The Battle
The evening of the 20th saw skirmishing and an Austrian push on Pered. The Hungarians defended the town till the end of the day. Gorei decided to continue the defense of Pered forming his battle line across the town's southern edge, but occupying the Kilicserdo, as General Gorei expected to link with the 1st Corps on the 21st. This was the Hungarian army positions at the beginning of the day.
The Austrians had deployed on both sides of Pered and opened the battle on the 21st by advancing into Pered. The fighting was inconclusive until the Russians appeared, surprising the Hungarians. Outnumbered, Gorei abandon Pered and reformed a mile south in the Forest and across the front of Zsigard. Wohlgemuth's main ambition in the battle was to cut off the Hungarians from retreating, so as he advanced, he sent Theissing's brigade south to occupy Kiralyrev. Part went straight south on the east side of the Vag and half went around, approaching from the west over the bridge and occupying the town.
By mid-morning the Hungarians had resumed the attack on right flank when Gorei received the news that the Austrian had captured Kiralyrev. He sent brigades of the 2nd Corps to re-capture Kiralyrev. The Honved handily turned Theissin s Grenadiers out. Pressure mounted on the Hungarians from the north and the 1 st Corps still did not appear. Gorei decided to sent in his hammer, his two divisions of Hussars, aimed at breaking the western juncture between the Austrians and the Russians. The Russians had appeared in the middle of the Austrian line, splitting them. Gorei hoped to take advantage of this awkwardness.
Over 3,000 Hungarian Hussars crashed through the Russians and split them, only to run head-on into the entire Austrian cavalry, positioned behind them. In a tense struggle, the Hussars, nearly surrounded by Russians infantry and Austrian cavalry, fought their way free and returned to their lines. Wolgemuth sensing that the Hungarians had shot their last bolt, attacked Zsigard and captured it.
At this point, Gorei, seeing that the 1 st Corps would not appear, ordered a retreat. About 2 pm the Hungarians withdrew, unmolested by the exhausted Austrian and Russian troops. The Hungarians lost nearly 1,500, while the Austro-Russian forces reported a total loss of 2,500 for the two days. Gorei later said that the 1st Corps failure to appear was the primary cause for the failure of the Hungarian June offensive and the ultimate loss of the war. Had he been able to defeat the Austrians at Pered, Gorei felt he could have pushed them out of Hungary, significantly raising the odds that the Russians to the east could have been contained.
Scenario Notes:
This scenario is multi-faceted. It is also characteristic of many of the battles of the Hungarian War of Independence. The battle covered a large area, with a great deal of movement by both sides. The armies can't cover the entire area represented on the table.
Both sides have a number of unknowns they must deal with. The Hungarians are outnumbered 16,000 to 21,000, but have an advantage with the unwilling nature of the Russian support, which represents nearly half of the Allied force. And the 1st Corps just might show up, and with it, the chance to crush the Austrians with a flank attack. But the Austrians may be able to retreat, as close to the north table edge as they are, and win by escaping.
The Austrians outnumber the Hungarians but have a somewhat inferior army. They can also win the fight and lose the battle if the Hungarians are allowed to escape. The trick for both sides is to know when the getting is good. Retreat too soon and you will not have caused enough casualties, go too late and you never get off the table in time. If however, you go for a decisive win, you may over-extend yourself and be unable to retreat when you need to. There is also enough cavalry to make any retreat problematical. Enjoy.
Uniforms:
Vienna Legion
(A): Also known as Weiner's Legion, they were volunteers from the Austrian capital city. All were rebels who escaped when Jellacic re-captured the citiy in October of 1848. They formed a battalion-strength infantry unit. They wore a dark blue coat with red piping, and grey pants with a red stripe. The hat and feather was black. A gold "WL" was pinned to the front of the hat and a cockade with the German revolutionary colors, yellow, red and black in the center, on the side of the hat. All leather equipement was black, buttons white metal.
German Legion
(B): This battalion of volunteers was made up of German nationals and their uniform shows it. All black, the smock had no buttons or cording. All leather was black. The black hat had a silver skull and crossbones pinned to the front and the German revolutionary cockade on the side. The feather was black. No belt was worn and the cartridge box was worn on the chest. The officers wore the same uniform except instead of a smock they wore a black coat with typical Hungarian knots and cording in yellow.
Ranger Battalions
(C): The Hungarians formed three very large battalions of light infantry, each company of the eight averaging 350 men. A fourth was forming when the war ended. These companies were divided up between brigades much like the Austrians practice with their Jagers. Ranger companies fought at Pered, but how many were assigned to each brigade, I do not know. With all Hungarian infantry able to skirmish, this may not be important. The uniform was light grey with medium green cording and pant stripes, as well as the shoulder wings. All leather equipment was black. The Hat was black with a silver shield and tri-colored cording. The feather was green. Buttons were white metal.
The Battle of Pered: June 20-21, 1849 "The Russians are here."
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© Copyright 2003 Hal Thinglum
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