Zoltán Decleva (30 July 188717 July 1950) was a Hungarian military officer, who served as commander of the Hungarian Third Army during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He commanded the

Hungarian I Corps The I Corps was a formation (military), formation of the Royal Hungarian Army that participated in the Axis powers, Axis invasion of Yugoslavia during World War II. Commanders *Major General Vilmos Nagy de Nagybaczon (1 Oct 1936 - 1 Feb 1939) *Maj ...

during the

Invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, or ''Projekt 25'' was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was p ...

.
In 1941, he was deputy chief of General Staff (May–October) and deputy commander in chief of the Army (November).
Between 1 November 1941 and 3 December 1942, he commanded the 3rd Army, which occupied a part of Yugoslavia. He retired on 1 February 1943.

Biography

Zoltán was born on 30 July 1887 in Alsószemeréd (now Dolné Semerovce) in province of

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(now

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

). Raised into an impoverished noble family, whose origins goes back to Joannes Decleva, illegitimate son of John II, Duke of Cleves and a Hungarian

jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

women. After he graduated in Defense Force Academy of

Pécs Pécs ( , ; hr, Pečuh; german: Fünfkirchen, ; also known by other alternative names) is the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the country's southwest, close to its border with Croatia. It is the administr ...

, he served in 1906 at 19º Regiment of Infantry of Army in Pécs. At the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, during forty months, he fought at the front. He got a

morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

with the Archduchess Elisabeth Henriette of Austria (1883-1958), sister of Archduke Joseph August of Austria,

Regent of Hungary The Regent of Hungary was a position established in 1446 and renewed in 1920. It was held by Admiral Miklós Horthy until 1944. Under Hungary's Constitution there were two regents, one a regent of the ruling house, called the Nádor, and another c ...

from August 1919 to August 1919.Alphons Lhotsky, Das Haus Habsburg (1971) His wife had a sympathetic view about the invasion of Hungary by the nazis; she died in 1958 in Regensburg, in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, at the age of 74 - there is any mention about Zoltán on her grave. General Staff of the Hungarian Royal Army 1944

In 1923 he graduated in Military Academy of Budapest. From 15 November 1927 to 1 May 1931, he was assistant of Chief-Commandant of Defense Army. On 1 August 1933 he became chief of 1st Hungarian Brigade. In 1936 he was nominated chief of Departament of Ministry of Defense. He also was Vice Chief of Defence Staff since 1 November de 1938, in January of the same year, he was promoted to Major-General and on 1 September 1940 to Lieutenant-General .
In March 1940 he became commander of the

, with which he participated in the annexation of Northern Transylvania in September 1940 and at the

on 5 April 1941. After the occupation of Yugoslavia, he became Deputy Chief General Staff between May and November 1941 and was then appointed Commander of the Hungarian Third Army, which occupied the Hungarian sector of Yugoslavia, until December 1942. He was nominated General Secretary on 1 October 1942. On 17 December 1943 he was nominated a Private Royal Counsellor of Royal Council of

Miklós Horthy Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya ( hu, Vitéz nagybányai Horthy Miklós; ; English: Nicholas Horthy; german: Nikolaus Horthy Ritter von Nagybánya; 18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957), was a Hungarian admiral and dictator who served as the regen ...

from 1920 to 1944. In March 1944 he was condecorated with the Cross of

Hungarian Order of Merit The Hungarian Order of Merit ( hu, Magyar Érdemrend) is the fourth highest State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the ...

. His son László, after the abdication of

, whom he supported, went into exile in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

and later to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Zoltán's illegitimate son, Ferenc Vitéz Decleva (1942-2016), became Capitan of Baranya County, Colonel of the Hungarian National Guard and a member of Knights of Saint George.Elhunyt vitéz Decleva Ferenc székkapitány 2016.07.21. (in Hungary).
/ref> Zoltán Decleva died on 17 July 1950 in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. At 2004, he was graced posthumously with an Order of Vitéz.

References

Notes

*''This article is based on a translation of the equivalent article of the Hungarian Wikipedia''

External links

Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon

II. világháború - tények, képek, adatok

Zoltán Decleva (1887-1950)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Decleva, Zoltan 1887 births 1950 deaths Hungarian soldiers Hungarian military personnel of World War II