They met again after sixty-six years

Honvedelem.hu visited Mihály Sáfrány, the former autocannon operator of the Nimród, at his weekend home in Diósjenõ. ’Uncle’ Mihály proudly showed us around his 1,000 sqm plot where he grows almost everything. He built the house, too, it rarely happened that he had to call professionals to help with the bricklaying. We sat down in the cool living room of the building to have a conversation.

When and where did you join the army?

I joined up on October 5, 1942, in the Rákóczi barracks in Budapest, with the 1st Motorised Brigade, Anti-Aircraft Autocannon Battery. Only anti-aircraft autocannon operators were put in these barracks, which used to be the home of disabled 1848 veterans. We received our basic training  which consisted of drills for the most part  here, in these barracks. They were preparing us for the artillery ‘profession’ at various batteries. In this period, several batteries were deployed around Budapest and we went out to these for training, among others, to the Tököl machine works, a major aircraft factory in that period, and the battery was responsible for protecting the airspace for the plant. We were sworn in on Borbála’s day in early December, and following that we were sent to specialist trainings. I was selected for position finder and in January they sent me to school for four months. This school was in Kõbánya, the course ended with an examination which I passed with success. I was awarded the ‘Excellent position finder’ title and was promoted to lance corporal and appointed detachment commander of the half-platoon of the Tököl machine works, where regularly there were four half-platoons, in other words, one battery on duty. In August 1943, we came here, to Diósjenõ for a live target practice and by the time we returned to Budapest, we were deployed again to the oil fields in Zala county to protect the airspace, which was a priority task at that time. The headquarters of this military region was in Bázakerettye in those days. Here I was serving in various positions, later I became the clerk and stockkeeper of Staff Sgt. Hollósi, our duty officer.

I can see in your army ID booklet that later you served with the Royal Hungarian Guard. Why did you leave the artillery for the guards?

I was treated very well in Zala but there was a big problem. My parents lived in Törtel, near Cegléd, and I very rarely had a chance to go home. I had a childhood friend who was transferred to the guards. He told me how well he was treated but also told me that those who wanted to join the guards had to have influential friends in high places. At Christmas, when I was on leave and went home, my dad told me that they had just organised a hunt at the estate he was working for as a harvester. A senior officer, a general also participated in the hunt, and he, just like my father, used to serve with the hussars. Next spring at the hunt, he told Major General Mihály Hindy about me, who told my father that they were transforming the guard and infantrymen were also joining them. In late July, 1944, I was transferred to Budapest with an order, effective immediately, to one of the infantry companies of the Royal Hungarian Guard. One day I received the order, the following day I held the waybill in my hand and I was heading for Budapest, the Buda Castle, No.2 Kapisztrán Square, which was called Nádor barracks in those days. In the afternoon I had to report to the commander of the infantry battalion for an interview. After the training we were already on duty when in the beginning of September, 1944, the company commander sent for me and I was told that they would change my post. A few days later, the duty officer told me again to report to the battalion commander. When I entered, Guard Captain Count Benõ Festetics was already in the room. I reported and listened to what they were talking about, there was a map laid out on the desk. The problem was that in those days there were not enough wagons for rail transport and they could not transport the armoured autocannons by train from Cegléd to Budapest. The task was to bring the combat vehicles up to the Buda Castle as fast as possible.

What were these combat vehicles, how much did people know about them?

We were told only later that these were armoured Nimród anti-aircraft autocannons, manufactured in Hungary based on a Swedish licence and the autocannons were installed onto self-propelled Toldi frames. Finally the commanders decided to bring up the Nimróds from Cegléd ’on their own feet’. The problem was that we were given three vehicles and had trained crew for only one, but we had enough tank drivers for all the three vehicles. One day, together with the duty officer and the driver we went to Cegléd for the combat vehicles. We did calculations in advance when we would arrive in Budapest, because from Vecsés to the capital we had requested police escort. We formed a military marching column, we were driving a passenger car in front and agreed with the tank drivers to sound the horn if there was anything. We were at the Monor woods when we saw a child, aged around 10-12, grazing his cattle. Suddenly there was a loud honk and the combat vehicle in the middle went into the ditch. We secured the road with the soldiers to prevent any further problem. What happened was that one of the cows broke loose and jumped in front of the combat vehicle, and the driver turned the wheel and landed in the ditch. He tried to bring the vehicle out of the ditch but after a while we just saw a big lightning in the engine compartment: the vehicle was on fire. We were watching in fear one of our Nimróds burning. Finally we were given the order to tow the burnt out combat vehicle to the Nádor barracks. It was a difficult job, but in the end we took the Nimród up to the Castle and left the burnt out vehicle in the yard, facing the gates, saying that something would happen to it.

What happened to the other two Nimróds?

After training the operators, we were on duty with the other two and we protected the airspace of the Castle day after day. We were deployed to various places in the castle and secured the events of the leaders of the state, for example the cabinet meetings of the prime minister. But we were also given tasks in other places in the Castle  we did not know why, today it seems that they tried to make us get used to something. We did not know our specific tasks even one or two days earlier. And finally October 16 came, when the Germans invaded the country. The previous evening they made us swear an oath to protect the governor and his family to our last drop of blood. The next day we were deployed with one of the Nimróds to the area between Prince Joseph’s Palace and the riding arena. The Germans attacked around five in the morning from the Várkert (Castle garden). The attackers were coming with a terrible gun rattle as they were advancing on the palace. The interesting thing was that even though we were there with the combat vehicle, they did not give us ammunition for the autocannon. The message was always the same: they would send ammunition. In my opinion, the leaders reached an agreement in the background, that is why they kept postponing. There we were, without ammunition in the combat vehicle, waiting for the German Tigers. There were only two machine guns in the Nimród. Suddenly the German tanks arrived from the direction of the Bécsi kapu (Vienna gate), they stopped, facing us in Szent György Square, then a few minutes later they started again and came towards us. One of the Tigers lowered its cannon and aimed at the Nimród. I was thinking: if it shoots us with its 15 mm cannon from 20 metres, we won’t feel anything, the whole thing will be just a flash. Long seconds were passing, we were waiting and waiting. Suddenly we heard one of the tank’s side doors banging and saw a German soldier, who said: "Well, illustrious brothers, you are scared, aren’t you?" (in Hungarian). He was a Swabian lad who spoke Hungarian. They told us to get out of the Nimród and drove us into József ducal palace, where they kept the crew confined in the corridor. Later the Germans took us to Vilmos barracks on Róbert Károly Boulevard, where they were gathering guards and crown guards. Enlisted men were totally separated from officers, non-commissioned officers and the military leadership in power tried to convince everybody, one by one, to change sides because if we did so, we could stay in the army. On one condition: we had to swear allegiance to the ’leaders of the nation’. They made us wait there for more than a week, then they said that a committee would come the following day and they would make us swear allegiance, regardless what we wanted. They stopped the two Nimród combat vehicles by a platfom, and lined up the enlisted men on the other side, facing the vehicle. In the yard of the barracks the crown guards were standing at the front, followed by the guards, then the infantry platoons. Then the committee and a very small general appeared with a helmet on his head. He was so small that he had to lift his sword in order to walk normally. The general’s adjutant read out the oath, and we had to repeat his words. Even though the text was read out for us, only a murmur came back from hundreds of people. The general kept hitting the ground with his sword and was shouting angrily: “It doesn’t matter if you don’t say it! You are still present and you will swear the oath, this is the only thing that matters!" Finally we had to parade in front of the platform, saluting. When we were at some distance from the platform, the whispering came from the front: “Pass it on: I am Miklós Horthy’s soldier!" Everybody understood and in a few seconds, we were singing the song. There was a huge commotion on the platform but they simply did not know what to do with us. Later we were deployed to the Pest defence line to protect the airspace and we were given other assignments as well. The last time I was on duty with the Nimród was in November, 1944, later I returned to the artillery where I continued the training of recruits as platoon commander. But in those days we kept withdrawing from the front to the west, then I was taken prisoner. Now, sixty-six years later, I met the only Nimród again in the Castle.