From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ferenc Szombathelyi
Ferenc Szombathelyi
Ferenc Szombathelyi commander of the Ludovica Academy. From 1934 he used
the surname of his mother instead of his German name.
From 1938 to 1939 he held the post of deputy chief of
staff. From 1939 to 1941 he commanded the VIII Corps,
before he was appointed commanding general of the
"Carpathian group" (Kárpát Csoport), with which he took
part in Operation Barbarossa. On 6 September he was ap-
pointed by Regent Miklós Horthy, to succeed the pro-
German Henrik Werth as Chief of General Staff. Szom-
bathelyi assessed the prospects of war with the Soviet
Union, skeptical, and did not know that to leave his Ger-
man counterpart. Shortly after his appointment, he was
present at the meeting between Hitler and Horthy, when
he promised to send more troops. He hesitated but be-
yond this measure successfully, to prevent it was no
longer following the setback of the German army in the
winter of 1941/42 and the increased commitment of Ro-
manian. In April 1942 he sent the Second Army of
Gusztáv Jány on the Eastern Front. Previously, he was in
reaction to alleged attacks of communist partisans and
Born 17 May 1887 (1887-05-17) Chetniks in the annexed Batschka arranged an interven-
Győr, Austria-Hungary tion by the military under General Ferenc Feketehalmy-
Died 4 November 1946 (1946-11-05) (aged 59) Czeydner, which evolved into a criminal action against
Petrovaradin, Yugoslavia Serb-inhabited villages and culminated in the massacre
of Novi Sad.
Allegiance Austria-Hungary In response to the catastrophic defeats of the second
Hungarian Soviet Republic Army in the winter of 1942/43 (→ Operation
Kingdom of Hungary Ostrogoschsk-Rossosh) tried to Hungary more and more
Rank Colonel General to take away from his Axis partner. Szombathelyi of the
proposed use and of Hitler greeted by Hungarian divi-
Battles/wars World War I sions to garrison purposes in the Balkans as a substitute
Hungarian-Romanian War of 1919
World War II
for the failure of the second Army was rejected by Prime
Minister Miklós Kállay. There have been initiated con-
Vitéz Ferenc Szombathelyi (né Knausz or Knauz; 17 May tacts with the Western powers, which was next to Kállay,
1887 - 4 November 1946) was a Hungarian military offi- Szombathelyi also played a leading role. After the Ger-
cer, who served as Chief of Army Staff during the Second man invasion of Hungary in April 1944 Szombathelyi was
World War. removed from office and placed under house arrest. He
was arrested in October 1944 after the Arrow Cross Party
took power. Szombathelyi was deported to Germany,
Military career then taken into custody by the Americans, however they
Knausz joined in 1902 as a cadet in the Austro-Hungarian delivered to Hungary shortly. He was convicted by the
army and was promoted to lieutenant in 1907 infantry Hungarian people’s court to life imprisonment, then ex-
regiment No. 16. From 1911 he studied at the k.u.k. War tradited to Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav authorities, because
School in Vienna. After participating in the First World of his involvement in the massacre of Novi Sad, brought
War he joined the newly founded Royal Hungarian Army. him to justice and executed by hanging in November
From 1926 he taught at the Ludovica Military Academy in 1946. The Hungarian sentence against Szombathelyi was
Budapest. From 1931 to 1933 he was then Chief of Staff of canceled in 1994.
the 3rd mixed brigade adjutant from 1935 to 1936 of the
High Command of the armed forces until 1938 and then
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ferenc Szombathelyi
Military offices
Preceded by Chief of the General Staff Succeeded by
General Henrik Werth 1 September 1941 – 19 April 1944 Colonel-General János Vörös
References • Földi Pál: Horthy tábornokai, Anno Kiadó, 2007,
Debrecen, ISBN 978-963-375-487-0
• Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon • Dombrády Lóránd: Szombathelyi Ferenc a népbíróság
• Földi Pál: A Magyar Királyi Honvédség a második előtt HM Hadtörténeti Intézet és Múzeum Line Design,
világháborúban, Anno Kiadó, 2000, 2007.
isbn:978-963-375-221-3 • Györkei Jenő: Idegen bírák előtt. Szombathelyi Ferenc
újvidéki pere és kivégzése. Zrínyi Kiadó, Budapest, 2002.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ferenc_Szombathelyi&oldid=456347730"
Categories:
• 1887 births
• 1946 deaths
• People from Győr
• Hungarian soldiers
• Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I
• Austro-Hungarian Army officers
• Hungarian military personnel of World War II
• Executed Hungarian people
• Hungarian people stubs
• European military personnel stubs
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