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How Middle-Class Soldiers and Officers Came to Fight for Károlyi

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How Middle-Class Soldiers and Officers Came to Fight for Károlyi Regaining the Homeland: How Middle-Class Soldiers and Officers Came To Fight For Károlyi and Kun Timothy Helmick Submitted to Central European University History Department In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Supervisor: Professor András Géro Second Reader: Professor Julian Casanova Budapest, Hungary CEU eTD Collection 2012 Statement of Copyright “Copyright in the text of this thesis rests with the Author. Copies by any process, either in full or part, may be made only in accordance with the instructions given by the Author and lodged in the Central European Library. Details may be obtained from the librarian. This page must form a part of any such copies made. Further copies made in accordance with such instructions may not be made without the written permission of the Author.” CEU eTD Collection i Abstract I will employ the tool of comparative history to invoke the differences and similarities of the military under the Károlyi and Kun regimes; providing the loss of homeland/threat to sovereignty as the defining motivation that allowed these middle class soldiers to fight for both regimes. Theoretically I will draw upon both Theda Skocpol and Charles Tilly to establish three principal factors that validate the second part of my thesis; loss of the monopoly of violence by the state, multiple sovereignty in the separated territories, and the state losing its ability to be an effective coercive power over the soldiers.1 Both the Tilly and Skocpol theories are directed to correctly identifying revolution, (which both the Károlyi and Kun governments used to gain power) the former arguing from the perspective of political-conflict in which ultimate sovereignty is sought, and the latter stressing the social aspects in a Marxian conception;2 and allow me to explain the effect of the loss of clearly defined national boundaries undermining resistance to outside interference. I will also use Ferenc Eckhart and Miklos Lojko’s theory of sovereignty of the Hungarian Holy Crown to explain the element of nationalism and patriotism expressed by soldiers and officers of the Hungarian Army. My research will highlight the commonality of the demand placed on the state by the soldiers throughout both the Károlyi and Kun governments, and show how the level of 1 Skocpol, Theda. States and Social Revolutions A Comparative Analysis of France, Russia, and China, Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, 1979. Tilly, Charles. From Mobilization to Revolution, Addison Wesley, Reading. CEU eTD Collection 1978. 2 Skocpol, States, pgs. 6-16 ii commitment to these governments was directly measured by the level of success these governments attained in pursuit of the reclamation effort. CEU eTD Collection iii Acknowledgments Firstly I would like to praise God for the talent He has bestowed upon me, His continued guidance is the difference between disaster and success. There are several other people that were indispensable in the writing of this work; notably my lovely wife Dóra who has endured many sleepless nights while I typed away in the other room, enduring my moods, as difficult as I have been. Her listening skills gave me the confidence to strike out things not needed, or to keep things I felt nervous about. I have to thank my parents Jerry and Colleen Helmick, because I would not even be in the position to do something of this magnitude had they not encouraged me in getting a good education and to continue that education my entire life. My brother, Casey Helmick, for his support and good humor. My grandparents, Cathy and Tim Rutman, for always treating me like the son they never had, and believing in me even when others didn’t. To my professors at the Virginia Military Institute, thank you for imbuing me with the necessary knowledge to operate at a graduate degree level. To my advisors, Professors GerĘ and Casanova, thank you for the many revisions and advice. To Professor Lojko, the help you have given me for this paper has been immense, and it was very kind of you to take your time to help me develop my sovereignty argument. Finally, I would like to dedicate this work to the Hungarian officers and soldiers to whom it is written about, your legacy lives on. CEU eTD Collection 1 Table of Contents ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................................II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...................................................................................................................1 LIST OF MAPS, FIGURES AND ILLUSTRATIONS......................................................................4 INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................................................5 CHAPTER 1 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.............................................................................12 CHAPTER 2 DISSOLUTION: IS HOME STILL HOME?............................................................ 27 A. Where do we go from here?............................................................................................................... 27 B. What to do now that we made it home?................................................................................................. 31 I. THE NORTHERN FRONT .................................................................................................................................. 31 II. THE SOUTHERN FRONT .................................................................................................................................. 32 III. THE EASTERN FRONT.................................................................................................................................... 34 B. Ex-soldiers…New Sovereignty…Hungary’s new (old) idea of territorial integrity and what it meant .. 36 I. SOVEREIGNTY FOR SOLDIERS ...................................................................................................................... 36 II. SECURING SOVEREIGNTY............................................................................................................................ 37 III. MONOPOLY OF VIOLENCE, WHO IS IN CHARGE HERE?................................................................................. 39 CHAPTER 3 ENTER THE WHITE (ASTER) KNIGHT: KAROLYI’S NEW DIRECTION ...... 41 A. Familiar strains of the same song (Echoes of 48’).............................................................................. 41 I. THE BEGINNING OF THE END ...................................................................................................................... 41 II. SITUATION REPORT: WHERE DID THE KÁROLYI GOVERNMENT STAND? ............................................................... 43 B. Failed Negotiations (Choosing Sides)................................................................................................ 46 I. TRYING TO PICK UP ALL THE PIECES .............................................................................................................. 46 II. THE TWO SIDES (WHERE THE PIECES FELL)........................................................................................... 47 III. A BLEAK CHRISTMAS (COMMUNISM ON THE RADAR)...................................................................... 50 C. Starting to Unravel ........................................................................................................................... 52 CHAPTER 4 EXIT THE WHITE (ASTER) KNIGHT: ON STORMS THE RED FOOT SOLDIER.......................................................................................................................................... 55 A. Army Alliance: Is War-making or Politics more important?............................................................... 55 I. THE TRANSITION FROM PASSIVE TO FORCED ACTIVE....................................................................................... 55 II. SZÉKELY DIVISION: A TRANSYLVANIA STALWART ............................................................................................ 57 III. DESPERATE TIMES CALL FOR DESPERATE MEASURES (ACTIVE RESISTANCE)..................................................... 59 B. Advantage [N] Vixed......................................................................................................................... 62 I. RESIGNATION OF THE KÁROLYI GOVERNMENT (COMMUNISM GETS IT CHANCE AT GOVERNANCE)...... 62 CEU eTD Collection II. THE ARMY MAKES AN ASSESSMENT ..................................................................................................... 64 2 III. RED AIMS......................................................................................................................................... 66 C. Recruitment for the Reds ................................................................................................................... 68 CHAPTER 5 THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AN AGGRESSIVE FOREIGN POLICY.............. 70 A. Initial Success (A Weak link in the tightening chain).......................................................................... 70 I. CONTINUING ORGANIZATION (ORIGIN OF BATTLE PLANS) .................................................................. 70 II. STEP TWO (WHAT OPTION DO WE TAKE?) ............................................................................................ 74 III. OVERALL MILITARY OUTLOOK: JUNE 1, 1919 ..................................................................................... 78 B. French Intervention (Fait accompli).................................................................................................
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