He Made Good on His Oath of Service by Shedding His Blood

Szöveg: Vivien Takács | 2014. december 21. 12:44

On Thursday, December 11 a wreath-laying ceremony took place by the memorial plaque of the Limanowa heroes in Limanova tér, Zugló, Budapest. Fought between November 28 and December 18, 1914, the Battle of Limanowa was an important event of the Great War in the Eastern Front, where the Russian advance was halted on December 11.

In his speech, Lt.-Col. Dr. Gyula Téglás, Office Head, MoD Public Relations and War Memorial Service Department (MoD PRWMS) said that on hearing the expression “hussar assault" we tend to think of some horse-mounted action, such as the 1848–49 War of Independence. Hussar assaults, however, occurred in subsequent years as well. “This event is special because on this occasion, the hussars did not fight on horseback, but rather dismounted their horses to launch an assault on Jabloniec ridge, where 100 years ago to the day, Colonel Othmár Muhr led his hussars into battle", the lieutenant-colonel said.

Lt.-Col. Téglás added that in the mechanized battles of the First World War, the hussars were not on a par with infantry regiments in terms of weaponry and supplies, as they were not trained in infantry tactics and had no weaponry for infantry warfare either. The Hungarian hussars, however, made the most of the situation, and pushed the attacking Russians back in spite of their manifold numerical superiority.

Colonel Othmár Muhr was one of the 660 thousand Hungarian soldiers killed in action in World War I. He was a real field officer who spent his whole life and career with the Nádasdy hussars. He was appointed commanding officer a few days before the assault. “He made good on his oath of service by shedding his blood, exactly 100 years ago at dawn, in the Jabloniec pass", Lt.-Col. Dr. Gyula Téglás said.

At the end of the ceremony, the participants laid wreaths and the Hungarian Last Post was played.