Battle of Pered

Overview

The Battle of Pered, fought on 20–21 June 1849, was one of the battles which took place in the Summer Campaign of the Hungarian War of Independence from 1848 to 1849, fought between the Hungarian Revolutionary Army and the Habsburg Empire helped by Russian troops. The Hungarian army was led by General Artúr Görgei, while the imperial army by Lieutenant field marshal Julius Jacob von Haynau. After several preliminary minor battles of the Hungarian and Austrian troops along the Vág river, in which the attacking Hungarians could not achieve success, Görgei took the command of his troops, and after receiving reinforcements, on 20 June, put his troops to attack again towards West. Although the II. Hungarian army corps occupied in heavy fights the village of Pered, the other two corps were unsuccessful, and could not advance. The angered Görgei removed the commander of the III. corps, General Károly Knezić because of his inactivity, and Colonel Lajos Asbóth, the commander of the II. corps who, in contrast to Knezić, was the only commander who accomplished his duties. While Knezić's place was taken by Colonel Károly Leiningen-Westerburg, who was a great choice, Asbóth's place was taken by Colonel József Kászonyi, who was an explicitly bad choice. Haynau, who on the first day of the battle was moving the bulk of his troops to cross the Danube to start an attack on its southern bank, sent three of his corps, which were still on the northern bank, to repel the Hungarian forces. The two Austrian and one Russian corps started their attack on 21 June and forced the Hungarians to retreat from Pered and Zsigárd, which forced Görgei to order his troops to retreat from the battlefield.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Pered on 20–21 June 1849 was a significant engagement within the Summer Campaign of the Hungarian War of Independence, illustrating the mounting pressure the Hungarian Revolutionary Army faced as Habsburg forces, now augmented by Russian troops, moved to consolidate their operational advantage. Görgei's attempt to push westward along the Vág river failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough: only the II. Corps succeeded in taking the village of Pered on the first day, while the other corps could not advance. The subsequent counterattack by two Austrian corps and one Russian corps on 21 June forced the Hungarians to abandon both Pered and Zsigárd, compelling Görgei to order a full retreat. The battle exposed serious command failures within the Hungarian army — Görgei relieved two corps commanders during the engagement — and the replacement decisions proved uneven in quality. With Hungarian casualties near 2,900 against an opposing force of some 39,500, the engagement underscored the widening disparity in resources and coordination that would mark the final stage of the revolution.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (6)