| Hungarian–Czechoslovak War | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the1918–20 revolutions and interventions in Hungary | |||||||||
 Territory recovered by theHungarian Soviet Republic (light red) in todaySlovakia and minor parts in today Hungary, in May–June 1919 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Hungarian Republic(until March 21, 1919)  Soviet Hungary(from March 21, 1919) Supported by:  Soviet Russia |  CzechoslovakiaHungarian anti-communists Supported by:  France Romania Italy | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Mihály KárolyiBéla KunAurél StromfeldFerenc Julier [hu]Vilmos Böhm | Tomáš MasarykFrantišek SchöblJosef ŠtikaJosef ŠnejdárekJosef Votruba | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 80,000 | 20,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 450 killed (regular army only) (some sources talks about 1,000 – 1,500 being killed) 3,691 wounded 471 captured 6,977 sick | 861 killed 2,830 wounded 343 captured 1,960 missing (in some sources counted as dead) 1,412 sick | ||||||||
TheHungarian–Czechoslovak War, also known as theWar for Upper Hungary (Hungarian:Háború Felső-Magyarországért), was a military conflict between theCzechoslovakia andHungary. It lasted from November 1918 to August 1919.
In 1919, the Hungarian Red Army launched a military operation against Czechoslovak forces, which is referred to in Hungary as the Northern Campaign (Hungarian:északi hadjárat).[1]
At the end of 1918, the final year ofWorld War I, thecollapse of Austria-Hungary led to the declaration of independence ofCzechoslovakia.
On 28 October 1918, theCzechoslovak Republic was proclaimed, but its borders remained unsettled for several months.Edvard Beneš sought to present theParis Peace Conference with afait accompli, and Czechoslovak forces attempted unsuccessfully to occupy the northern counties of Hungary in November 1918 without official permission.[2] The future territory ofSlovakia (then Upper Hungary), which had belonged toHungary, was intended to form part of Czechoslovakia. Clashes began between Hungarian and Czechoslovak military units in early November 1918.
At the end of the month, theEntente drew a provisional demarcation line, which was presented to the Hungarian government on 23 December in the document known as theVix Note. Czech legion units were ordered back from Italy and began occupying the southern, Hungarian-inhabited regions of Upper Hungary (the future Slovakia) on 31 December 1918, securing control before mid-January.[2]
In December, French lieutenant colonelFerdinand Vix, head of the Entente military mission inBudapest, informed the Hungarian government that theCzechoslovak Army was recognized as part of the Entente forces. He further stated that Slovakia was considered part of the Czechoslovak Republic, which therefore had the right to occupy the territory militarily, and that Hungary was required to withdraw its troops.
The predominantly Hungarian and German population sought to prevent the annexation of Pozsony (todayBratislava) to Czechoslovakia and declared it afree city. Nevertheless, theCzechoslovak Legions occupied the city on 1 January 1919 and incorporated it into Czechoslovakia, largely due to its economic importance.[3] On 12 February 1919, German and Hungarian residents held a protest against the Czechoslovak occupation. Czechoslovak Legion units opened fire on the unarmed demonstrators, causing eight deaths and fourteen injuries.[4][2]
Czechoslovak forces began occupying northern Hungary on 2 November 1918. A detachment of 120 men fromHolíč advanced as far asMalacky. The Hungarian prefect inBratislava dispatched several dozen soldiers against them, but they were unable to force a retreat. Tensions eased following the establishment of a temporary demarcation line fromDevínska Nová Ves to theLittle Carpathians, leaving Bratislava under Hungarian control. Under the agreement, Czechoslovak troops occupied the area fromStupava to Devín Lake. They tookTrenčín on 10 November andŽilina two days later.
When 120 Czechoslovak soldiers occupiedTrnava on 9 November, the local guard, supported by Hungarian troops from Bratislava, drove them back toSenica, where the Hungarian advance halted on 17 November. Czechoslovak forces approachingRužomberok also retreated to Žilina and then, under Hungarian pressure, withdrew toOstrava. The provisional border between Czechoslovakia and Hungary was fixed on 28 November along the riverIpeľ toLučenac, then throughRimavská Sobota toUzhhorod.
ColonelFrantišek Schöbl, who assumed command of Czechoslovak forces in northern Hungary on 25 November, decided to occupy the Nitra Valley on 6 December. However, on 4 December, he encountered a Hungarian attack onHlohovec. A Czechoslovak naval company repulsed another attack at Žilina the next day and secured the town. After consolidating control over Hlohovec, Czechoslovak troops occupiedSereď andPezinok.Nitra was taken on 11 December after the Hungarians withdrew toNové Zámky.
A broader operation followed with the aim of securing central and eastern northern Hungary.Poprad was captured with the support of an armoured train on 15 December, andSpišská Nová Ves the next day. After a clash with Polish forces nearKežmarok, a demarcation line between Czechoslovakia and Poland was established fromLomnický štít through Magura toStará Ľubovňa.
Zvolen fell on 22 December, followed byBanská Štiavnica andBanská Bystrica on 23 December. By 25 December, all of Považie and the area extending to Spišská Nová Ves were under Czechoslovak control. Only the eastern part of northern Hungary remained unsecured, and it was occupied by the end of the year.Prešov was taken on 28 December andKošice the next day.
On the same day, Italian generalLuigi Piccione assumed command of Czechoslovak troops. The Czechoslovak legionary corps from Italy was tasked with occupying southern northern Hungary. Piccione began the advance toward Bratislava on 30 December and secured control of the city between 1 and 2 January 1919.Lučenec was captured on the night of 2–3 January, Nové Zámky on 9 January without resistance, andKomárno the next day. By 11 January, the northern bank of the Ipeľ had been cleared.
Because the demarcation line crossed the key east-bound railway, Piccione decided to advance further south. The southern bank of the Ipeľ was taken on 16 January, and by 20 January the entire territory of the future Slovakia was under Czechoslovak control. However, Czechoslovakia remained dissatisfied with the 28 November border, as the east-bound railway line remained partly on the Hungarian side. In February 1919, the Council of the Entente permitted[clarification needed] Czechoslovak troops to occupy a more southerly line from Esztergom through theMátra Mountains to Čop.[5][6][7]
During the conflict, theHungarian Red Army fought separate engagements against Czechoslovak and Romanian troops.France was heavily involved diplomatically.[8] By the end of the war, more than 120,000 troops had taken part on both sides.
On 26 April 1919, Hungarian forces withdrew from the border areas with Czechoslovakia. Their retreat facilitated the Czechoslovak advance, and on 27 April Czechoslovak forces joined the Romanian army, following an order issued on 7 April.[clarification needed] Their tasks included securing the new state’s territory and preventing a potential link between the Hungarian Red Army and Soviet Russia.
Part of the Czechoslovak forces advanced eastward, crossing the Carpathian passes and entering Transcarpathian Rus (today Subcarpathian Ukraine), which they secured by 30 April. Meanwhile, the southern advance proceeded rapidly. Troops under General Piccione moved beyond the newly drawn demarcation line and entered Miskolc on 2 May.
Romanian forces halted at the Tisza River on 1 May becauseBessarabia, which Romania had taken over following the collapse of Tsarist Russia, came under threat. On 1 May, Soviet Foreign Minister Georgii Chicherin issued an ultimatum demanding Romania withdraw from Bessarabia or face attack. Romania agreed to a truce with Budapest on 2 May to consolidate its defenses. This development was exploited by Hungarian forces, who redirected their focus toward Czechoslovakia.[9]
Appealing to Hungarians with promises to regain the lands lost to neighbouring countries, communist leaderBéla Kun declared war on Czechoslovakia shortly after coming to power. This increased his domestic support by suggesting he would restore Hungary's pre-war borders. The Hungarian Army began recruiting men aged 19–25, with industrial workers fromBudapest volunteering and many former Austro-Hungarian officers re-enlisting out of patriotism. The army moved its 1st and 5th artillery divisions (40 battalions) to Upper Hungary (in present-day Slovakia).
The Hungarian counterattack was launched on 9 May 1919 in the area ofHatvan. On 20 May 1919, ColonelAurél Stromfeld attacked in force and expelled Czechoslovak troops fromMiskolc (Miškovec), also recapturingKošice (Kassa) andPrešov (Eperjes), successfully separating the Czechoslovak and Romanian armies from one another. As a result, Hungary controlled territory up to itsformer northern border and regained several industrial areas around Miskolc,Salgótarján andBanská Štiavnica (Selmecbánya).
The 1st Division, unable to cross theHernád River because of strong Czechoslovak resistance, did not meet its objective. However, the rest of the corps advanced successfully. Particularly effective were the 80th and 46th brigades of the 3rd Division, which advanced toward Losonc (todayLučenec), prompting the enemy to evacuate the town on 30 May.[1]
On 1 June, Hungarian troops capturedTiszalúc,Szendrő,Tornalja, and Léva (todayLevice). By 3 June, they had entered Érsekújvár (todayNové Zámky). On 5 June, Hungarian soldiers marched intoSárospatak and Korpona (todayKrupina). The 6th Division advanced toward Kassa (today Košice), capturing the city on 6 June. In the following days, III Corps continued its advance toward Tőketerebes (todayTrebišov), Eperjes (todayPrešov), and Bártfa (todayBardejov).[1]
Despite earlier promises to restore Hungary's pre-war borders, the communist leadership proclaimed the independentSlovak Soviet Republic in Eperjes (todayPrešov) on 16 June 1919.[10] This convinced many Hungarian nationalists and patriots that the communist government's priority was spreading communist ideology rather than restoring lost Hungarian territories.[11]
Despite a series of military victories, the Hungarian Red Army began to disintegrate because of this tension between nationalists and communists. Even theChief of the General Staff, Aurél Stromfeld, resigned in protest.[12]
On 7 June, French Prime MinisterGeorges Clemenceau sent a note urging an immediate ceasefire. The Hungarian Soviet government responded that hostilities were initiated by Czechoslovakia, which had crossed the demarcation line.[1]
On 13 June, Clemenceau sent another note outlining the Peace Conference's proposed borders for Hungary, ordering a withdrawal within those boundaries.[13] In response, a debate emerged within the Hungarian leadership over whether to accept or reject the terms.[1] The subsequent withdrawal from northern territories caused the collapse of the Tisza front, contributing to the fall of the Hungarian Soviet Republic. On 4 August, Romanian forces entered Budapest.[13]
Meanwhile, the Czechoslovak Army was reorganized. Unreliable Italian commanders were replaced by French officers. The newly reorganized 2nd Infantry Division, led by Foreign Legion veteranJosef Šnejdárek, regrouped and prepared for offensive operations. Within a week, Šnejdárek had stabilized his forces and readied them for battle.
On 24 June, following multiple exchanges between the Red Army High Command and General Pellé of the Czechoslovak side, a ceasefire came into effect on the northern front, marking the end of the Red Army's northern campaign.[1]
On the morning of 10 June, the 2nd Infantry Brigade launched a diversionary attack onZvolen (Zólyom). Its left wing unexpectedly struck the flank of Hungarian forces while the right wing enteredBanská Štiavnica (Selmecbánya). Hungarian counterattacks on the following day were repelled, and the 2nd Division continued its offensive.
Šnejdárek redirected the main attack and on 13 June ordered a flanking manoeuvre around Zvolen. After four hours of fighting, Czechoslovak troops occupied the dominant heights and began pressing the key Hungarian defensive positions. By midday, the frontline had shifted by about 10 km. Control of the central stretch of theHron (Garam) River passed to Czechoslovakia, and the Hungarian command no longer had reserves to stabilize the front.
The recapture of Zvolen marked a turning point. The Czechoslovak Army seized the initiative and advanced towardLevice (Léva) andLučenec (Losonc). A week of heavy fighting ensued, exhausting Hungarian forces. The Hungarian command agreed to a ceasefire and withdrew to the demarcation line.
Czech soldiers—many of whom had fought in the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I—and Slovak volunteers demonstrated combat effectiveness comparable to that of theCzechoslovak Legions, who were still in Russia in 1919.[14][15][16]
In August 1919, the Bolshevik regime in Hungary collapsed, and Romanian forces occupied central parts of the country, including the capital. Czechoslovakia also took advantage of the situation. Although an offer to participate in the occupation of Budapest was rejected, Czechoslovak troops captured Petržalka and Salgótarján on 14 August. While they later withdrew from Salgótarján, Petržalka became part ofBratislava. Transcarpathia was occupied in September 1919.[6][7]
The defeat of the Hungarian Soviet Republic and the Slovak Soviet Republic, along with the Romanian occupation of Budapest in August 1919, brought the conflict to an end. Romanian troops withdrew from the occupied territory in March 1920. As a result of the war, Czechoslovakia gained control over the territory of Slovakia, which had previously been part of Hungary.
In the final phase of the conflict, more than 120,000 soldiers were deployed on both sides. Volunteers enlisted in the Czechoslovak Army, and several Slovak volunteer units were formed in Slovakia, including Jánošík's troupe, the Zbor Turčianských dobrovoľníkov, the Dobrovoľnícka družina Slovákov, and the Tisovskí dobrovoľníci.[17]
Slovak volunteers were drawn mainly from the northern Slovak counties and took part primarily in the battles for Zvolen, Banská Bystrica, and Košice.[18] According to historian Zdeněk Kárník, 90 fallen Czechoslovak soldiers came from Slovakia and Subcarpathian Rus, while 895 fallen soldiers—including 640 volunteers—came from the Czech lands.[18]
