Jenő Katona, Jr.
The
year of 1848 was a turning point in the political history of Europe in general
and that of the Hungarian nation in particular. Revolution after revolution
swept through the continent, upheaval beginning in Paris in February, continuing
in Italy, then followed by revolution in Vienna in the month of March.
Lajos
Kossuth (a key figure in the war of
independence who spearheaded the movement toward reform), known to the Magyar
people as "Kossuth apánk"
(our father, Kossuth), delivered a speech to the Diet (Congress) in Pozsony
on the 3rd of March in which he proclaimed the following sweeping
reforms in 12 points:
1.
Freedom of the press and abolition of
censorship
2.
Appointment of a Hungarian Ministry
3.
An annual Diet elected by universal suffrage
4.
Equality of all in the eyes of the law
5.
Formation of a National Guard
6.
Taxation of the clergy and nobles
7.
Eliminate feudal rights
8.
Elected juries for criminal cases
9.
Creation of a National Bank
10. Creation
of a National Army
11. Liberation
of political prisoners
12. Unification
of Hungary and Transylvania
On
March 15th, on the steps of the National Museum in Budapest, the
young poet Sándor Petőfi recited
his Nemzeti Dal (National Song) to a
patriotic crowd of 10,000. The words echoed here, calling for the rebirth of
the nation, were to become the overture to the revolution. With the approval of
Emperor-King Ferdinand V from Vienna,
the Diet in Pozsony (Bratislava) put the revolutionary reforms into effect
within 3 short weeks, thereby laying the foundation of a new Hungary as a
result of a bloodless, peaceful, and lawful revolution.
For
the people of the Carpathian Basin, this promising new and happier era that
seemed to appear on the horizon was followed by a dark cloud in the form of a
clique in the Emperor's Court; they had already begun their intrigues to
undermine the reform work of the new Hungarian Ministry. Its main weapon was
the idea of the age: nationalism,
and as tools they used the nationalities. The fever of reform and equality that
swept through the Carpathian Basin also aroused the various ethnic groups who
were eager to carve out for themselves a piece of Hungary itself! Here I would
like to make a significant note to the earlier thought, that it was never, ever
the "thousand year long dream" of these "oppressed
nationalities" to secede from Hungary, thereby dismembering a thousand
year old Hungarian Kingdom. These nationalities had through the ages lived
side-by-side with their Magyar brothers and had shared the fate of the country - in prosperity and
famine, in peace and occupation.
The
sinister plan of inciting the nationalities against Hungary worked. With the
backing of the government of Vienna, armed Croatian, Serbian and Rumanian
peasants went on a rampage in the mainly Magyar inhabited areas, looting,
burning, and claiming thousands of innocent Hungarian lives. While the Slovaks
generally supported the Magyars, following Vienna's call, that number dwindled
to only a handful; the German and Ruthenian nationalities did not take up arms
against their Hungarian brothers.
Exhibit 39: Honvéd (Army) Flag of 1848-49
On
September 11th, the Croats, with an army of 40,000 troops under Ban (viceroy)
Jossio Jellaschich, crossed the
Hungarian frontier and spearheaded an armed intrusion into Hungary, marching
against Buda-Pest from the south. The Serbs under their nationalist leader Statimirovitch also invaded from the
South, while the Wallachians (Rumanians) rebelled and created havoc in
Transylvania. The following months saw a well trained Imperial Austrian Army,
helped by the nationalities' movements, defeat and outmaneuver any resistance
by the honvéds (Hungarian Army) and the National Guard, who were still
ill-equipped and lacked battle experience. It was here again that Lajos Kossuth
came and saved the day. He became the heart and soul of the movement to
accelerate the formation of the Honvéd Army and his oratorical magic inspired an
unprecedented patriotic fever, which prompted students and teachers, factory
workers and peasants by the tens of thousands to march under his banner and
report for the defense of the country.
Following
the first chaotic months of the War of Independence, Kossuth succeeded in
creating a formidable Honvéd force. He appointed Josef Bem (a legendary exiled Polish general) as commander in chief of
military operations in Transylvania. In a series of battles, Bem defeated the
Imperial Army and the Wallachian insurgents, and drove the Austrian troops across the Carpathians and out of
Transylvania. To the south, János Damjanich
(a Serb by birth, but whose love for Hungary made him the most ardent defender
of the country) defeated the Imperial Army's Cavalry troops in a surprise
attack, forcing them to retreat back to the Hungarian frontier. With three
powerful army corps (under generals Görgy Klapka,
János Damjanich and Lajos Aulich), Arthur Görgey, who was to
become one of the war’s greatest
generals, gave the order to begin what is now known as the Magyar Spring
Offensive. Kossuth fueled the fighting man's spirit with the famous
"Kossuth Song" sung by the Honvéds as they marched into battle.
Victory upon glorious victory followed with the dashing "Hungarian Hussar" cavalrymen serving as the cutting edge
of the Magyar Army. The Magyar women also contributed to the war effort
offering their gold and jewelry so that the Magyar soldiers could be
provisioned with uniforms and guns.
On
April 14th in the city of Debrecen, the Diet dethroned the Habsburg
Dynasty and elected Kossuth as governing "President of Hungary". The
country's newly won freedom was to be short-lived, however. The Emperor could
not stand to be humiliated any longer, so he sent Czar Nicholas an urgent
request for an armed intervention against Hungary. The Czar did not hesitate
and in a few short weeks, the Russian attack began, coming from the north and
the east with 200,000 troops following almost the same route the Mongols had
used six centuries earlier. In June of 1849, a combined Austrian-Russian
offensive threw 370,000 men and 1,200 guns against Hungary's 152,000 Honvéds
with only 450 guns. The rest of the War of Independence was a hopeless fight,
being fought by tens of thousands of patriotic, battle weary and freedom loving
people against the tyranny and subjugation-driven beliefs of the Emperor and
the Czar. Flashes of Magyar valor and unseen heroism were commonplace all over
the battlefield.
In
the end, with the number of wounded and dying quickly rising and to further
spare his country and his troops from anymore senseless bloodshed, Arthur
Görgey announced his decision to surrender. On August 13th, his
forces laid down their arms before the Russians at Világos. Many who could not believe and could not accept such a
disastrous end to the war that they had so vigorously and valiantly fought,
simply shot themselves in the head, while others with tears in their eyes
looked on and followed. Others went into hiding, but were soon hunted down and
made to stand trial for their part in the revolution. Still others sought
refuge in foreign lands and continued to fight on with their brilliant speeches
and patriotic writings, the most famous of these exiled leaders being Lajos
Kossuth. Through his magnificent gift of oratory, he obtained an enormous
sympathy for the Hungarian cause.
With
the surrender at Világos, the age of dashing Hussar cavalrymen and glorious
battles came to an end, but a more sinister and darker era was just looming
over the horizon. The Viennese government unleashed the sadist General Haynau to exact retribution. His desire
to wreak vengeance on the Magyars was best demonstrated on October 6, 1849 in
the city of Arad, by the abominable act of executing 13 of the ablest generals
of the Honvéd Army, some by firing squad but most by the hangman's rope. This
served as a warning and preceded the mass of imprisonments and executions that
followed.
To
this day, historians still ponder the question: Could the Hungarians have
prevailed as the victors of the War of Independence? According to the famous
historian, István Nemeskürthy,
militarily the Hungarian Army of 1849 was well equipped and drilled enough to
secure itself a victory on the battlefield. The mere fact of mustering such an
impressive army in such short notice (200,000 Honvéds) clearly showed the
willingness and sacrifice the nation was ready to make for the defense of the
country. In addition, the secret to the swift and sweeping successes on the
battlefield lay in the hands of the brilliant and experienced military generals
(Damjanich, Klapka, Görgey) and their knowledge of modern military tactics. The
tactics used during the war were to be fully understood and imitated only well
after the second half of the century. The Emperor knew very well that without
some sort of outside military intervention, Austria would have to suspend its
military campaign and suffer a humiliating defeat, thereby recognizing
Hungary's independence. As we now know, the arrival of the well rested Russian
troops with their heavy guns proved to be too much for any of the generals to
handle. The further continuation of the war would have meant more bloodshed and
destruction to a country that had already suffered enough. Today, the people of
our nation are now beginning to understand General Görgey's controversial
decision to surrender and not continue the inevitable bloodletting.