Battle of Pákozd

The Hungarian right flank was positioned on the northern shore of Lake Velence, on the hills between Pátka and Pákozd,[36] south of the Lovasberény road,[35] to cut the enemy's road towards Buda.[36] Móga placed more than a third of his infantry here, including two battalions of line infantry.[35] Móga gave the overall command over this wing to Lieutenant colonel József Milpökh.[33] The multifaceted, accidented topography which dominated the region where the Hungarian right wing was placed, including the region of Pátka, made any enemy cavalry and artillery attacks very difficult.[35] The Hungarian commanders were expecting a massive infantry attack on this direction.[37] Only two companies of hussars and 8 guns supported the Hungarian right flank.[37] The Hungarian troops on this flank were positioned along the road to Bicske, with their right wing leaning on the marshes from Pátka, to secure the extreme right flank, and as protection against encircling, two hussar companies were assigned to the northern exit of Pátka.[33] The Hungarian right flank was formed as follows: in the first line of battle the two (1st and 2nd) Pest battalions of the Cisdanubia Volunteer Mobile National Guards were deployed, the vanguard was made of the 6th (Kecskemét) company of the 2nd Pest battalion.[38] Ivánka deployed the companies of the two battalions in an echelon formation, taking advantage of the terrain, while two companies were positioned as support behind the heights, which lay 60 paces behind the battalions.[39] 250-300 paces behind them the 3rd (Hont-Esztergom) and the 4th (Nógrád) battalions were deployed. To the north of these two battalions, in line with them, was the 1st Battalion of the 60th (Wasa) Infantry Regiment, in front of it the 3rd Six Pounder half Honvéd battery and the Half Battery of Major Imre Ivánka.[40] At the northern end of the position stood the Tolna Volunteer Mobile National Guard Battalion and two companies of the 9th (Nicholas) Hussar Regiment. Two Hussar companies were on outpost at Pátka.[40] The 3rd Battalion of the 48th (Ernest) Infantry Regiment probably formed the reserve.[40]

The Hungarian center was located on the vine-growing hills between Pákozd and Sukoró.[37] It was commanded by Major General Franz Holtsche.[33] The postal road from Székesfehérvár to Buda passed through this section, and on both sides of this road, an infantry attack was hampered by the wet, marshy terrain.[37] According to the Hungarian war diary, written after the battle: this terrain gave the Hungarian army the advantage of being able to use its batteries in all directions without any change of position, completely dominating the area, and in the case of an [enemy] deployment between the hills which lie in front and those which were held [by the Hungarians], the stream running through the valley made a decisive advance of the enemy possible only by the main road.[37] The enemy could deploy his cavalry only here. Móga placed more than half of his artillery here: 28 guns. A Honvéd battalion, a volunteer battalion and 2 line infantry battalions made here the infantry, and 4 companies of hussars made the cavalry.[37] Historian József Bánlaky (Breit) the 12,000 paces of overstretch, and the huge gap between the completely isolated right flank and the center almost invited the enemy to attempt a breakthrough there.[33]

Recruitment in Hungary in 1848 with soldiers and militias by unknown author

The left wing was deployed on the southern shore of Lake Velence, near Gárdony and Agárd,[37] on both sides of the road to Pest in front of Sukoró. This wing, leaning on the lake Velence, was commanded by Colonel Mihály Répásy.[33] In and around Agárd was stationing a unit of almost 4000 soldiers under the lead of Colonel Mór Perczel, in order to prevent an eventual encircling movement by the enemy.[41] This section was also crossed by a road, and the terrain was similar to that on the northern shore.[37] As both sides of the road leading to there were wet and swampy, the enemy attack could hardly have expected success from this direction: no wonder the Croatian army did not attack from this direction.[42] Móga here meant active defense in case of need, as indicated by the fact that in addition to the 6 cannons and one battalion each of soldiers and volunteers, he deployed here nearly 600 hussars. If necessary, the latter could be moved relatively quickly around the lake to its northern shore.[43]

Jelačić's camp Lithography by Kriehuber

The reserve at Velence, was made up of a battalion of the line infantry, a battalion of Honvéd's and 3 battalions of volunteers, and 400 hussars,[43] led by Major General Ádám Teleki.[33] Relatively close to the left wing on the southern shore of Lake Velence was another Hungarian grouping. The commander of this detachment was Major Artúr Görgei. Since 27 August, Görgei had been the commander of the Danube–Tisza Interfluve Volunteer Mobile National Guard's Szolnok camp, and from 24 September he was the commander of Csepel Island. As the commander of the latter, his task was to prevent a possible crossing of the Roth division to the right bank of the Danube.[43] On 26 September Görgei's troops were composed of 600 mobile national guards and 8 cannons, but on the same day, prime minister Batthyányi put under his command 1520 Hunyadi militias, and also around 800 volunteer mobile national guards with 4 cannons.[43] Görgei divided these units, sending parts of them to Dunaföldvár and Adony. On 27 September Móga ordered Görgei to attack the right wing of the enemy with all forces at his disposition because he believed that the main battle with Jelačić will be the next day.[43] On 28 September, one company of the Jászkun battalion was stationed in Tököl, one in Szigetújfalu, one in Ercsi, and one at Lórév; each company, except the one from Ercsi, had four guns.[43] Between 5-6 o'clock that evening, Görgei with 140-150 men of the Hunyadi militia went on a reconnaissance from Adony, but later he split this unit, sending 20 men towards Velence, 60-70 towards Seregélyes, while himself rode with 80 men towards Sárosd, arriving there on 29 at midnight.[43] He reinforced the detachment from Seregélyes with 40 men and in order to secure their position, he sent 60 militias to Szolgaegyháza.

Hungarian national guardsmen, soldiers and hussars during the Croatian invasion from 1848 - unknown author

Görgei and the squad he led, went all the way to Aba, HungaryAba, and from there he announced a mass popular uprising against the Croatians. He placed 30 men of the Hunyadi militias in Aba, Sárkeresztúr, and in other smaller localities in order to organize the uprisings, and the remaining 50 were sent to Soponya to observe the road to Székesfehérvár.[43] After Görgei departed from Adony, on 28 at 9 p.m. arrived there from Dunaföldvár the 3. company of the Hunyadi militia, the 2. Major division of the 9. (Nicholas) Hussar regiment and 4 cannons, and on 29 arrived here also the remaining three companies of the Hunyadi militia.[43] The Szabolcs county battalion arrived from Dunaföldvár to Adony on 29 September.[44] As a result of these, on 29 September at night Görgei had at his disposition 600 men from the Jászkun, 800 from the Szabolcs mobile national guards, 1500 men from the Hunyadi militia 202 riders from the 2. Major division of the 9. (Nicholas) Hussar regiment (in total 3100 men at arms) and 16 cannons.[45] Görgei knew that he had not enough men to cause serious problems to the Croatian right wing, but he wanted to establish a web of sentries to prevent the communication between the army of Jelačić and the approaching corps of Roth, capturing the correspondence between them, thus gathering important information which could be decisive in the upcoming confrontation of the two armies.[45]

At the same time, other Hungarian units were rushing towards Pákozd to reinforce the army. The 1. battalion of the 15. (2. Székely) Border Guard Regiment came from Bácska Theater (Serbian front), but they could join the army after the battle, on the 30. September or 1 October.[45] A small force approached the Hungarian main forces from the north: from Zala County, two companies of the Tapolca district battalion, led by Captain József Meszlényi, joined the main force at Nadap around 27 September, however, the three companies led by Major Ferenc Vigyázó on September 28 only reached Magyaralmás, and from there they departed on 29 September through Zámoly towards Pátka.[45]

The Hungarian army
Commander Lieutenant General János Móga,
Chief of staff: Major Josef Kollmann

102 infantry companies, 15 cavalry companies, 46 cannons.
Total: 17,516 soldiers[46]

The Hungarian army numbered about 17,500 men, 2,060 horses, and 42 guns; four unequipped guns were in reserve.[35] Because the Hungarian left wing and the reserves did not participate in the battle, Móga used only 10,444 soldiers and 36 cannons.[4]

The Croatian army
Commander Lieutenant General Josip Jelačić,
Chief of staff: Major General Karl Zeisberg

50,458 soldiers, 2339 horses, 60 cannons.[48]

A statement about the Croatian army from 27 September shows 51,557 soldiers, of which 48 234 were combat-ready.[35] It is uncertain if this number also includes the soldiers of the division of Major General Franz Karl von Roth.[35] If we count the possible absence of Roth's division, then we have 43,189 personnel and 39,098 combat-ready soldiers.[35] The army had 48 three- and six-pounder guns and 12 Congreve rocket launchers. Even taking to account the absence of the 14,000 soldiers and 12 cannons of the division of Lieutenant General Karl Vinzenz Hartlieb, which departed too late towards the battlefield and arrived there after the end of the battle, the troops under the command of Lieutenant General Josip Jelačić were in numerical superiority, but the superior firepower of the Hungarian army evened the balance of power.[35] As a result, at the battle of Pákozd, Jelačić had at his disposition about 36,000 soldiers and 48 cannons.[4]

Jelačić, with an army outnumbering the Hungarians by two and a half times, issued a simple marching order for 28 September, anticipating the possibility of a Hungarian resistance. Johann Major General Kempen von Fichtenstamm, the leader of the Croatian left wing, sent his division on the road towards Lovasberény, with the order to reach Vál and Kajászószentpéter on the same day, and with his advance guard Tordas.[45] The other two, the Schmidl and Hartlieb divisions and the united cavalry under Colonel Sedelmayer, had to advance on the Székesfehérvár-Pákozd-Velence mail route. No units were sent to the southern shore of the lake.[45] Jelačić seems to have thought that he could crush the Hungarian right flank with an encircling attack and then push the Hungarian army into Lake Velence, or at least drive it back towards the capital. That day, with the Schmidl's division and cavalry, he intended to advance to Martonvásár, and with Hartlieb's division to Velence.[45] Kempen's and Schmidl's divisions and the cavalry brigade had to leave at 6 a.m., while Hartlieb's division at 7 a.m.[50]

Kempen's troops set off at 6 a.m. on the road to Lovasberény. The division was led by Major General Josef Neustaedter's brigade, followed by Colonel Daniel Rastić's brigade.[51] Kempen's primary objective was to break, with a frontal attack, through the Hungarian right wing, and isolate from each other the units fighting there.[41] The Hungarian hussar outposts which the Neustaedter brigade first met, retreated, and the brigade slowly pushed forward across the Pátka meadow towards the Hungarian front line. The vanguard was a detachment, led by Captain Resniczek, made of the 3. battalion of the Ogulin, and the 3. battalion of the Slunj borderguard regiments. This was followed by a battalion of Ogulin Militia led by Major Terbuhović.[51] The third unit was the 2nd Battalion of the Bród Borderguard Regiment, led by Captain Bogunović. The brigade's artillery consisted of 6 guns of the 1st six-pounder infantry battery, and the brigade's cavalry was a company of Jelačić hussars. At the same time, the company of the Ogulin Seressaners led by Lieutenant Roknić, and the company of Ogulin militias led by Captain Leypold advanced on the high ground along the main road against the forest, which was in front of the Hungarian position.[51]

Seressaner

According to the war diary of the Dráva Corps (written down later), at 5 a.m. a patrol of Hussars on outpost at Pátka reported that the enemy had departed from Székesfehérvár, and their commander (Major Imre Szegedy) immediately gave the order to retreat towards Ságvár". Ivánka, however, sent back the hussars towards Pátka, sending a section of them to reconnoiter beyond Csala, which was halfway between Pátka and Pákozd.[40]

Ivánka Imre, országgyűlési képviselő, Vasárnapi Ujság, 1889

The actual clash between the two armies took place between 9:30 and 10:30 in the morning.[51] According to the Kempen Division's staff log, two squads of about 110 skirmishers made of Seressaners, led by Captain Roknić, engaged the Hungarian outposts on the heights to the right of the road.[51] According to two members of the 2nd Pest Volunteer Battalion, the first Croatian scouts appeared at dawn in front of the Hungarian lines but were driven back by a few rifle shots of the Hungarian outposts. Soon the Croatian battalion was ordered back on a lower hill "about two cannon shots away" (like one and a half to two km).[40] Roknić reported this to Major General Neustaedter, saying that he was facing at least 9 divisions (i.e. 18 companies=3 battalions) of infantry and a few batteries. Roknić was mistaken, as the Hungarian right flank had only two battalions of infantry, the rest of the infantry being volunteer mobile National Guard battalions.[51] The Kecskemét company of the 2nd Pest Battalion, divided into two half companies, positioned on a rocky hill, clashed with the Seressaners led by Captain Roknić, and drove them back with their fire, so that they retreated to the left, towards the right edge of the Hungarian right flank,[52] and there they engaged with them in an intense firefight.[51] Roknić soon told Neustaedter that if he did not get reinforcements, he would not be able to hold his position. Kempen then ordered Neustaedter to send reinforcements to Roknić. According to Kempen's division's staff log, two companies of Leypold's battalion, formed from the militias of the Ogulin borderguard regiment, were sent to support the Seressaners.[51]

Another company of the 2nd Pest Battalion was fighting in the valley - probably with two companies of the Leypold Battalion of the Ogulin Militias,[52] and two (or four) companies of cavalry.[41] The latter company retreated, and the 2nd Pest Battalion itself withdrew. According to the Hungarian war diary (written down later), the engagement lasted for more than an hour and caused a shortage of ammunition for the fighting Hungarian infantry. Ivánka, who had arrived on the scene in the meantime, stopped the company's retreat, sent them ammunition, and the firing of Ivánka's half-battery halted the advancing Croats.[52] Due to the strong Hungarian counterattack, the Croats did not attempt another face-to-face attack here but continued their attempts to encircle the Hungarians.[53] Meanwhile, Ivánka sent the battalion - to help with the ammunition shortage - under the command of Major Richard Guyon on a bayonet charge against the enemy-occupied scrubland. Although it was hit by heavy rifle fire, the battalion captured the thicket but then it was forced to retreat because of the Croatian counterattack that had meanwhile developed (probably by the second Ogulin Militia battalion led by Major Terbuhović).[52] According to Major General Josef Neustaedter's memoirs, after receiving Roknić's report that he could not hold, Neustadter, on the orders of Kempen, who was present, sent the Ogulin Militia Battalion, led by Major Terbuhović, on the heights to the right. From there, Major Terbuhović had to send four companies of infantry organized in a skirmish-line, into the valley and from there to the opposite heights.[54] However, shortly after that, Terbuhovic himself, asked for support saying that without the brigade's support he could not hold his position. Neustaedter then took the lead of the 2nd Battalion of the 7th (Bród) Frontierguard Regiment and moved up the above-mentioned hill from the right, ordering the Ogulin Battalion under Captain Leypold to follow. However, as Leypold had no horse, he ordered the mounted border guard captain Bermann, from the Bród border guard regiment, to lead the Ogulin Battalion. Then Neustaedter led the Bród battalion to the top of the hill.[55]

Meanwhile, the 3rd Battalion of the 3rd (Ogulin) and 4th (Slunj) Borderguard Regiments, led by Major Rezniczek, the 2nd Battalion of the 7th (Bród) Borderguard Regiment, led by Captain Bogunović, and the 3rd Three Pound Infantry Battery, led by Lieutenant Lončar, were climbing the heights to encircle the Hungarians from the right.[56] To ensure the success of the encirclement, Kempen, with a battalion formed from the 3rd Battalions of the 3rd (Ogulin) and 4th (Slunj) Borderguard Regiments, launched further and further attacks in the forest, in order to weaken the Hungarian right wing's furthermost section, and divert their attention.[53]

Kempen reported in his war report from Pátka at 2 p.m. that the Hungarian aide-de-camp Major Count Antal Szapáry appeared shortly after the beginning of the battle and asked Kempen "to avoid any bloodshed, assuring that hostilities would be stopped for sure, if here too they were to be stopped".[54] Kempen was not against this offer and promised to stop fighting until Jelačić's response to the ceasefire offer will arrive. But in the midst of the "negotiations", both he and nearby units came under heavy artillery fire, so he ordered his artillery to deploy and start shooting back.[54] However, Kempen's positive attitude to Szapáry's offer was probably enforced on him by the confusion caused among the Croats by the Hungarian artillery's grapeshot.[54]

The 1st Battalion of the Hungarian 60th (Wasa) Infantry attacked from flank the Croatians in the woods, and the 1st Six-Pounder Infantry Battery, which was assigned to them, their cannons firing grapeshot at the Bród battalion. Neustaedter ordered the unit to withdraw down the valley. However, the Hungarian battery's first volley of cartridges still wounded and killed some 50 of the troops. Captain Bogunović, the commander of the unit, and his aide, Petričević, were also wounded in the fire.[38] According to Kempen, "We had to retreat from our unfavorable position to a sideways position in the continuous fire."[54] After the battalion had retreated from the height, the Hungarian battery started firing cannonballs at the Croatian baggage wagons on the highway from the valley, which retreated in haste towards Pátka. The situation was saved by the 3rd Three-Pounder Infantry Battery, led by Lieutenant Lončar, which took up a firing position not far from the Hungarian battery, caught it in the crossfire and thus deterred it from further firing against Croatian troops and baggage.[38] The Hungarian unit suffered heavy losses from the enemy fire, being forced to retreat, and even abandoning its original position due to the lack of ammunition, according to Miklós Perczel's diary.[53] The Croatian battery of Lieutenant Lončar was secured by the Ogulin Militia Battalion led by Captain Bermann and the 3rd Combined Ogulin-Slunj Border Guard Battalion led by Captain Rezniczek.[38]

Perczel Miklós

In the meantime, the two Croatian battalions that had been trying to encircle the Hungarians, advanced unhindered to the plateau. The situation was saved by the Tolna Volunteer National Guards led by Major Miklós Perczel. Miklós Perczel divided his battalion into three divisions: two companies led by Sándor Perczel, two by Miklós Perczel himself, and two were left as reserves at the head of the hill. With his four companies, he attacked the two battalions of Croats that had ascended the mountain. After a volley, they attacked the enemy with a bayonet charge, who, after a short fight, began to flee.[53] The fleeing Croats were also fired upon by a Hungarian battery, causing them heavy losses. The Tolna Volunteer National Guards did not pursue the enemy, but took position on their original positions.[53]

The enemy was fired upon by a six-pounder half battery on the extreme right flank, and a squadron of hussars also attacked, whereupon they retreated through the ravines on the main road without halting to the mill on the side, and at last, they halted in the cover of some mounds further back.[53] The aforementioned half (or whole) battery, and the Nicholas Hussars were brought from the center by Gyula Andrássy, who arrived just in time to stop the Croatian advance.[41]

Andrássy Gyula Prinzhofer

Sometime after 4 p.m., the commander of the Hungarian right wing Lieutenant colonel József Milpökh ordered a general attack, which drove the back Croats at every point. It was perhaps at this time that the Otočac Seressaners, who had been drawn into this section of the front line, were confronted by one of the Hungarian volunteer battalions.[57] According to the story of the Otočac border guards regiment's staff log, the Seressaners led by Lieutenant Vlaisavljević thought the Hungarians want to surrender, and the Hungarians thought the Seressaners want to do that. They approached each other, and at one moment the Hungarians called on the Seressaners to lay down their weapons.[58] But the Croatians seized their rifles and attacked the Hungarians, killing 35 of them and taking 1 lieutenant and 12 privates prisoner.[58] According to a Hungarian source, this was not an accident, but the Croats lured the Hungarian battalion into a trap with the promise to surrender, and then carried out a massacre among them.[58] According to one of Jelačić's aides, Hermann Dahlen von Orlaburg, 31 mutilated Hungarians were lying on the ground.[58]

In any case, according to the sources, the Hungarian advance was so fierce that the Croats fled everywhere, and the Hungarian battalions drove the attackers as far as Pátka, almost forcing them into the lake from there. But then the fighting suddenly broke off.[58]

According to a work about the history of the 71st Battalion, Major Imre Ivánka wanted to stop the battle and the advance of the Hungarians, but it took a great effort to stop the advancing 2nd Pest Battalion. According to the memories of a soldier of that battalion, Ivánka himself grabbed a white handkerchief and stopped the advance.[59] The Hungarian battery here was silenced, although the Croats were within firing range.[59] According to Ivánka's memoirs, Kempen sent an officer waving a white handkerchief to the Hungarian side. The officer said that Kempen "wishes the firing to be stopped.[59] on the whole line; he does not want to fight the Hungarians; he has been told that the demagogues are terrorizing the [Hungarian] Diet and the government and that he came to the country to liberate it; but now he sees that the whole [Hungarian] nation is in arms against them [the Croatian army], that the regular troops of the Imperial Army are standing and fighting in our [the Hungarian] ranks, [and] he does not want to cause a split in the army, etc."[59] Ivánka replied that he was not the commander-in-chief, that it was difficult for him too to fight against his comrades from the Habsburg imperial army, but it was not the Hungarians who had invaded Croatia; otherwise, he would report the willingness of Kempen to stop the fight, to the commander-in-chief. He then reported to Milpökh what had happened, sent his aide-de-camp Pál Rainer to Móga, and rode to the Croatian border guard officer.[59] The soldiers engaged in conversation with the Seressaners who accompanied the Croatian officers. According to Ivánka, it was then that the half-battery brought to the right flank by Gyula Andrássy started firing at Kempen's troops from the valley, whereupon the Seressaners disarmed Ivánka and took him with them. The fighting here ended shortly after dusk.[59]

Towards the end of the battle, an important event also occurred in the rear of the Croatian left flank at Pátka. On 28 September, the half-battalion of the Zala National Guard led by Major Ferenc Vigyázó, of about 600 men, which had departed from the district of Tapolca, but because of the Croatian advance could not unite with the Hungarian main army, remained near Magyaralmás. (The other half-battalion, led by Captain József Meszlényi, manage to join the main army around 27 September.)[59]

The Hungarian villagers attack the troops of Jelačić - German caricature

Captain Móric Kisfaludy arrived in Zámoly with his company on 29 September at 11 am. Here he heard that the Croatians are plundering Pátka.[41] He rode there with one of his officers and saw that about 120-150 Croatian wagons were moving towards the bridge from Pátka.[59] Kisfaludy sent an officer for his troops, and he himself, with the villagers, who started to gather to help him, and a resident of Zámoly on horseback, hurried to the wagons.[60] Here, the Croats received them with rifle shots, but they missed. Kisfaludy cut down an enemy rider, to whereof the wagons turned back, but one of them overturned. The column, which was retreating through the village, was attacked by the locals and beaten to death 30 Croats.[61] Kisfaludy then hurried back to Zámoly, from where he with Vigyázó and three of his companies, and the villagers of Zámoly, who rose up to help him against the Croatians, set off again for Pátka, and tried to surround the Croats there, but they had already left the village.[61] Kisfaludy and Vigyázó then reversed the overturned ammunition wagon, left behind by the Croats, and took it with them.[61] Among the loot captured by Kisfaludy and the villagers were also weapons and military maps.[41] Because of the proximity of the Croats, they left the village at 9 p.m. and returned to Zámoly and on the 30th then to Csákvár.[61] The enemy did not return to Pátka until 10 p.m. on the 29th.[61] Thus, only the population of the village took part in the fightings from Pátka.[61] The returning Croatians took revenge on the villagers of Pátka by plundering the inhabitants, and taking 28 of them as hostages, releasing them only on 30 September, when the armistice was signed.[41] From the Kempen division's staff log, it seems that the local action took place only after Kempen had decided to call off the battle at Pákozd, i.e. there were no fighting Croatian troops in the village, only the escorts of the ammunition and baggage train.[61] Some sources say that except these, there were many Croatians from Kempen's troops, who were retreating after the Hungarian artillery put them to flight.[41]

The Schmidl division departing from Székesfehérvár via Kisfalud to Pákozd on the mail route according to the unanimous testimony of the sources, broke out from Pákozd at about 12 noon and started to attack the Hungarian center.[62] The 1st Battalion of the 8th (Gradiška) Borderguard Regiment from Major General Kuzman Todorović's brigade led the assault column, followed by the 1st (Lika) and 2nd (Otočac) Borderguard Regiments. Also here were assigned the Seressaners of the 1st (Lika) and 2nd (Otočac) Borderguard Regiments. Three companies from the 3rd Battalion of the 2nd (Otočac) Frontierguard Regiment took part in the battle, but we do not know where were they positioned.[62] The same can be said of the 4th Battalion of the 3rd (Ogulin) Borderguard Regiment. Perhaps these two units were sent to occupy the vineyards, which lay left (north) to the post road. The artillery of the brigade was the 2nd Three Pounder Infantry Battery. Also deployed here were the 3rd Six Pounder Battery, attached to the Cavalry Brigade, and one of the Congreve rocket batteries.[62] Of the four battalions of the brigade under the command of Colonel Baron Franz Gramont, the 4th Battalion of the 4th (Slunj) Borderguard Regiment and the 3rd Battalion of the 11th (2nd Ban) Borderguard Regiment came under fire.[62] These troops were probably also sent to occupy the vineyards. To this brigade, as artillery, the 4th three-pounder battery was attached.[63] South of the post road, the 1st Major's Division of the 7th (Kress) Light Cavalry (chevau léger) Regiment and three (or two) divisions of the 7th (Hardegg) Cuirassier Regiment were deployed, which belonged to the cavalry brigade of Colonel Franz Sedelmayer von Seefeld. Also assigned to this brigade were the 3rd six-pounder battery, the 5th mixed battery, and the 1st and 2nd Congreve rocket batteries.[64]

At the center, the Hungarian outposts reported at 11:30 that the Croats were already in Pákozd.[61] According to the war diary (written down later) of the Dráva Corps, the Croatian army "with strong infantry columns from the ravine near Pákozd, advanced on the main road, parallel to it, and simultaneously along the length of the vineyards between the main road and the road to Lovasberény, advancing to the edge of the vineyards, occupied all the fences of the vineyards and opened fire on our skirmishers (probably the soldiers of the 1st Honvéd battalion) deployed along the tree-lined stream". They shot on the soldiers also with Congreve rockets.[61] At the same time, Móga's war report highlights the intense rocket fire of the enemy on the center of the Hungarian army; and Hermann Dahlen also mentions in his diary that he saw a (probably the 1st) Honvéd battalion retreating in haste, after being hit by two rockets.[62] "This advance," writes the staff log, "would have had adverse consequences for the Hungarian center, if the enemy had pushed forward with additional infantry columns on the vineyard, behind his first front line forming an acute angle with the Hungarian position, as far as its final outcrop, and had advanced from the vineyards on the road connecting the Hungarian right wing and the center, and had thus separated them both."[61]

Móga was aware of this danger and placed a battery (probably the 4th k.u.k. Six-Pounder Infantry Battery led by Lieutenant Karl Jungwirth) at a point where it could fire on the Croatian troops from the vineyards.[61] At the beginning of the battle, the 4th (Alexander) Hussars Regiment's Lieutenant-Colonel class, two companies of the 9th (Nicholas) Hussar regiment, two companies of the Cordier grenadier battalion, and the 1st six-pound infantry half battery led by Lieutenant Philip Gruber were stationed on the left (southern) side of the highway.[61] Just before the battle, the 2nd six-pounder Honvéd cavalry battery led by First Lieutenant József Makk was directed here. Makk also took over the command of the other half battery from here.[61] At the beginning of the battle, two companies of the Cordier Grenadier Battalion were redirected to the forces on the right side of the road, while from the reserve from Velence, Móga moved forward the 1st battalion of the 34. (Prince of Prussia) Infantry Regiment, led by Captain Vince Győzey.[65] Furthermore - a little later - Móga did the same with the three battalions of the Transdanubian Volunteer Mobile National Guard led by Major Mór Kosztolányi, and probably with the 14th Honvéd Battalion.[65]

Battle of Pákozd (29. September 1848)

Móga, having seen the enemy's marching, sent the Lieutenant-Colonel Division of the 4th (Alexander) Hussars forward to the area between the highway and the lake. According to the staff log, the purpose of the advance was to force the enemy to deploy his troops and show his strength; in his memoirs, Lajos Zámbelly, however, believes that the aim was to draw the enemy forces to this point.[65] Their commander Major József Schweidel, reported that they had penetrated within firing range of the enemy and, despite the enemy's fire, they managed to gather precious pieces of information that they were facing a large number of enemy troops and had also gained valuable information about the troop deployment.[65]

In the meantime, however, the enemy had also brought forward some cavalry, a six-pounder infantry and a six-pounder half Congreve rocket battery (however according to Zámbelly, only the latter), with which he fired vigorously at the Hussars 800 paces away.[65] According to a memory, the Croatian guns were deployed behind the cavalry's cover, and that is why the Hungarian hussars were caught by surprise by their fire.[65] However, the rockets did not do much harm to the Hungarians: Jelačić later reported to the Imperial Minister of War Baillet von Latour that he had been forced to withdraw one of the rocket batteries from the firing line because it was unable to reach the enemy with its shells, while at the same time, it was very exposed to enemy fire.[62]

Meanwhile, Móga sent Major József Békeffy with two companies of the 9th (Nicholas) Hussar Regiment, to gather information about the enemy as Schweidel's 4th (Alexander) Hussars did earlier, but they were forced to turn back without finishing their work. According to Lajos Zámbelly, the enemy battery and rockets were silenced by the shots of the 2nd Six-Pounder Honvéd cavalry battery led by Lieutenant József Makk. After that Móga wanted to send Schweidel's two companies forward again, but Major General Holtsche, the commander of the center, dissuaded him.[65]

Shortly afterward, a duel between Hungarian and Croatian batteries began. In this duel on the Hungarian side participated József Makk's 2nd six-pounder Hungarian cavalry battery and Fülöp Gruber's 1st half six-pounder Hungarian infantry battery, and perhaps even the 4th six-pounder k.u.k. infantry battery under the command of Lieutenant Karl Jungwirth.[66] At first, the Hungarian artillerymen did not respond to the Croatian artillery's fire, but when the Croatian batteries came within range, the Hungarian cannons shot with so a great skill, that after only a few shots the enemy artillery retreated in haste.[67]

This was followed, with some delay, by a Croatian attack from the vineyards. Most of the Hungarian infantry probably was deployed here. To the right (north) of the road was the 1st Honvéd Battalion, and to the right of it the Borsod Volunteer Mobile National Guard Battalion. The 2nd Battalion of the 34th (Prince of Prussia) Infantry Regiment stood behind them.[67] The two companies of the Cordier Grenadier Battalion were deployed behind the 1st Honvéd Battalion. At the start of the battle, two companies of the grenadier battalion, which were south of the road near the 1st Six-Pounder Half Infantry Battery, were also sent to the right side of the road to reinforce the Hungarian infantry.[67] The 4th k.u.k. Six-Pounder Infantry Battery, commanded by First Lieutenant Karl Jungwirth, took up position between the 1st Honvéd Battalion and the Borsod Battalion, while a Honvéd battery was positioned to the right (north) of the Borsod Battalion. The latter was probably not a full but only a half-battery, namely the 3rd six-pounder Honvéd half battery. The position of the 1st six-pounder Honvéd cavalry battery is not known in the order of battle; later, during the battle, this (or half of it) was transferred to the right flank by Móga.[67]

The 1st Battalion led by Major György Lázár was approached to 1000 paces by a Seressaner company, marching in battle line. Lázár sent one company forward in a line of battle to a field ditch, with orders to fire only when the enemy was in range.[68] About the Borsod Volunteer Mobile National Guard we only know that one of their companies also advanced in a battle line, and the rest of the battalion took up position behind the trench mentioned by Lazar, and from there they fired at the Seressaners and the border guards.[68]

In the meantime, half an hour from Pákozd, Jelačić and his entourage met a lieutenant of the 9th (Miklós) Hussars regiment, accompanied by a hussar trumpeter, who was sent out by Móga as an envoy to find out whether Jelačić had met Batthyány and to call on him to stop the battle. Jelačić received the parley in a nearby farm, and was still there when news came that on the previous day, Lamberg had been murdered in Pest.[64] Jelačić and his entourage were terribly outraged at this, and their anger increased even more when a remark clumsily slipped out by the Hussar trumpeter revealed to them that the news of Lamberg's murder had been known in the Hungarian camp the night before.[64] Jelačić soon wrote a few angry words to Móga, expressing the hope that after this devastating event, he would realize, that the cause he was defending was wrong and traitorous, and, as an Austrian general, would return to the path of honor and duty, and not the "rebellion".[64] According to Hermann Dahlen's diary, a quarter of an hour later they heard cannon fire from the left wing and rushed forward.[64] Jelačić sent out orders through Dahlen, and by the time the latter returned, the guns were already rattling and the rockets were hissing also in the center.[64]

In the meantime, Jelačić and his escort arrived on the battlefield and rushed to the Croatian vanguards, which they estimated to be 900 paces from the Hungarian lines. They watched as the shots of the Croatian six-pounder infantry battery struck in the ranks of the 4th (Alexander) Hussars' regiment's lieutenant-colonel class, and as one of the Congreve rocket batteries drove the Hungarian infantry back.[69] Jelačić and his escort advanced as far as the Croatian artillery line, before the Hungarian artillery opened fire on the conspicuous group of riders. Cannonball after cannonball struck close to them, and Jelačić, after a while, no longer wanting to risk his life, decided to ride to the rear. Jelačić rode in front, Wilhelm Hompesch on one side, Oldershausen on the other, and Hermann Dahlen behind him. Suddenly they came under more cannon fire, and one bullet shot off the leg of a commanding officer's horse, and another struck Oldershausen's right hip.[69]

Hussar by Borsos József 1848

Meanwhile, the Hungarian artillery started to fire on the two companies of the 7th (Kress) Light Cavalry Regiment which was advancing along the post road, forcing them to turn back. But Jelačić got in front of them and turned them back. No sooner had this been done than a Croatian militia battalion advancing up the road was routing back while screaming. The cause of this was that the Hungarian artillery fired on them, and the cannonballs tore several of them apart.[69] Behind the battalion made of "professional" soldiers, the untrained militia battalions were supposed to serve as a pressure group, but their indiscipline caused them to advance so much in front of the regular troops, that they were caught in the Hungarian cannon fire. Thus, while the Gradiska battalion had only one killed and two wounded, the Lika battalion lost 11 killed and 25 wounded, and the Otočac battalion lost 4 killed and 7 wounded men.[64] Jelačić tried to give them courage, gave them a speech, drew his sword, and wanted to personally lead them, but he could not stop them.[69] With great difficulty, the officers managed to pull them out of the fire line and set them up as reserves. But again they could not be convinced to attack. Captain Rodić even took the unit's flag in his hand and tried to turn them back to the battlefield, but with no success.[69] Soon all Croatian guns, except the six-pounder battery, were withdrawn because "they were no match for the enemy guns with larger calibers". The Hungarian artillery also drove back the Austrian Cuirassiers sent to attack.[69]

According to the memoirs of Lajos Zámbelly, the Croatian militia assault battalions could be persuaded to advance for the third time, after the second attack had been repulsed, only through the severe coercive intervention of some cavalry units and border guard soldiers. Finally, after the militias were forced to participate in the attack, in the third charge, five battalions pushed straight forward,[68] together with the whole Croatian cavalry,[33] but after a few cannon shots of the Hungarians, they militias panicked, and ran back in disorder.[68] According to Móga, the enemy was forced to retreat by the artillery and the shots of György Lázár's soldiers.[68] The one-and-a-half Hungarian batteries on the left side of the road also participated in repulsing the attack, thus the Croatian columns were caught in a crossfire.[68] No hand-to-hand fighting took place, as the attacking columns did not even reach the Hungarian infantry line.[68] Although most sources write about three attacks, according to the Hungarian staff log, the Croats attacked four times from the vineyards, and even brought forward two guns, but were finally forced to retreat.[68]

The clash had been going on for about two hours, and Jelačić and his entourage still knew nothing about what had happened on the left flank under Kempen or about where was the Hartlieb division. "In this way," Hermann Dahlen wrote in his diary, "we were outmatched by the enemy, our disorganized border guard [units] were almost completely disintegrated, and even the Seressaner did not live up to expectations."[69]

This prompted Jelacic to switch from attack to defence. At about 1 p.m., Jelačić dismounted and sat down, and his escort did the same. At about half past two, a courier arrived from Kempen, saying that he was about the same level with the center and that his troops had been driven back by a bayonet charge. Hearing this, Jelačić's escort lay down on the lawn and waited.[69]

Suddenly they heard gunshots from behind, then bullets were flying around them, one of which even wounded an officer. Jelačić's escort jumped up and rushed to the scene. Some members of one of the militia battalions opened a huge sheepfold nearby and began hunting the outrunning animals. The chaotic episode left several soldiers injured and even one death. The officers were unable to bring order to the militias.[69] The life-threatening sheep hunt, which even endangered the lives of officers, lasted until 6 p.m., as the militias fired shots at random.[70] Jelačić himself was forced to leave Pákozd and seek refuge west of the village.[69] The firing was also heard on the Hungarian side, but they believed that Jelačić had fired into his retreating troops to force them to advance again.[70]

At around 3 pm, the battle was essentially over.[62]

The first battalions of the Hartlieb Division arrived late in the afternoon, between 4 and 5 o'clock, the 1st Battalion of the 3rd (Otočac) Borderguard Regiment being the first to arrive, and the rest of the division itself only after dark.[70] It was only after 6 p.m., after a dangerous sheep hunt ended, that Jelačić and his escort ventured out to inspect the Hungarian positions. However, the alert Hungarian artillerymen spotted him and "greeted him" with cannon shots.[70]

Once the whole of Hartlieb's division had arrived, Jelacic did not think of resuming the battle. It was only the Seressaners in the center who raided the cellars in the vineyards, and after driving off the Hungarian outposts there, they quenched there their thirst by drinking a lot of vines. Jelačić and his entourage spent the evening in a rather depressed mood.[70]

One of the ironic peculiarities of the battle of Pákozd, which made enemies from each other not only the regiments with different sentiments under the same ruler, whom they both continued to recognize as such, but even the parts of the same military units that had fought side by side in good understanding for decades were put now to fight against each other, as happened, for example, with the 5th Artillery Regiment, half of which fought with the Hungarians and the other half with Jelačić.[33]