Battle of Hegyes

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Battle of Hegyes
Part of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848
Battle of Kishegyes 14 July 1849.jpg
Battle of Kishegyes 14 July 1849
Date14 July 1849
Location
Result Hungarian victory
Belligerents
Flag of Hungarian Revolution of 1848.png   Hungarian Revolutionary Army

Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy.svg   Austrian Empire

Flag of Croatia-Slavonia with CoA.svg   Croatia
Commanders and leaders
Flag of Hungarian Revolution of 1848.png   Antal Vetter
Flag of Hungarian Revolution of 1848.png   Richard Guyon
Flag of Croatia-Slavonia with CoA.svg   Josip Jelačić
Strength
Total: 8360 + ? (61 infantry companies, 14 cavalry companies)
46 cannons
Did not participate:
6603 (37 infantry companies, 8 cavalry companies)
17 cannons
17,994 men (112 infantry companies, 30 cavalry companies)
73 cannons
Casualties and losses
Total: 226
81 dead,
145 wounded
Total: 985
164 dead,
473 wounded,
348 missing and captured [1]

The Battle of Hegyes, also known as the Battle of Kishegyes (now Mali Iđoš, Vojvodina, Serbia) was a battle in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, fought from 11 to 15 July 1849 between the Hungarian Revolutionary Army under the command of Antal Vetter and Richard Guyon and the Habsburg Corps under the Ban of Croatia Lieutenant Field Marshall Josip Jelačić in alliance with the Croatian and Serbian units. Jelačić, wanting to surprize the Hungarians with a night attack, accidentally run into their positions. The quickly reacting Hungarian troops attacked Jelačić's army, defeating it, and forcing it to retreat to the Titel plateau, fortified by the Serbians. Thanks to this victory the Hungarian retook the regions from Bácska lost after the Battle of Káty, and gained back the initiative on the Southern front.

Background

After the defeats from Káty from 7 June and Óbecse from 25 June, a new Hungarian main commander was named: Lieutenant General Antal Vetter. Profiting from Lieutenant Field Marshal Josip Jelačić's passivity, he started to reorganize his demoralized and weakened troops. [2] In 12 July the Hungarian troops were reinforced by the division led by Major General György Kmety who retreated to the southern front from western Hungary after their defeat at the battle of Ihász from 27 June, increasing the Hungarian armies size to 20 000 soldiers. [3] After these positive developments, Vetter decided to attack Jelačić. He planned to do feigned attacks along the Ferenc Channel (Ferenc csatorna / K.K. Franzens Schiffahrts Canal) to attract Jelačić's attention on that direction, sending the Kmety division Westwards to cross the canal at Szivác and attack the Austrians from side at Kula, while the IV corps led by Richard Guyon had to attack them from the front. [4] But Jelačić suspected that the Hungarians are planning something, and he also felt his position insecure, fearing that the Hungarian garrison from the fortress of Pétervárad can attack him from the back any time. On 5 July he sent the Ottinger cavalry brigade to Kishegyes, and the Horváth cavalry brigade to Zombor in reconnaissance. [5] The Ottinger brigade retreated to Verbász after a skirmish with the Hungarian units stationed at Kishegyes, and the Horváth brigade retreated from Zombor at 10 July, when the Kmety division arrived there. [6] Seing that the Hungarians forces become stronger day by day, he felt that he has three options: to remain in defence alongside the Ferenc channel, exposing his troops to a Hungarian attack from the front or the back, to retreat to the fortified Titel plateau, or to attack the Hungarians before they joined all their forces, and to defeat them in detail. [7] He decided to attack first the Hungarian troops stationing at Kishegyes, Szeghegy and Feketehegy, which were the closest to him. [8] In the case of a victory he hoped that his troops will be safe from Hungarian attack two-three more weeks, until Julius Jacob von Haynau's main Austrian army arrived from Komárom, as he calculated. [9] Jelačić was aware of the dangers of his operation. To avoid the danger that in the case of a defeat, his troops to be cut from their retreat rout, and pushed in the waters of the Ferenc channel, he ordered to the Draskovich brigade which remained on the other side of the channel, to build a bridge at Futak, in order to come to the rescue if needed. [10] He left two battalions and a battery at the folowing localities each: Bácsföldvár, Szenttamás Verbász, and two cavalry companies at Kula to guard his crossing troops. [11]

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References

  1. Hermann 2004, pp. 319.
  2. Hermann 2004 , pp. 314.
  3. Hermann 2004 , pp. 314.
  4. Hermann 2004 , pp. 314.
  5. Hermann 2004 , pp. 314.
  6. Hermann 2004 , pp. 314.
  7. Hermann 2004 , pp. 314.
  8. Hermann 2004 , pp. 314.
  9. Hermann 2004 , pp. 314.
  10. Hermann 2004 , pp. 315.
  11. Hermann 2004 , pp. 315.