The Spring Campaign
[István Lázár, An illustrated history of Hungary, Corvina, 1999, p. 90, ] ( hu, tavaszi hadjárat), named also the ''Glorious Spring Campaign''
[Tarján Tamás]
1849. április 26. , A komáromi csata
Rubicon ( hu, dicsőséges tavaszi hadjárat) is the military campaign of the
Hungarian Revolutionary Army against the forces of the
Habsburg Empire
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
in Middle and Western Hungary during the
Hungarian Revolution of 1848
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although t ...
between 2 April and 21 May 1849, which resulted in the liberation of almost the whole territory of Hungary from the Habsburg forces.

The spring campaign's commander-in-chief was General
Artúr Görgey, whose army (47 500 men, 198 cannons) defeated the numerically, technologically and tactically superior (55 000 soldiers and 214 cannons and rockets) imperial armies led by
Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz
Alfred may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*'' Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series
* ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne
* ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák
*"Alfred (Interl ...
and after his dismissal,
Ludwig von Welden
Franz Ludwig Baron von Welden (16 June 1780, Laupheim – 7 August 1853, Graz) was an Austrian army officer whose career culminated in becoming the commander-in-chief of the Austrian artillery.
Born in Laupheim, Ludwig von Welden joined the ...
, in a series of victories. The Hungarians won the battles of
Hatvan
Hatvan is a town in Heves county, Hungary. Hatvan is the Hungarian word for "sixty".
Etymology
Hatvan is the Hungarian word for "sixty". It is a common urban legend that the town got this name because it is 60 km from Budapest, but in fact the na ...
(2nd of April),
Tápióbicske
Tápióbicske is a village in Pest county, Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the nort ...
(4th of April),
Isaszeg
Isaszeg is a town in Pest county, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary. It has a population of 10,979 (2007).
Sightseeing
On the top of the cemetery hill stands the old parochial church of the village. It was last rebuilt in gothic style. However, ...
(6th of April),
Vác
Vác (; german: Waitzen; sk, Vacov; yi, ווייצען) is a town in Pest county in Hungary with approximately 35,000 inhabitants. The archaic spelling of the name is ''Vácz''.
Location
Vác is located north of Budapest on the eastern bank o ...
(10th of April),
Nagysalló (19th of April), on 26 April relieved the fortress of
Komárom
Komárom (Hungarian: ; german: Komorn; la, Brigetio, later ; sk, Komárno) is a city in Hungary on the south bank of the Danube in Komárom-Esztergom County. Komárno, Slovakia, is on the northern bank. Komárom was formerly a separate vill ...
from a long Austrian siege, then on 21 May 1849 liberated the
Castle of Buda
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
, concluding the Spring Campaign.
On the other theaters of operations, the Hungarians also scored victories against the enemies of the revolution.
In Transylvania, the Hungarian army led by
Józef Bem
Józef Zachariasz Bem ( hu, Bem József, tr, Murat Pasha; March 14, 1794 – December 10, 1850) was a Polish engineer and general, an Ottoman pasha and a national hero of Poland and Hungary, and a figure intertwined with other European patriot ...
, after the victory against the Austro-Russian forces in the
Battle of Nagyszeben
The Battle of Nagyszeben was a World War I military engagement fought between the forces of the Central Powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary) on one side and the forces of Romania on the other side. It was the decisive engagement during the Battle ...
from 11 March, liberated most of the provinces territory (excepting the fortresses of
Gyulafehérvár
Alba Iulia (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la, Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the Mureș River in the historical ...
,
Déva, with imperial garrison and the
Erdélyi-középhegység mountains, held by the Romanian insurgents).
In southern Hungary the Hungarians led by
Mór Perczel
Sir Mór Perczel de Bonyhád ( hu, Bonyhádi lovag Perczel Mór, german: link=no, Ritter Moritz Perczel von Bonyhád; 11 November 1811, Bonyhád, Tolna county – 23 May 1899, Bonyhád), was a Hungarian landholder, general, and one of the lea ...
and Józef Bem defeated the Serbian insurgents and Austrian troops, liberating the provinces of
Bácska and
Bánság
Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of ...
, except the fortress of
Temesvár and
Titel
Titel ( sr-Cyrl, Тител, hu, Titel) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town of Titel has a population of 5,247, while the population of the municipality of Titel is 15, ...
.
In southern
Transdanubia
Transdanubia ( hu, Dunántúl; german: Transdanubien, hr, Prekodunavlje or ', sk, Zadunajsko :sk:Zadunajsko) is a traditional region of Hungary. It is also referred to as Hungarian Pannonia, or Pannonian Hungary.
Administrative divisions Trad ...
, the popular uprising led by Gáspár Noszlopy also led to the liberation of this region from imperial occupation.
During the Spring Campaign, the Hungarians liberated much of their country from Habsburg rule. The Habsburg armies and their allies, besides the fortresses and mountains mentioned above, remained only in the Westernmost territory strip of Hungary, Croatia and the fortress of
Arad Arad or ARAD may refer to:
People
* Arad (given name)
* Arad (surname)
Places and jurisdictions Bahrain
* Arad, Bahrain, a village in Al Muharraq Governorate
* Arad Fort, located on Arad shore
* Arad Island, a former member of the Bahrain Islan ...
. Also the result of the victories of the Spring Campaign was the
Hungarian Declaration of Independence
The Hungarian Declaration of Independence declared the independence of Hungary from the Habsburg monarchy during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. It was presented to the National Assembly in closed session on 13 April 1849 by Lajos Kossuth, an ...
on 14th of April 1849, resulting in total Hungarian independence for some months before the Russian intervention brought the defeat of the Hungarian revolution and war of independence in the
Summer Campaign
Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...
.
External links
*
Video animation showing the Spring Campaign's main military operations on the map
References
{{Reflist
Military_of_Hungary
Military_campaigns
Hungarian Revolution of 1848