BATTLE // June 21, 1849

Battle of Pered

Name: Battle of Pered
Start: 1849-06-21
End: 1849-06-21
Location: Battle of Pered

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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

On 20 June, Görgei directed three corps westward after receiving reinforcements, following inconclusive preliminary fighting along the Vág river. The II. Corps fought its way into Pered in heavy combat, but the other two corps failed to advance. When Austrian and Russian forces counterattacked on 21 June — two Austrian corps and one Russian corps that Haynau had retained on the northern bank of the Danube while moving the bulk of his army south — the Hungarian position became untenable and Görgei ordered a retreat from the battlefield.