Georg Klapka

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Georg Klapka
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Georg Klapka (György Klapka; born April 7, 1820 in Timisoara , Austrian Empire , † May 17, 1892 in Budapest , Kingdom of Hungary ) was a Hungarian general during the time of the Hungarian Revolution in 1848/1849 .

Life

Klapka was a Banat Swabian with Czech ancestors. He attended the military academy in Karánsebes and joined the Austrian army in 1838 . In 1848 he made himself available to the revolutionary Hungarian government, which appointed him Chief of Staff to General Kiss at the end of November . The plan of operations adopted for the Hungarian main army at the beginning of 1849 and accompanied by great success was Klapka's work. After the defeat that Lázár Mészáros had suffered on January 4th near Kosice , Klapka received his command. He maintained the crossing on the Tisza and thereby secured Debreczin . Klapka played an important role in the two-day battle at Kápolna (February 26 and 27), which General Dembinski lost.

In April 1849, Klapka led the I. Army Corps and distinguished himself in particular in the battle of Isaszeg (April 6), where he decided the fate of the day and was appointed general on the battlefield of Kossuth , the leader of the revolution. He also excelled with flying colors in the battle of Nagy-Sálló (April 19), which he stormed with Damjanich . In the Battle of Komorn on April 26th, he commanded the left wing of the Hungarian Danube Army.

He then temporarily headed the War Ministry until Görgey was appointed his successor in May 1849. Klapka became the commander of the Komorn Fortress . Klapka was able to excel in numerous skirmishes and in the great battles of Ács and Komorn (on July 2nd and 11th). After Görgey's withdrawal, he remained in the fortress on July 13th with two corps (18,260 men) and was enclosed with the siege of Komorn . He achieved great success in the summer campaign, a successful outbreak on August 3rd even reached Raab for a short time . At the beginning of September, after the arrival of Austrian reinforcements under FZM Nugent and FML Gyulay, he was pushed back into the fortress. After Görgey's arms extension against the Russians on August 13, Klapka had to enter into negotiations on September 27 and also surrender at the beginning of October.

Klapka then left Hungary and stayed in France, Switzerland and Italy. In 1866 he entered Prussian military services and organized a Hungarian legion near Neisse , with which he crossed the border from Upper Silesia , but no longer fought.

He was later given amnesty and elected to the Hungarian Diet, where he belonged to Ferenc Deák's party .

Georg Klapka died in Budapest on May 17, 1892.

Publications

  • Memoirs of the war of independence in Hungary, translated from the original manuscript by Otto Wenckstern . London 1850
  • Memoirs. April to October 1849 . Otto Wigang, Leipzig 1850
  • The national war in Hungary and Transylvania in 1848 and 1849 . 2 vols. Otto Wigang, Leipzig 1851
  • The war in the Orient in the years 1853 and 1854 until the end of July 1855. A historical-critical sketch of the campaigns on the Danube, in Asia and in the Crimea, with a view of the possible turn of the future war events . Lauffer, Geneva 1855
  • From my memories. Translated from the Hungarian by the author . Schabelitz / Singer & Wolfner, Zurich / Budapest 1887

See also

literature

Web links

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personal data
SURNAME Klapka, Georg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Klapka, György
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Hungarian general (1848/49)
DATE OF BIRTH April 7, 1820
PLACE OF BIRTH Timişoara , Austrian Empire
DATE OF DEATH May 17, 1892
Place of death Budapest , Kingdom of Hungary