Lajos Veress de Dálnok (4 October 1889 - 29 March 1976) was a
Hungarian military officer, who served as commander of the
Hungarian Second Army
The Hungarian Second Army (''Második Magyar Hadsereg'') was one of three field armies raised by the Kingdom of Hungary which saw action during World War II. All three armies were formed on March 1, 1940. The Second Army was the best-equipped Hu ...
during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Veress was born into a
Székely noble family. He finished his studies at the
Ludovica Military Academy
The Royal Hungarian Ludovica Military Academy (, , ), shortened to Ludovica or Ludovica Academy, was Hungary's officer cadets training institute prior to 1945. The main edifice of the academy was erected in 1836 at the ''Ludovica Garden'', in ...
in 1910 and served as chief of staff of the Cavalry Division between 1933 and 1935. After that he had been a
to
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
in 1935–1938. From 1938 to 1940 he served as commander of the 15th Infantry Brigade. In 1940 he was the leader of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade as major general. Soon he was promoted to lieutenant general and fought at the
Don Front The Don Front was a front of the Soviet Red Army during the Second World War, which existed between September 1942 and February 1943, and was commanded during its entire existence by Konstantin Rokossovsky. The name refers to Don River, Russia.
F ...
as commander of the First Armoured Division. Between 1942 and 1944 he served as commander of the 9th Corps. He was appointed commander of the Second Army on 1 April 1944.
Before the beginning of the surrender negotiations with the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
Regent
Miklós Horthy
Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya (18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957) was a Hungarian admiral and statesman who was the Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary Hungary between the World Wars, during the ...
, who tried to step out of the war, was appointed him ''homo regius'' (the regent's deputy) if Horthy would be indisposed. As a result of his pro-German officers' betrayal, the German army arrested Veress and gave to the
Arrow Cross
A cross whose arms end in arrowheads is called a "cross barby" or "cross barbée" in the traditional terminology of heraldry. In Christian use, the ends of this cross resemble the barbs of fish hooks, or fish spears.
In modern use, the symb ...
authorities; a military court sentenced him to fifteen years. He was imprisoned on 16 October 1944 in
Sopronkőhida
Sopronkőhida is a village in northwestern Hungary, 4 km north of the city Sopron and 5 km south of the border with Austria.
Significance
The village is the location of an infamous Hungarian military prison. Its notoriety stems from ...
but later successfully escaped. He retired in 1946.
Veress was sentenced to death on 16 April 1947 on charges of right-wing, anti-state conspiracy by a People's Tribunal. The National Council of People's Tribunals then mitigated and changed the sentence to life imprisonment. He was released during the
1956 uprising and left the country on 3 November 1956. From 1958 he served as chairman of the World Federation of Hungarian Freedom Fighters. Veress died in London. He was buried in
Berkeley Springs,
West Virginia
West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
.
Awards and decorations
Works
*''Magyarország honvédelme a 2. világháború előtt és alatt, I-III.'', München, 1972.
References
Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon* Kis, András: ''A magyar közösségtől a földalatti fővezérségig'', Bp., 1969.
* Borbándi, Gyula: ''A magyar emigráció életrajza 1945-1985'', Bp., 1989
1889 births
1976 deaths
People from Sfântu Gheorghe
Hungarian soldiers
{{Hungary-mil-bio-stub
Hungarian escapees
Hungarian collaborators with Nazi Germany
Hungarian military personnel of World War II
Hungarian prisoners sentenced to death
Escapees from Hungarian detention
Prisoners sentenced to death by Hungary