver %as controlled,
so as to intercept the flo% bet%een the Pest .oviets and the Kremlin) The 6
nd
C: reached the Tis-a river (6#
th
$ from
Chop to Tis-al>' and arranged a bridgehead at To'aG) The !E
th
F:, follo%ing in the rear, began to stretch out from
:ebrecen to%ards Tis-acsege and Mgye') The E
th
and J
th
F:s filled in along the Hortobgy Canal) The !
st
&rigade of the
!
st
3ight :iv) %as carried along to 5rosh-a) The reserve !B
th
F: reached the 5radea<.alonta region)
=ilmos &>hm, accompanied by his staff and a terrorist guard commanded by Tibor .-amueli, moved to .-olno', the
centre of assembly for a mass of D! battalions and !E batteries) 9ot having succeeded in stemming the disorderly flo% to
the Tis-a, he tried every means to preserve the bridgeheads at .-olno', Tis-afYred and a'ama-) Ft %as too late,
Colonel Foan occupied a'ama- (6#
th
$ %ith the D
th
0osiori egt) 1eneral Taut (J
th
F:$ arrived at Tis-as-entimre (6B 'm
. of Tis-afYred$, sending (! +ay$ a column of t%o battalions and a battery to Tis-afYred/ thus lin'ing upstream (Mgye'<
Tis-acsege$ %ith the feelers of the J
th
F:/ mean%hile converging on .-olno' %ere both the E
th
F:, via T>r>'s-enimi'l8s,
and the 6
nd
3ight :iv), via TXr'eve and +e-?tXr) The !
st
3ight :iv) fanned out to .-entes<+inds-ent<
H8dme-?vsrhely)
This first phase of the campaign led the omanian government to e0pect that complete victory %ould come Nuic'ly)
Thus there %as a profound and painful disappointment felt at the halting of the victorious troops on the Tis-a) Public
opinion, translated by the press, 'ne% immediately that the brusNue and untimely restraint %as ordered by the .upreme
Council) T%o of the (llies too' umbrage at the e0cessively brilliant e0ercise of arms by 1eneral +ardarescu and yet
more at a proGect for an energetic @ranco*.erb intervention/ they succeeded in prevailing %ith a strongly felt indecision,
Othey sat on the fenceP)
Fn the circumstances there %ould be, once again, made clear the value of the precept brutally formulated by &lYcher on
the day after Kat-bach) :oubtless the resources of the omanian army could be said to be precarious enough, but not to
the point of crippling further e0ploitation/ %ith the pursuit chec'ed, everything favoured the Hungarian .oviets, letting
them %ander into +osco%4s orbit and restore their cohorts) &ela Kun %as able to maintain his dictatorship and triumph
internally only by virtue of the prestige of these military advantages)
x x x
The most pressing issue %ould be for &>hm to clear the rail%ay running to Ko[ice, interrupted by the C-echoslova's)
!
[+P] in the original \ .ebesvar, %hich F have assumed is Huedin from its placement on +ap ()
6
[+P] in the original \ ligne d42sco-)
He pushed his !
st
and D
th
F:s into the Mm?d<+e-?'>vesd region) The C-ech E
th
:ivision (1eneral ossi$, maintaining a
line of control along 9agyro-vgy<(baXGs-anto<+is'olc, could not fend the blo% (6R +ay !#!#$ and retired on
.aG8s-entp7ter<.-i's-8) The omanian C!
st
F& (!E
th
F:$ made an attempt on 6L +ay to%ards Hendn7meti<&els?b?cs<
Tis-alXc, a clearing manoeuvre combined %ith the return to the offensive of the C-ech E
th
F:) They met near 1es-tely)
This %as a notable straightening of the line/ but the right, meeting much greater forces, %avered and the centre follo%ed
(.-i's-8<Paras-nya$) Colonel :ragu, C!
st
F&, did not settle in Hendn7meti, determined not to lose contact %ith the
C-echoslova's/ %ho rebuffed by the incessant attac's, %ithdre% during the night of LRQL! +ay and too' positions at
@el-?dobs-a<Putno') 1eneral Han-u [omanian !E
th
F:] then recalled all his men bac' to the left ban' [east of the
Tis-a] (6<L "une !#!#$)
.hortly after%ards C-echoslova'ia too' the advice of the .upreme Council and negotiated an armistice %ith Hungary)
x x x
5n the Tis-a front the calm %as used profitably by both sides to do some precautionary patching up)
($ 3eft ban' < The omanian defensive organisation %as made up of three elements,
a$ 9orthern sector, 1eneral TraGan +osoiu, later replaced by 1eneral +ihaescu/ 1eneral 5lteanu4s detachment,
in liaison %ith the C-echoslova'ian troops around +u'achZvo/ !E
th
F: (1eneral Han-u$ formed a bridgehead at
To'aG/ e0tended south to the confluence of the .omeH at (bds-al8') The 6
nd
3ight :iv) %as a reserve in the
9ySregyh-a<:ebrecen area)
b$ .outhern sector, 1eneral Holban/ !B
th
F: (1eneral Papp$ stretched from (bds-al8' to the confluence of the
+ureH) The !
st
3ight :iv) %as a reserve in the &7'7scsaba area)
c$ .trategic column, the E
th
F: in the 5radea<&eretty8Xfalu -one) The !
st
F: (from the start of "uly$ %as based
bet%een Carei and =alea lui +ihai) The !
st
C: (start of "uly$ %as scattered across the .-eghalom<.ar'ad region)
Ft %as very solid and %ell eNuipped in the rear)
F %ould add for the record, the J
th
F: disappeared from the theatre of operations, being transferred to northern +oldavia)
The B
th
F: %as fi0ed on the a0is .ighet<Kor>sme-><Kolmea, %atching the &u'ovina frontier, along %ith several Polish
contingents, %orried by the uthenian &olshevi's) The 6
nd
F: had to occupy the portion of the &anat that the .upreme
Council designated as omanian and, foreseeing events, remained around (rad (the E
th
3ight egt) entered there on !J
+ay$/ replaced by a mi0ed
!
[infantry] brigade of the 6!
st
F:, it reGoined the front)
&$ ight &an' < the ne% commander of the ed (rmy, "en? 3andler (chief*of*staff, Colonel "ulier$ %as made up
of t%o principle groups,
a$ .outhern front, Csongrd<.-olno', the !
st
Corps, under the orders of &7la =ago (chief*of*staff, "en? @ar'as$,
%as made up of the 6
nd
, D
th
, E
th
and J
th
F:s) Ft had CC battalions, each %ith an +1 company (6!,!BL rifles$/ C
sNuadrons/ C aviation companies/ D# batteries (6!R pieces$) The main body %as aimed at &7'7scsaba and a
detachment directed at 5radea/ the security of the right flan' %as assured by the C
th
F:, %hich %as 'ept in the
.Y'>sd<.-eged sector)
b$ 9orthern front, Tis-adob
6
<To'aG< 1vavenscell?, the L
rd
Corps, under the orders of :e-so &o'anyi (chief*of*
staff, 17-a .ch%ar-$ consisted of the !
st
:ivision and 6
nd
and L
rd
F&s) Ft had 66 battalions (E,EJL rifles$, 6! +1
companies/ 6 sNuadrons/ ! aviation company/ 6R batteries (J! pieces$) The main thrust %as :ebrecen/ there %as
a detachment aimed at Carei)
&et%een these t%o groups %as the BR
th
F& under the orders of 3s-l8 5sterreicher) Ft had C battalions (!,J!6
rifles$, C +1 companies/ a half*sNuadron/ one aviation company/ one battery (C pieces$) Fts role %as to
demonstrate in the vicinity of Poros-l8)
F %ould add, so as to not omit any effectives, the C
th
Corps (fractions of the L
rd
and C
th
F:/ L,6CD rifles, !C guns$
and t%o divisions of 4ucr5tori)
L
The 6
nd
Corps (B
th
F:$ and three brigades of frontier guards)
(ll up this made, !JR battalions (BR<#R,RRR men$, !6J +1 companies (#EC pieces$, #R batteries (L6J guns$, !R
sNuadrons, # armoured trains, !R aviation companies (CR aircraft$)
x x x
5n 6R "uly (RLRR hours$, as had been forecast, there %as a short artillery preparation, after %hich the first echelons of
the ed J
th
F: commenced to cross, on the left, the !R!
st
F/ in the centre, the C
th
F/ on the right, the +arine egt)
(round R#RR hours, the LL
rd
F of the E
th
F: protected the establishment of batteries on the left ban') The D
th
F:
assembled around .-olno' station) That night (6!RR hours$ all the %or's of the bridgehead made in (pril fell to the
attac'er)
!
[+P] O+i0edP in the sense of including regular and militiaQterritorial units) They %ere still all infantry)
6
[+P] This might actually be a mista'e for Tis-al>', a bigger to%n Gust to the north, and %hich is given as the Gunction later)
L
[+P] F believe this is a omanian term for a %or' company) Their only appearances appear to be far to the rear)
Fn the follo%ing days the gains %ere not large, on the 6L
rd
the J
th
F: reached +e-?tXr/ the D
th
F: too' TXr'eve/ the E
th
F:
too' KisXGs-lls<Kenderes/ the J
th
C reached out to Karcag/ the BR
th
F& covered from Tis-acsege via Mgye' to
Ti-safYred/ the L
rd
Corps %as strung out along the Tis-al>'<1vavenscell? line)
5n the fourth morning, the poc'et opened out until it cut the &eretty8) The D
th
F: %as pointing to%ards KisXsG-ls/ on
the left, the E
th
F: %as at Kincstari/
!
on the right, the J
th
F:4s obGect %as :7vaynya) 5n the e0treme of this %ing, the L
rd
F:, %hich had acNuired the .-entes<H8dme-?vsrhely sector, %as thro%n bac' to the %est of the Tis-a by the !
st
3ight
:iv)
&ut that same morning, the situation changed completely, the omanian counter*offensive developed its full force)
The covering forces, %ho had not been surprised by the attac', had fulfilled their assigned roles remar'ably %ell) ( slo%
retirement/ prolonged resistance around certain points %hich %ere propped up by sector reserves/ measured attac's %ith
e0cellent opportunism) These tactics gave the high command the necessary time and space to establish a mass of
manoeuvre/ it %as collected as follo%s,
1eneral +osoiu dre% up in the centre of the theatre, the 6
nd
C: at Kunmadaras) The cavalry sent to
Tis-as-entimre the #
th
0osiori egt, a cyclist company and a horse battery as a flan' guard and also a liaison unit,
necessary to co*operate %ith the 9orthern 1roup at Tis-afYred) The !
st
F: %as in the &ere'fYrdo
6
region) The E
th
F: had the !6
th
F& placed at Karcag and the other brigade in the rear near to .-entagoda) The bul' aimed do%n
the .-aprfalu<T>r>'s-entmi'l8s a0is)
This important station [T>r>'s-entmi'l8s] %as also the obGective of t%o detachments of the .outhern 1roup) 1eneral
Papp4s %as made up of the CE
th
F& (#!
st
and #6
nd
Fs of the !B
th
F:$/ the 6
nd
3ight &rigade (C
th
and E
th
Fs$/ and a
battalion of dismounted Calarasi (about !,RRR men$) Ft %as concentrated in the :7vavnya<1yomaendr?d area/
bordering TXr'eve<+e-?tXr) The other detachment, 1eneral 3ecca4s, %as the !
st
3ight &rigade, t%o battalions of the
#R
th
[F)], one of the B#
th
[F] and the C
th
0osiori &rigade) .et in the .-arvas<]cs>d<Kuns-entmrton area/ it %ould
drive bet%een the river and +e-?tXr)
The southern sector still had the ed 6
nd
F:, encroaching onto the left ban', opposed by Colonel Pirici4s detachment
based at 5rosh-a (!RJ
th
[F], a battalion of the B#
th
[F], t%o companies of the !
st
3ight egt$)
The northern sector %ould see t%o actions, one facing north and the other %est%ards) @irst of all, the L
rd
3ight &rigade,
really only as a simple demonstration, stiffened the a'ama- bridgehead) The C
th
F& (#
th
and !R
th
Fs, t%o battalions of
the BC
th
[F] of the !E
th
F: and five batteries$ participated on the 6C
th
in an active and brilliant manner in the
preliminaries of the battle)
Tis-afYred %as ta'en from the ed BR
th
F& (6E
th
and 6J
th
Fs$, %ho %ere repulsed and then routed by the !R
th
3ight egt,
at %hose approach the #
th
0osiori egt pulled out of Tis-as-entimre)
The bul' of the 6
nd
C: left Kunmadras to%ards Tis-aroff (L
rd
C&$ and Kunhegyes (6
nd
C& and !B
th
3ight egt$, so as to
escort the !
st
F:, the bul' of %hose forces attac'ed Kenderes) (t t%ilight the cavalry division %as reaching Kunhegyes
and the !
st
F: filled the @egyverne'<Kenderes strip)
The E
th
F:, did not have it so %ell/ they could not e0pel the opposition CE
th
F& from KisXGs-ls/ it even had to fall bac'
at night fall to the Kecs'eri<Cinader7' canal)
L

:uring the day of 6D "uly, the manoeuvre group developed its attac' superbly and energetically,
The !
st
F: %as spurred on, its right (!J
th
F$ %ent to%ards @egyverne'<.-aprfalu/ its centre on Hay +ihaly/
C
and its left
(L!
st
F$ against KisXGs-lls, %hich the E
th
F: %as attac'ing frontally) The !J
th
F, its right crushed, retired even though
it %as possible that some sNuadrons of the 6
nd
[Cavalry] :ivision could have improved the situation/ it %ould only be re*
established in the course of the afternoon, than's to a vigorous return to the offensive of the !
st
F: (left and centre$) The
enemy, smashed, recoiled to%ards .-olno') The E
th
F: occupied KisXGs-lls and moved to the left of the !
st
F:)
;hile the manoeuvre group too' on itself the decisive clash into the left flan' of the principle ed phalan0, 1eneral
Papp4s group held the enemy on the +e-?tXr<TXr'eve front and 1eneral 3ecca4s group too' the ]cs>d<.-arvas area,
threatening the right of the J
th
F:)
The .oviet army had a rough time on the 6D
th
, and by nightfall it %as forced to admit it had suffered a serious blo%/ it
slipped a%ay in the dar' on the 6E
th
bac' to the right ban' of the Tis-a)
There %as an immediate and vigorous pursuit) The !
st
F:, the !6
th
F& and the ##
th
[F] (6R
th
F:$ penetrated through to
T>r>'s-entmi'l8s (R#LR hours$ by %ay of .-aprfalu) The !!
th
F& and the D
th
0osiori &rigade ended up in Uede'er,
D
the
point of convergence of the columns) Fn the afternoon they lin'ed %ith the 1eneral 3ecca 1roup) .everal hours later, the
L
rd
3ight &rigade too' possession of the a'ama- bridgehead)
!
[+P] 2nlocated, but Gust 9M of Kenderes
6
[+P] in the original \ +ando'i Tu, and F have allocated it as &ere'fYrdo from its placement on +ap &)
L
[+P] (s far as F can tell, this is on the eastern edge of modern Karcag)
C
[+P] 2nlocated, but presumbably bet%een @egyver'en and KisXGs-lls)
D
[+P] 9ot located, but presumably in the T>r>'s-entmi'l8s area)
x x x
The chec', although serious, did not force "en? 3andler
!
to abandon a defensive attitude %hich might prevent the
omanians from e0ploiting their tactical success) He proceeded to rally his troops, %ithout delay and %ith some
%elcome rest, into three groups, the centre one, at .-olno'<Cegl7d, %as the largest (L
rd
, D
th
and E
th
:ivisions$/ a little
further south, bet%een Csongrd and ^pus-tas-a, the 6
nd
and C
th
:ivisions paired together/ on the left the !
st
:ivision
%as isolated to%ards +is'olc)
1eneral +ardarescu used the days of 6E to 6B "uly to prepare methodically for operations on the left ban' of the Tis-a,
%hich %as to be forced at Tis-ab? and at Kis'>re)
1eneral Holban4s central group %as in front of @egyverne' (!
st
and 6
nd
3ight :ivs$) The #
th
F crossed on small
boats during the night of 6#QLR "uly (RLRR hours$ in order to protect the construction of the bridgehead at
Tis-ab?)
5n the left, after having held the enemy at .-olno', 1eneral +osoiu4s group (!
st
and E
th
F:s$ %ent to Tis-ab? on
the LR
th
)
5n the right, 1eneral :emetrescu4s group (J
th
F:
6
and 6
nd
C:
L
$ sei-ed some crossings in the Kis'>re sector (night
of LRQL! "uly$)
Fn the south, from '8c-ifalva to H8dme-?vsrhely, there %as the !B
th
F: (1eneral Papp$ %ith the !RJ
th
[F]
from the 6!
st
F:
C
and the !!
th
(rtillery &rigade)
To the north, from Tis-afYred to Chop, there %as 1eneral +ihaescu4s %ing (!E
th
F: and C#
th
F& of the 6R
th
F:$)
The strategic reserve of the 6
nd
F:
D
had its front elements arriving at Kunhegyes by the night of 6# "uly)
The total %as, BC,RRR rifles, !6,RRR sabres, L#6 guns)
The three groups, after having gained a foothold on the right ban' of the Tis-a, each received a distinct mission,
1eneral :emestrescu launched the J
th
F: to%ards &uda*Pest via Heves<Hatvan<1>d>ll?) The L
rd
and D
th
0oisori
&rigades reached Ko'a and 9agy'ata by 6 (ugust) @rom this group the 6
nd
0osiori &rigade separated to the right to
head to%ards +is'olc, %hich %as also the obGective of the C!
st
F& coming from To'aG/ by this means the left of the
.oviet army (L
rd
Corps$ %as isolated from its rear) The :avidoglu detachment then ran into the C-echoslova' border)
E
5n the L
rd
, a march of DR 'ilometres permitted Holban4s light units to catch up to the sNuadrons a fe% leagues from the
Hungarian capital)
@rom C-egl7d and (bony, his first obGectives, 1eneral +osoiu inclined to%ards the Kecs'em7t area, flan'ed by the C
th
0osiori &rigade, %hich left from (lbertirsa to increase the e0tensive envelopment) The !
st
Corps of the ed (rmy (L
rd
,
D
th
and E
th
F:s/ !,RRR officers, LR,RRR men$ gave up %ithout too much resistance and put do%n their arms) The group
%as then left to pursue the debris of the 6
nd
and C
th
F:s)
5n C (ugust (!ERR hours$, 1eneral +ardarescu %ent to his for%ard posts and entered into tal's %ith the delegates of the
ne% government
J
%hich had been substituted for the Odictatorship of the proletariatP)
B
The OComradesP left the hotel
O2ngariaP)
#
:uring the night (!BRR hours$, in order to confirm the liberation (and that %as the least of it$, there %as a proud parade
do%n the (ndrassy .treet of a mi0ed detachment of the victorious omanians)
x x x
5nce more calling on the competent authority of +)1) de .aint*(ubin,
!R
it %ill be recognised (%ithout overdoing the
!
.ic'ened, his chief*of*staff Colonel "ulier, resigned and courageously denounced the causes of the indiscipline %hich doomed the
army)
6
Transferred during +ay to northern +oldavia, then brought bac' to the principal theatre (Kunmadaras$
L
The 6
nd
, L
rd
and D
th
0osiori &rigades, reinforced by the C
th
F& of the !
st
[Fnfantry] :ivision and by the 3ight +ountain egiment,
coming from (rad)
Their +aGesties the King and Kueen, in close contact %ith the troops at the front, attended at the end of the L!
st
a parade of the
division (see the lu0uriously illustrated publication OPagini de 1loire de la Tisa _ &udapestaP$)
C
The 6!
st
F: and the 6R
th
OTransylvanianP F:, reconstituted on 66 "uly, the first in (rad and the other at Carei)
D
The 6
nd
F:, originating in 5lteni`a, had to occupy the &anat (6! "uly$ by travelling via amnicu*=alcea < the .erbian high command
not having the 'indness to authorise the direct route via =brciorova and TemiHoara < and did not have time to set themselves up
(1eneral +ardarescu4s %or' OCampania pentru :esrobirea (rdealulut si 5ccuparea &udapestiP p)!RJ$)
E
C-echoslova'ia only finished the assembly of its forces in the pro0imity of the line of demarcation on ! (ugust/ some advanced
elements %ere near 3ucenec and .-7cs7ny)
J
The counter*revolutionary forces had not intervened) (dmiral Horthy (%ho, seconded by 1eneral Kratoch%ill, had already tried in
"une to deliver &uda*Pest$ %ould assume the heavy burden of raising Hungary from its bloody ruins)
B
The title of the volume by (rmand 3ebrun, in the circumstances, the most appropriate)
#
ecorded in the boo' of "7rome and "ean Tharaud OKuand FsraZl est roiP/ finding their prefered frescoes and silhouettes there)
!R
O3a @rance et la oumanieP in Oevue +ondialeP of !D +arch !#6R
matter$ that certain mista'es of internal politics later acted to harm the results of a brilliant campaign) omania %as to
be some%hat disappointed)
Fn order to not go too far %ith a delicate subGect F %ill limit myself to adhering %ith all my heart, in all sincerity, to the
firm and loyal protestation formulated by .enator 3ucien Cornet, member of the Commission for @oreign (ffairs, OFn
truth, it is not time to disengage @rench responsibility from manoeuvres in %hich it is claimed that %e have complicityP)
!
(lthough attac'ed on various points by the demands of the .upreme Council, although frustrated on the %estern border
of advantages previously conceded,
our 4atin sister 6nation7
did not produce her %illing and prolonged sacrifices up to (ugust !#!# in vain)
.he realised her national unity)
6
Greater Romania was formed.
!
O34intrigue anti*roumaineP in O@rance militaireP of !6 .eptember !#!#)
6
eported from a very precise article O3e di0idme anniversaire de l4unit7 nationale roumaineP in O@rance militaireP of !B +ay !#6#)
Notes
Map A : Campaign of April 1919
Initial placements:
&et%een Khust and easinya, facing 1eneral 5lteanu4s detachment (north of .ighetu$ %ere a group of about L,RRR
&olshevi's and the !
st
.-7'ely
!
egt (!,JRR men$)
Fn the .atu +are region, facing the 6
nd
C:, %as the 6
nd
.-7'ely egt and the !6
th
egt (Honved, 6,CRR men$) @acing the
E
th
and J
th
F:s %ere a Honved &rigade (6C
th
and L6
nd
egts, C,RRR men$ and the L#
th
F&, formed from B battalions from
the L
rd
, C
th
and 6!
st
Honved regiments and the LJ
th
, L#
th
and D!
st
Fs/ together, !R,RRR men) @acing the 6
nd
3ight :iv, a
clumping of battalions (C,DRR men$) There %as support near Carei and :ebrecen (D,RRR men$, 5radea (D,RRR men$ and
&7'7csaba (L,RRR men$)
There %ere bridgeheads at .-olno' and Csongrd)
inal placements:
The !
st
F:, retreating via To'aG/ the D
th
F: %as deserting the C-echoslova' front and retiring via +is'olc) The L#
th
F&
%as at Poros-l8) The &uda*Pest group, the 6
nd
, C
th
and E
th
F:s, %ere bet%een "s-ladny (9 of .-olno'$ and Cegl7d<
9agy'?r>s<Kecs'em7t to Kis'unf7legyh-a)
Map B : Campaign of July; Hungarian Offensive; places reache
The 9orthern 1roup (L
rd
Corps$, leaning on +is'olc, bordered the Tis-a from Chop, upriver from To'aG, %ith t%o
&rigades of .-7'ely and 4ucr5tori and the .-anto detachment/ going over to the left ban' at .-abolcs and a'ama-)
@rom Poros-l8, the BR
th
F& filled the small bridgeheads of Tis-acsege, Mgye' and Tis-afYred)
The bul' (!
st
Corps/ D
th
, E
th
and J
th
F:s$ propped up by the L
rd
and B
th
F:s, filled the deep poc'et of Kis'>re<KisXGs-ls<
+e-?tXr<9agyr7v)
The 6
nd
and C
th
F:s alone filled the .-entes<H8dme-?vsrhely sector)
(fter the omanian counter*offensive, the Hungarian troops retired to, !
st
F: around +is'olc/ L
rd
, D
th
and E
th
F:s into the
-one Cegl7d<T>rtel<9agy'?r>s (i)e) . of Cegl7d$/ 6
nd
and C
th
F:s into the strip from Kecs'em7t to Kis'unf7legyh-a)
Map C : !"ploitation #y the $omanian ivisions from the %is&a to the 'anu#e
@rom Kis'>re (:emetrescu group$, the J
th
F:, via Heves and Hatvan onto 1>d>ll?/ escorted to the left (south$ by the
0osiori brigades)
@rom Tis-ab?<K?tele' (Holban group$, the t%o 3ight divisions follo%ed the rail%ay line from &aldogh-a
6
to &uda*
Pest)
The C
th
0osiori &rigade left the grouping at (lbertirsa (bet%een Cegl7d and +onor$ and headed to Kecs'em7t, %here it
crossed %ith the E
th
F:, of the +osoiu group, %hich had left the !
st
F: at Cegl7d)
The !E
th
F: (a'ama-<Tis-afYred sector$, the 6
nd
F: (Kunhegyes area$ and the !B
th
F: (.-entes<H8dme-?vsrhely
sector$ did not participate in the full e0ploitation, to the north the :avidoglu detachment (6
nd
Calarasi &rigade$ ran up
to the C-echoslova'ia border/ to the %est by parties pushed on to =c, the aab [iver] (Colonel Constantin4s
detachment, J
th
3ight egt, 6
nd
0osiori egt, three batteries$, =es-pr7m (Colonel 9eagu4s detachment, B
th
3ight egt, J
th
0osiori egt, t%o batteries$, Kuns-entmi'l8s, @Yrl>ps-lls and Kalocsa/ to the south, by advanced elements to%ards
Kis'unhalas and Kistele')
!
[+P] &uGac uses the term O.ecuiP %hich F have assumed are .-7'ely, from conte0t and the similar pronunciation)
6
[+P] not located) There is a small village &oldog'ta, north of 9agy'ta, in about the right place)
(M) Notes
F have returned personal names to their original Hungarian spellings, including accent mar's, rather than retain &uGac4s
@rench versions, but have 'ept the non*Hungarian protocol of family names going last)
+ost places in the te0t have multiple names < Hungarian, omanian, 1erman, C-ech and 2'rainian < %hich are not
al%ays very obviously related) Fn the te0t have amended &uGac4s versions (an eclectic mi0 of the Hungarian and 1erman
variants$ to the modern spelling for the country each is presently in) F have amended the more important places on the
maps, but a fe% minor places are still in the original)
The follo%ing are useful conversions for places in the te0t,
(baXGs-anto \ (lbany .-anto
(lba "ulia \ Karlsburg \ 1yula @ehervar
&aIa +are \ 9agybanya
&eretty8 \ &arcVul (iver$
Carei \ Carei +are \ 9agy Kroly
Chop \ Csap \ Tapud
CluG 9apoca \ Klausenburg \ Kolo-vr
:anube \ :una \ :unfrea \ :onau (iver$
@utog \ @utta' (near modern 9ovi .ad$
Khust \ Hus-t
Ko[ice \ Kaschau \ Kassa \ Koaice
3ucenec \ 3osonc-
+u'achZvo \ +un'cs
+ureH \ +aros (iver$
^pus-tas-a \ .>vgnyh-
5radea \ 5radea +are \ 9agyvarad \ 1ross%ardein
.alonta \ 9agys-alonta
.atu +are \ .-atmr 97meti
.ibiu \ Hermannstadt
Timleu .ilvaniei \ .-ilagy .-eg
.-eged \ .eghedin \ (lgy? \ 1ylar7t \ Kis'undoro-sma \ Tp7
Tis-a \ Theiss \ Tisa (iver$
Tis-acsege \ Csege
Ti-safYred \ Tis-as->los
Transylvania \ Mrd7ly \ (rdeal \ .iebenbYrgen
2-h \ 2sco- \ 2h \ 2ng
=c \ ;ait-en \ =an-en
=alea lui +ihai \ Mr +ihlyfalva
easinya \ K>r>sme->
h]