Hungarian Heritage Review, 1989 (18. évfolyam, 1-9. szám)
1989-01-01 / 1. szám
^Hungarian ■Heritage (Ealenimr THE BATTLE OF THE DON: THE WORST MILITARY DISASTER IN HUNGARIAN HISTORY Forty-five years ago this month (January 12, 1943), Hungary suffered the worst disaster in her military history. Although the cause of it was and still is a classic example of why nations cannot trust or depend upon “allies” when the chips-aredown, the lesson has yet to be learned. Consequently, it is bound to be repeated. While most Hungarians and, let’s face it, most countries around the world, remain ignorant about and unconcerned with what happened to the Hungarian 2nd Army on the River Don in 1943, there are still some members alive of the “emigráció” in America who remember it as if it happened yesterday. Be this as it may, they are too few in number and incapable of bringing attention to the significance, in relation to today’s geopolitics, of the price paid by Hungarians in the “Battle of the Don” in World War II. This dangerous geopolitical indifference to the past repeating itself if ignored can be attributed to a great extent to the fact that, while much has been written about World War II and its aftereffects, military historians seem to have deliberately “glossed over” the subject as if it were taboo. Perhaps, because Hungary, as she was in World War I, was again on the wrong side. The thunderous prelude to the “Battle of the Don” was the Soviet rout of the German Army on the southern sector of the Eastern Front. The center sector of this line, which was the “Don Front", was held by miserably equipped Hungarian, Italian, and Romanian forces. The Hungarian 2nd Army alone, which was poised on the bend of the Don (south of Voronezh), was ordered by the German Command to hold a line almost 200-mileslong — without its armored brigade, which was detached, placed under the command of German officers, and redeployed to cover the German retreat in the southern sector. The Hungarians were left stranded without fuel for aircraft and vehicles, without armor, without heavy weaponry, without anti-tank guns, without air support, without winter quarters in sub-zero weather, without adequate food supplies, and without winter clothing. The Hungarian 2nd Army was left standing like sacrificial lambs outnumbered by a ratio of 20-1 and defenseless against hordes of well-equipped and revenge-motivated, Soviet forces. After two brutal days of furious combat, the Soviets cracked the thin Hungarian line, thus isolating the 3rd Corps of the Hungarian 2nd Army holding a sector north of the break-through. Two days later, on January 14th, the Soviets attacked the southern sector of the Hungarian line with 4 infantry and 5 armored divisions. The slaughter lasted for eight days. During this time, the 8th Italian Army pulled out without warning and left the Hungarian right flank exposed. This presented an opportunity for the Soviets to encircle both the Hungarian and German units on that front. But, spearheaded by a single Hungarian regiment, the Soviet assault was broken up — at a cost to the regiment of 80% of its effectives. In the northern sector, the 3rd Corps of the Hungarian 2nd Army, consisting of three divisions, continued to protect the German retreat until February 1st. By that time, of course, the Hungarians were surrounded. Disregarding this and concerned with their own best interests, the German Command ordered the Hungarian survivors of the one-sided battle to counterattack, so that they could complete their escape. In the face of such a despicable order, the commander of the 3rd Corps, General Count Marcel Stomm, blew his cool and refused to obey. In his Order of the Day, here’s how he explained his unprecedented decision: “.. . The Royal Hungarian 3rd Corps has been covering the withdrawal of the German 2nd Army for the last 12 days. During this time the Hungarian soldiers had to suffer the horrors of the Russian winter outdoors, without food, ammunition... Today / received the order to lead you in an attack to break through the Russian lines... which even the well-equipped and armed German troops were unable to stop. . . I cannot pass this order to you, as it would be senseless to expect the half-starved, half-frozen Hungarians to go to their deaths... After this, I must allow everybody to look after himself. God be with you, Hungarian soldiers! Upon issuing this Order of the Day, General Stomm saluted his troops and, after bidding his officers farewell, walked toward the Soviet line with a pistol in his hand. His fate remains unknown to this very day. The cost to the Hungarian 2nd Army of the “Battle of the Don” was over 150,000 casualties. It was a remarkable demonstration of Hungarian fortitude and courage. What is even more remarkable is that, buried in an unmarked mass grave “somewhere” in the area of the Don in the Soviet Union, no memorial to them has been permitted! 14 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW JANUARY 1989
