Hungary. 24 February 1849

Hungary.
No. 230, 24 February 1849
Neue Rheinische Zeitung.
* The 23rd Army Bulletin has been published. It reads:
“Simultaneously with the already known advantages which our brave army under Colonel Urban in the north of Transylvania, despite the cold and heavy snowfall, has gained over the insurgents, we
have had the pleasure of a similar, no less brilliant success achieved by the
troops of Field Marshal Lieutenant Gläser at Arad, who, in accordance with the orders received, is charged with operating with his division, composed of detachments of the Thodorovich corps, in the Maros
valley towards Transylvania.
The insurgents attempted with a strong column to cross at Szadorlak,
and thereby threatened our left flank. Field Marshal Lieutenant Gläser thereupon had the first houses of Alt-Arad
taken by two battalions of Peterwardein border guards, and a battalion
of Leiningen, then a battalion of Illyrian-Banat troops, advance to storm.
After a stubborn, bloody fight the enemy was thrown back, and all the batteries erected by the insurgents on the right bank of the Maros against
the fortress were destroyed, and the cannons emplaced in them,
captured, 23 in number; of these, 11 of heavy
calibre were brought into the fortress, 3 were sunk in the Maros, 3 were spiked,
and 4 were dismantled by the brave Temesvar artillery; 3 enemy
ammunition waggons were captured and, in addition, enemy ammunition was blown up at several places.
Alt-Arad was, because of the proven
malice of its inhabitants, bombarded with shells from the fortress, set alight in many places, and this fire was kept up the whole night. – Also in the
engagement 40 prisoners were taken.

According to a communication just received from Feldzeugmeister Count Nugent from Essegg, dated 13 February, the fortress of
Essegg, without awaiting any attack, surrendered on the same day.
Three gates were immediately occupied by the investing troops and
on the 14th in the forenoon the garrison laid down their arms on the glacis.
From the column of General Götz, who, as we have already
stated earlier, had united with the brigade of General Prince Jablonovsky at Ternau,
and pursued the fleeing rebel corps under
Görgey towards Leutschau, news has arrived from the 13th from Bartosfalva, a few hours from Eperies.
It shows that the admittedly strong enemy column, which is bringing along
a large train of guns and waggons, after having forced its way
through the Zips, where it had destroyed all bridges and roads,
took the road from Eperies towards Kaschau, in order to
seek connection towards the Theiss with the other rebel hordes.
Field Marshal Lieutenant Count Schlick, with his three brigades, took up a position on the flank of this laboriously moving, devastating enemy column at Torna, in order
in this way best to attack them, just as he would have joined up with the column
of General Götz, which now also happened via Margithfalva, Einsiedl and Schmöllnitz.
General Götz had at Margithfalva an engagement with a raiding corps of the rebels, in which several hussars were captured, who gave precise information about
the position and intention of the enemy.
Since at the same time a large detachment under Field Marshal Lieutenant Schulzig
has been posted at Miskolcz, we shall shortly be in a position
to give accurate reports on the events in these regions.
Vienna, 17 February 1849.”
From this bulletin of victory it follows, therefore, that Essegg has really capitulated and Arad has been relieved by the Imperial troops; whether their success on the
Maros is of the importance which the bulletin seeks to give it, will
be seen.
On the other hand things look very bad for the Imperial troops on the upper Theiss.
The last bulletin had Schlick firing across the Theiss at Tokaj at the Hungarians drawn up on the other side, and today we find him in a hasty retreat in a north-westerly direction, in order to escape the danger of being attacked in the rear by Görgei and of being caught between two fires.

Görgei’s manoeuvre is really brilliant. By penetrating through the Zips into
the Saros County, occupying Eperies, and from here, down the
Hernath river, taking exactly the same road that Schlick had taken, he fell directly on the latter’s rear, and forced him to withdraw from Tokaj
over twelve miles into Torna County and thus
to take up a position between Götz (in the Zips) and Schulzig (at Miskolcz). In this way Görgei is enabled to move directly to the Theiss
and with his whole, “admittedly strong column”, which, as
the bulletin itself says, is well supplied with artillery, to reinforce the Magyar
main army. Perhaps he will say a few words to Schlick in passing.
Further non-official news circulating in Vienna about Hungary
is as follows:
Vienna, 18 February. According to the latest reports from Pesth of the 18th,
decisive news from the Theiss region can soon be expected.
After the arrival of the news that Szegedin has surrendered and has
sent a deputation to the approaching Serbs, the Ban of Croatia has pitched his headquarters in Szolnok, and everything is preparing for a great blow. On the inhabitants of Szegedin, who had offered to deliver cattle and provisions to the
imperial army, a contribution of half a
million guilders has been imposed. As is known, the people of Szegedin have
hitherto been the most zealous supporters of Kossuth. They had supplied his army
with everything. – Reports from Debreczin have arrived in Pesth through fugitives up to
the 12th. Mészáros continues to head the War Ministry and Kossuth is more fanatical than ever. The former has written to Prince
Windischgrätz that he and his people will defend themselves to the last
man and rather perish than surrender. This language is very understandable given the very gloomy news from Transylvania, where Bem
appears to be master. According to the war reports of the
Kossuth faction in Debreczin, Kronstadt has been captured by the Székelys
after a street fight, etc. Other rumours, however, claim to
know that the Russians have come to their aid and have saved everything.
The Breslauer Zeitung has a correspondence from the Hungarian border, which on the whole is favourable to the Austrians but nevertheless has to admit
that the Austrian war bulletins give only a highly imperfect picture of the fighting in Transylvania and beyond the Theiss, because
they always highlight only the advantages gained by the Imperial-Royal troops,
but make no mention at all of the thorny path by which they
have been gained, for all direct

reports from the theatre of war agree that for some weeks the Magyars have been defending themselves like desperate men and causing great damage to the Imperial-Royal army.
The regiments under Schlick, Ottinger and
Götz have already suffered considerable losses and among the Croats,
who are already longing for home and among whom there still prevails a
deep-rooted respect for the Hungarian cavalry, a mood is making itself felt
that gives their Ban many things to ponder.
It is even said that individual detachments of the Croatian battalions have
gone over to the Magyars, which, however, I cannot vouch for.
The greatest difficulties for Prince Windischgrätz are caused by the
extremely miserable state of the roads and ways, especially between Danube and Theiss, in the present thaw, which makes the movement of
heavy field artillery simply impossible; with the utmost effort, and only on waggons with wheel tyres a shoe’s breadth, can 3- and
6-pounder cannons be transported. Twelve-pounder batteries, in which actually the superiority of the Austrian artillery consists, are
completely untransportable, whereby naturally a levelling of the means of struggle on both sides takes place, which must necessarily prolong the struggle. Even if its end is not in doubt (!), many a day may yet pass
before Windischgrätz can report to Olmütz: The country is pacified! In the end the Magyar
forces, which are still 60,000–70,000 strong, may concentrate in Transylvania, where Bem is complete master and where the nature of the country immensely favours a stubborn defence.
That strong armaments are being made in Pesth is also stated by the Vienna Lloyd: Since yesterday (the 14th) reinforcements have been leaving for the Theiss army without interruption. A decisive battle is to be fought
there in these days. This new military force pushed forward to the Theiss is said to amount to at least 11,000 men.
The Austrian correspondent speaks of a victory of the Serbs
over a far superior force of the Magyars at Szántó. Unfortunately,
the otherwise omniscient bulletin knows nothing of it.
This much is certain: for the present “the war in Hungary” is not yet
“coming to an end”.
[...]