Battle of Pákozd

The Battle of Pákozd (or Battle of Sukoró) was a battle in the Hungarian war of Independence of 1848–1849, fought on the 29 September 1848 in the Pákozd – Sukoró – Pátka triangle.

Background

After the Ottoman–Hungarian wars ended and the whole territory of the Kingdom of Hungary in personal union with Croatia was liberated from the Ottoman rule, between 1683 and 1699 by the coalition led by the Habsburgs Croatian (later Croatian-Slavonian) Ban represented the Habsburg monarch in this area ruling over Croat and Slavonian feudal counties. The Ban, who belonged to the highest ranking barons of the county, possessed his own jurisdiction and the institution of the Croat feudal Sabor.

developed from his judicial meetings. After the anti-Ottoman wars, the Military Border was established on most of the parts of Croat and Slavonian territories under military administration. However, not only did the Ban hold political supremacy over Croatian counties, but as head of the Zagreb (Hung. Zágráb) Generalkommando, he was also the commander-in-chief of the Military Border of the Ban, and that of Varaždin (Hung. Varasd), and Karlovac (Hung. Károlyváros). These ideas, the Croat version of Pan-Slavism, justly alarmed the Hungarian public which had been struggling with a vision of national death by drowning within a Slavic sea. The Emperor appointed Jelačić as Croatian Ban on March 23. The following day the new Ban was promoted to major-general and head of Zágráb Generalkommando. On April 8 he was promoted to lieutenant general. This The only positive outcome of the meeting was that Batthyány and Jelačić agreed that he would withdraw his troops from the Dráva River. László Csány, government commissioner of Vas, Zala, Veszprém, and Sopron counties, sent numerous reports about Illyrist agent provocateurs on territories bordering Croatia who incited former serfs against the noblemen and they also fomented propaganda for annexing the Muraköz to Croatia. In return Minister of the Interior Bertalan Szemere appointed Csány as royal commissioner of Zala, Somogy, Baranya, and Tolna counties and instructed him to keep an eye on the other side of the river with the help of the deployed regular army of 4,000 soldiers and the county national guardsmen of 14,000 men.

Until early August Jelačić did not seriously consider launching an attack against Hungary. He deployed only a few battalions at the border and occupied Varasd early June. Most of the 1st and 2nd battalions of the border guard regiments were in Italy and serious officer and armament shortages appeared in the rest of the battalions. In July Jelačić went on a tour of Slavonia and the Szerémség and won over the border guard regiments one after the other. Between August 8 and 10, after his return to Croatia, his troops occupied Virovitica County (Verőce) and then Szerém county in mid-August. According to the recollections of one of his generals, by then, Jelačić had decided to be the first to attack, before the Hungarians would. On August 31 the Eszék garrison announced that in case the expected Hungarian-Croatian conflict occurred they would remain neutral and keep the fortress for His Majesty, Ferdinand V. This dealt a disadvantage to both the Hungarians and the Croats since, according to the Eszék declaration, the Croats were forbidden from using the crossing over the Dráva River at Eszék. Because of troop deployments to other areas, only the following Hungarian units were stationed along the Dráva line: two regular infantry battalions, one honvéd battalion, ten hussar companies, two companies of light cavalry, and a regiment of cuirassiers. One more honvéd battalion was expected to arrive soon. The majority of county national guard battalions—except for Vas county's national guard regiment of three battalions—were waiting for relief in order to return home. However, due to the organization of the Volunteer Mobile National Guard it was doubtful whether the relevant counties would send new battalions to protect the Dráva line.

On August 26 Jelačić was notified from Vienna that the Imperial Court endorsed the justice of the Croatian and Serbian issues saying that “very soon the Court will declare it.” He was also promised that, as soon as he set out for the battlefield the June 10th “disparaging manifesto (the suspension of him as Ban of Croatia) would be withdrawn.” Jelačić, in turn, notified Rajačić about all the above and about the impending attack on August 28. But before this attack, his troops occupied Fiume, considered by Hungary as its own port to the Adriatic Sea on August 31. This meant that the Croatian troops entered in Hungarian territory, thus the war had begun. Jelačić could hardly believe that this plan would lead to serious results. Yet he did hope that in this way the best Hungarian troops would not disturb his march to Pest. Allegedly, Imperial-Royal Minister of Defense Feldzeugmeister Theodor Franz, Count Baillet von Latour

suggested that the Ban should not march directly towards Buda, but instead march towards Komárom from where he could march against either Buda or Vienna. The Ban supposedly also contemplated marching towards Pozsony and instigating an uprising among the Slovak population.

Prelude

On September 11 Jelačić's troops (51,117 soldiers, 1,902 horses, and 48 guns) crossed the Dráva River at several points and advanced on to Muraköz. Jelačić was in dire need of these units since he had very few cavalry units. However, the quality of the hussar regiment that the Ban consequently established did not match Hungarian's and this discrepancy in quality caused several problems for Jelačić. The four companies of light cavalry were unsuitable to counterbalance the Hungarian hussars in reconnaissance. A regiment of cuirassiers could be used in an open battle but not in scouting nor in shock-actions.

On September 15 the Hungarian decision to resist against the Croatian army was reinforced by Palatine Stephen's appointment as commander in chief of the army—through Battyhány's efforts and pressure—in hopes that the Palatine would be able to hold the loyalty of the officers’ corps.

The Palatine intended to meet Jelačić on deck of a steamer on the Lake Balaton, but the latter declined to appear. The Palatine noted that Jelačić was so confident that he could afford to humiliate even an imperial and royal archduke. Therefore, Palatine Stephen transferred his command to Lieutenant General János Móga, left the camp, returned to Pest, and then left for Vienna. Although their destructiveness could not be compared with the atrocities committed by the Serbian rebels, their looting was a deep source of bitterness for the people of Transdanubia. This is why it was evident that Batthyány's call for levy in mass met with such a good response. Jelačić himself had not counted on that either. Ten days after the Croat troops crossed the Dráva River,

communications between the army and the hinterland practically ceased to exist. The Zala and Somogy county national guardsmen, militiamen, and volunteers intercepted several hundred carriages transporting

food and equipment, thus preventing the Croatian troops left behind from venturing beyond Nagykanizsa. On September 25 the Emperor appointed Lieutenant General Count Franz Philipp von Lamberg as royal commissioner and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and Senechal György Mailáth as royal governor of Hungary. The news about Lamberg's appointment created uncertainty and conflict among the officers from the Hungarian army because it stated, with the signature of the king, to whom they had sworn, that they should not fight against Jelačić. On 27 September Jelačić was informed by an envoy of Batthyány about Lamberg's appointment, and withdrew the attack order which he had planned for the next day, agreeing with the Hungarians for 24 hours ceasefire, waiting for Lamberg to arrive at his headquarters from Székesfehérvár. But the next day Lamberg din not come, because he went to Pest, so Jelačić gave the order to attack the Hungarians on the next day.

On September 28, the Ban's army was concentrated southwest of Pákozd, between this place and Székesfehérvár, and on the same day Major Fligelli was sent out to spy on the Hungarian camp and as far as possible, to learn if in Pest the Hungarians are preparing to defend themselves in case of his troops' advancement against the capital. At the same time as Fligelli was sent out, Jelačić ordered a reconnaissance-in-force against the Hungarian camp.

On the night of 28 to 29 September Batthyány went to Jelačić's camp trying to convince him to wait until Lamberg's arrival. On 29 in the morning, the Ban refused, and ordered his troops to advance towards the Hungarian army installed on the hills from Pátka and Sukoró. One of the reasons for this was that in the region of Székesfehérvár he could not feed his troops continuously, because the Hungarian army had previously thoroughly exploited the area. south of the Lovasberény road, The multifaceted, accidented topography which dominated the region where the Hungarian right wing was placed, including the region of Pátka, made any enemy cavalry and artillery attacks very difficult. Only two companies of hussars and 8 guns supported the Hungarian right flank. Ivánka deployed the companies of the two battalions in an echelon formation, taking advantage of the terrain, while two companies were positioned as support behind the heights, which lay 60 paces behind the battalions. 250–300 paces behind them the 3rd (Hont–Esztergom) and the 4th (Nógrád) battalions were deployed. To the north of these two battalions, in line with them, was the 1st Battalion of the 60th (Wasa) Infantry Regiment, in front of it the 3rd Six Pounder half Honvéd battery and the Half Battery of Major Imre Ivánka. At the northern end of the position stood the Tolna Volunteer Mobile National Guard Battalion and two companies of the 9th (Nicholas) Hussar Regiment. Two Hussar companies were on outpost at Pátka. This section was also crossed by a road, and the terrain was similar to that on the northern shore. Móga here meant active defense in case of need, as indicated by the fact that in addition to the 6 cannons and one battalion each of soldiers and volunteers, he deployed here nearly 600 hussars. If necessary, the latter could be moved relatively quickly around the lake to its northern shore.

thumb|250 px|Jelačić's camp Lithography by Kriehuber

The reserve at Velence, was made up of a battalion of the line infantry, a battalion of Honvéd's and 3 battalions of volunteers, and 400 hussars, As a result of these, on 29 September at night Görgei had at his disposition 600 men from the Jászkun, 800 from the Szabolcs mobile national guards, 1500 men from the Hunyadi militia 202 riders from the 2. Major division of the 9. (Nicholas) Hussar regiment (in total 3100 men at arms) and 16 cannons. Görgei knew that he had not enough men to cause serious problems to the Croatian right wing, but he wanted to establish a web of sentries to prevent the communication between the army of Jelačić and the approaching corps of Roth, capturing the correspondence between them, thus gathering important information which could be decisive in the upcoming confrontation of the two armies.

{| class="wikitable"

! width=8% | Army section

! width=62% | Unit

! width=30% | Leader

! width= | Infantry company

! width= | Cavalry company

! width= | Horse

! width= | Cannon

! width= | Number

| rowspan="11" |

Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Josef Millpökh

Chief of staff: Captain Ernő Szirányi

3. battalion of the 48 (Ernest) Infantry Regiment

| Major Franz Begg

| 6

| -

| 670

1. battalion of the 60 (Wasa) Infantry Regiment

| Captain Alois Wiedersperg

| 6

| -

| 500

1. (1. of Pest) battalion of the Volunteer Mobile National Guards from Cisdanubia

| Major Imre Ivánka

| 6

| -

| 1000

2. (2. of Pest) battalion of the Volunteer Mobile National Guards from Cisdanubia

| Major Richard Guyon

| 6

| -

| 1000

3. (of Hont and Esztergom county) battalion of the Volunteer Mobile National Guards from Cisdanubia

| Captain Ignác Heley

| 6

| -

| 1000

4. (of Nógrád county) battalion of the Volunteer Mobile National Guards from Cisdanubia

| Captain Pál Horváth

| 6

| -

| 1000

3. (of Tolna county) battalion of the Volunteer Mobile National Guards from Transdanubia

| Major Miklós Perczel

| 6

| -

| 1180

9. (Nicholas) Hussar Regiment

| Major Imre Szegedy

| -

| 2

| 200

| -

| 200

3. six-pounder infantry ½ battery

| First lieutenant Bazil Strakoniczky

| -

| 60

| 4

| 40

Cisdanubia Volunteer Mobile National Guards's Ivánka Infantry Battery

| Lieutenant József Mihálovics

| -

| 4

| 40

Total

| 42

| 2

| 260

| 8

| 6630

| rowspan="12" |

Commander: Major General Franz Holtsche

Chief of staff: Lieutenant József Bayer

2. battalion of the 34 (Duke of Prussia) Infantry Regiment

| Major József Széll

| 4

| -

| 400

Cordier Grenadier Battalion

| Major Johann Weissel

| 4

| -

| 307

1. Honvéd Battalion

| Major György Lázár

| 6

| -

| 900

Borsod battalion of the Volunteer Mobile National Guards from the Eastern Tisza region

| Major Lajos Vay

| 6

| -

| 1262

9. (Nicholas) Hussar Regiment

| Major József Békeffy

| -

| 2

| 200

| -

| 200

Lieutenant colonel division of the 4. (Alexander) Hussar Regiment

| Captain Teodor Schloissnig

| -

| 2

| 200

| -

| 200

4. six-pounder k.u.k. infantry battery

| First Lieutenant Karl Jungwirth

| -

| 66

| 6

| 112

1. six-pounder honvéd cavalry battery

| Lieutenant László Adorján

| -

| 115

| 8

| 145

2. six-pounder cavalry battery

| First lieutenant József Mack

| -

| 76

| 6

| 117

1. six-pounder Honvéd infantry ½ battery

| Lieutenant Fülöp Gruber

| -

| 58

| 4

| 72

3. six-pounder Honvéd infantry ½ battery

| Lieutenant Fülöp Gruber

| -

| 32

| 4

| 99

Total

| 20

| 4

| 747

| 28

| 3814

| rowspan="5" |

Commander: Major Mihály Répássy

Chief of staff: Lieutenant Albrecht

2. Honvéd battalion

| Major Karl Zinnern

| 6

| -

| 964

Zrínyi Militia

| Mór Perczel (without a rank)

| 6

| -

| 950

6. (Württemberg) Hussar Regiment

| Major Mihály Répássy

| -

| 5

| 580

| -

| 580

2. six-pounder k.u.k. cavalry battery

| First Lieutenant Karl Jungwirth

| -

| 66

| 6

| 113

Total

| 18

| 5

| 656

| 6

| 2607

| rowspan="6" |

Commander: Major General Ádám Teleki

1. battalion of the 34 (Duke of Prussia) Infantry Regiment

| Captain Vince Győzey

| 6

| -

| 600

14. Honvéd Battalion

| Major László Inczédy

| 6

| -

| 665

- Transdanubia Vol. Mobile National Guards –1. (Veszprém) battalion –2. (Moson-Győr-Sopron) battalion –4. (Somogy) battalion

|–Major Mór Kosztolányi –Captain Géza Kun –Major Manó Zichy –Major Károly Tallián

| 16

| -

| 2800

4. (Alexander) Hussar Regiment

| Major Mihály Répássy

| -

| 4

| 400

| -

| 400

Kosztolányi's unmounted cannons

| -

| 4

| -

Total

| 22

| 4

| 400

| 4

| 4465

| Army total

| 102

| 15

| 2287

| 46

| 17,516

The Hungarian army numbered about 17,500 men, 2,060 horses, and 42 guns; four unequipped guns were in reserve.

{| class="wikitable"

! width=15% | Division

! width=15% | Brigade

! width=40% | Unit

! width=5% | Leader

! width=5% | Horses

! width=5% | Cannon

! width=5% | Soldiers

| rowspan=17 |

1. Division

Lieutenant General Karl Hartlieb

| rowspan=7 |

Dietrich brigade

Major General Dietrich

| 1. battalion of the 2. (Otočac) border guard regiment

| Major Ettingshausen

| -

| 1150

| 3. battalion of the 5. (Varaždin-Križevci) border guard regiment

| Lieutenant colonel Stoisavliević

| -

| 1331

| 4. battalion of the 5. (Varaždin-Križevci) border guard regiment

| Captain Spachholz

| -

| 1327

| Militia of the 5. (Varaždin-Križevci) border guard regiment

| -

| 3074

| 2. six-pounder infantry battery

| Lieutenant Gebauer

| 52

| 6

| 92

| 1. Major division of the 6. (Wrbna) chevau-légers regiment

| 210

| -

| 200

| Brigade total

| 262

| 6

| 7174

| rowspan=8 |

Kriegern brigade

Major General Kriegern

| 3. battalion of the 6. (Varaždin-Đurđevac) border guard regiment

| Lieutenant colonel Reiche

| -

| 1203

| 4. battalion of the 6. (Varaždin-Đurđevac) border guard regiment

| Captain Bogdanović

| -

| 774

| 4. battalion of the 1. (Lika) border guard regiment

| Colonel Rheinbach

| -

| 1324

| Militias of the 6. (Varaždin-Đurđevac) border guard regiment

| -

| 3300

| Seressaners of the 4. (Slunj) border guard regiment

| -

| 139

| a company of the Ban's hussar regiment

| 125

| -

| 125

| 1. three-pounder infantry battery

| Lieutenant Hassek

| 28

| 6

| 69

| Brigade total

| 153

| 6

| 6934

| Division total

| 415

| 12

| 14,108

| rowspan=19 |

2. Division

Major General Johann Kempen von Fichtenstamm

| rowspan=10 |

Neustaedter brigade

Major General Josef Neustaedter

| 2. battalion of the 7. (Slavonski Brod) border guard regiment

| Captain Bogunović

| -

| 1313

| 3. battalion of the 3. (Ogulin) and 4. (Slunj) border guard regiment

| Captain Rezniczek

| -

| 1904

| 4. battalion of the 2. (Otočac) border guard regiment

| -

| 1177

| Militia of the 3. (Ogulin) border guard regiment

| Major Terbuhović

| -

| 747

| Militia of the 3. (Ogulin) border guard regiment

| Captain Leypold/Captain Bermann

| -

| 747

| Seressaner of the 3. (Ogulin) border guard regiment

| Lieutenant Roknić

| -

| 44

| Seressaner of the 1. (Lika) border guard regiment

| -

| 57

| a company of the Ban's hussar regiment

| Captain Zengevall

| 125

| -

| 125

| 1. six-pounder infantry battery

| Lieutenant Klee

| 52

| 6

| 97

| Brigade total

| 177

| 6

| 6211

| rowspan=7 |

Rastić brigade

Colonel Daniel Rastić

| 3. battalion of the 1. (Lika) border guard regiment

| Lieutenant colonel Budisavliević

| -

| 1320

| 4. battalion of the 10. (Ban's 1.) border guard regiment

| Captain Pavellić

| -

| 1026

| 4. battalion of the 11. (Ban's 2.) border guard regiment

| Colonel Jarisburg

| -

| 1165

| Militias of the 10. (Ban's 1.) and the 11. (Ban's 2.) border guard regiments

| Major Kussurić

| -

| 5467

| a company of the Ban's hussar regiment

| 125

| -

| 125

| 3. three-pounder infantry battery

| Lieutenant Lončar

| 27

| 6

| 75

| Brigade total

| 152

| 6

| 9178

| Division total

| 329

| 12

| 15,389

| rowspan=26 |

3. Division

Major General Johann Schmidl

| rowspan=8 |

Grammont brigade

Colonel Franz Grammont

| 3. battalion of the 10. (Ban's 1.) border guard regiment

| Lieutenant colonel Geramb

| -

| 1311

| 3. battalion of the 11. (Ban's 2.) border guard regiment

| Captain Jarisburg

| -

| 1312

| 4. battalion of the 4. (Slunj) border guard regiment

| Lieutenant colonel Mudrovčić

| -

| 1316

| Militia of the 4. (Slunj) border guard regiment

| -

| 2832

| Seressaner of the 10. (Ban's 1.) and the 11. (Ban's 2.) border guard regiments

| Captain Albert Jelačić

| -

| 278

| a company of the Ban's hussar regiment

| Captain Zengevall

| 125

| -

| 125

| 2. three-pounder infantry battery

| Lieutenant Eggenberger

| 28

| 6

| 74

| Brigade total

| 153

| 6

| 7248

| rowspan=8 |

Todorović brigade

Major general Kuzman Todorović

| 1. battalion of the 8. (Stara Gradiška) border guard regiment

| Major Urm

| -

| 1253

| 3. battalion of the 2. (Otočac) border guard regiment

| Captain Wimmer

| -

| 1401

| 4. battalion of the 3. (Ogulin) border guard regiment

| Lieutenant colonel Knezević

| -

| 1106

| Militias of the 1. (Lika) border guard regiments

| Major Klobučarić

| -

| 4670

| Militias of the 2. (Otočac) border guard regiment

| Major Dmitrasinović

| -

| 3493

| Seressaner of the 1. (Lika) and 2. (Otočac) border guard regiment

| Captain Albert Jelačić

| -

| 348

| 4. three-pounder infantry battery

| Lieutenant Schrinner

| ?

| 6

| ?

| Brigade total

| ?

| 6

| 12,271

| rowspan=8 |

Sedelmayer brigade

Colonel Franz Sedelmayer von Seefeld

| Three divisions of the 7. (Hardegg) cuirassier regiment

| Lieutenant colonel Adam Stauffer

| 649

| -

| 649

| 1. Major division of the 7. (Kress) chevau-léger regiment

| Major Kaminski

| 281

| -

| 292

| Three companies of the Ban's hussar regiment

| Major Kamenjak

| 375

| -

| 375

| 3. six-pounder infantry battery

| Lieutenant Miksch

| 60

| 6

| 104

| 5. mixed battery

| Lieutenant Petit

| 47

| 6

| 78

| 1. Congreve rocket battery

| Lieutenant Kaufmann

| 15

| 6

| 33

| 2. Congreve rocket battery

| Artillery sergeant Leinmüller

| 15

| 6

| 32

| Brigade total

| 1442

| 24

| 1563

| Division total

| 1595

| 36

| 20,961

| Grand total

| 2339

| 60

| 50,458

A statement about the Croatian army from 27 September shows 51,557 soldiers, of which 48,234 were combat-ready.

Kempen's troops set off at 6 a.m. on the road to Lovasberény. The division was led by Major General Josef Neustaedter's brigade, followed by Colonel Daniel Rastić's brigade. Kempen's primary objective was to break, with a frontal attack, through the Hungarian right wing, and isolate from each other the units fighting there. and there they engaged with them in an intense firefight. Meanwhile, Ivánka sent the battalion—to help with the ammunition shortage—under the command of Major Richard Guyon on a bayonet charge against the enemy-occupied scrubland. Although it was hit by heavy rifle fire, the battalion captured the thicket but then it was forced to retreat because of the Croatian counterattack that had meanwhile developed (probably by the second Ogulin Militia battalion led by Major Terbuhović).

Meanwhile, the 3rd Battalion of the 3rd (Ogulin) and 4th (Slunj) Borderguard Regiments, led by Major Rezniczek, the 2nd Battalion of the 7th (Bród) Borderguard Regiment, led by Captain Bogunović, and the 3rd Three Pound Infantry Battery, led by Lieutenant Lončar, were climbing the heights to encircle the Hungarians from the right. To ensure the success of the encirclement, Kempen, with a battalion formed from the 3rd Battalions of the 3rd (Ogulin) and 4th (Slunj) Borderguard Regiments, launched further and further attacks in the forest, in order to weaken the Hungarian right wing's furthermost section, and divert their attention. After the battalion had retreated from the height, the Hungarian battery started firing cannonballs at the Croatian baggage wagons on the highway from the valley, which retreated in haste towards Pátka. The situation was saved by the 3rd Three-Pounder Infantry Battery, led by Lieutenant Lončar, which took up a firing position not far from the Hungarian battery, caught it in the crossfire and thus deterred it from further firing against Croatian troops and baggage. According to the story of the Otočac border guards regiment's staff log, the Seressaners led by Lieutenant Vlaisavljević thought the Hungarians want to surrender, and the Hungarians thought the Seressaners want to do that. They approached each other, and at one moment the Hungarians called on the Seressaners to lay down their weapons. But the Croatians seized their rifles and attacked the Hungarians, killing 35 of them and taking 1 lieutenant and 12 privates prisoner. The Hungarian battery here was silenced, although the Croats were within firing range. Here, the Croats received them with rifle shots, but they missed. Kisfaludy cut down an enemy rider, to whereof the wagons turned back, but one of them overturned. The column, which was retreating through the village, was attacked by the locals and beaten to death 30 Croats. Kisfaludy then hurried back to Zámoly, from where he with Vigyázó and three of his companies, and the villagers of Zámoly, who rose up to help him against the Croatians, set off again for Pátka, and tried to surround the Croats there, but they had already left the village. South of the post road, the 1st Major's Division of the 7th (Kress) Light Cavalry (chevau léger) Regiment and three (or two) divisions of the 7th (Hardegg) Cuirassier Regiment were deployed, which belonged to the cavalry brigade of Colonel Franz Sedelmayer von Seefeld. Also assigned to this brigade were the 3rd six-pounder battery, the 5th mixed battery, and the 1st and 2nd Congreve rocket batteries.

At the center, the Hungarian outposts reported at 11:30 that the Croats were already in Pákozd.

thumb|350 px|Battle of Pákozd (29. September 1848)

Móga, having seen the enemy's marching, sent the Lieutenant-Colonel Division of the 4th (Alexander) Hussars forward to the area between the highway and the lake. According to the staff log, the purpose of the advance was to force the enemy to deploy his troops and show his strength; in his memoirs, Lajos Zámbelly, however, believes that the aim was to draw the enemy forces to this point. At first, the Hungarian artillerymen did not respond to the Croatian artillery's fire, but when the Croatian batteries came within range, the Hungarian cannons shot with so a great skill, that after only a few shots the enemy artillery retreated in haste.

This was followed, with some delay, by a Croatian attack from the vineyards. Most of the Hungarian infantry probably was deployed here. To the right (north) of the road was the 1st Honvéd Battalion, and to the right of it the Borsod Volunteer Mobile National Guard Battalion. The 2nd Battalion of the 34th (Prince of Prussia) Infantry Regiment stood behind them. About the Borsod Volunteer Mobile National Guard we only know that one of their companies also advanced in a battle line, and the rest of the battalion took up position behind the trench mentioned by Lazar, and from there they fired at the Seressaners and the border guards. Jelačić and his escort advanced as far as the Croatian artillery line, before the Hungarian artillery opened fire on the conspicuous group of riders. Cannonball after cannonball struck close to them, and Jelačić, after a while, no longer wanting to risk his life, decided to ride to the rear. Jelačić rode in front, Wilhelm Hompesch on one side, Oldershausen on the other, and Hermann Dahlen behind him. Suddenly they came under more cannon fire, and one bullet shot off the leg of a commanding officer's horse, and another struck Oldershausen's right hip.

At around 3 pm, the battle was essentially over.

The first battalions of the Hartlieb Division arrived late in the afternoon, between 4 and 5 o'clock, the 1st Battalion of the 3rd (Otočac) Borderguard Regiment being the first to arrive, and the rest of the division itself only after dark. During the retreat the Hungarians lost some more dead and injured soldiers when the two units shot at one another. The exact number of the fallen is not known but the Hungarian losses possibly matched the Croatian losses.

On the 30th of September Jelačić's message, proposing a three-day cease-fire was delivered to the Hungarian commander-in-chief. The Hungarian side was happy but worried about the battle. In spite of their success, the Hungarian army feared that Josip Jelačić would encircle them and cut them off from Pest-Buda. In the evening hours the Hungarian command ordered a general retreat. However, this retreat happened under the most unfortunate circumstances. In the darkness, several units got mixed up and fired at one another. The troops arriving at Martonvásár did not even resemble a triumphant army. Consequently, both the commander-in-chief and the government commissioners accepted Jelačić's offer of a cease-fire.

References

Sources

Nobili, Johann. Hungary 1848: The Winter Campaign. Edited and translated Christopher Pringle. Warwick, UK: Helion & Company Ltd., 2021.

External links

Video animation about the Battle of Pákozd