"The Hungarian government, directed by Count Károlyi (proclaimed temporary President of the Hungarian Republic on
11 January 1919), allowed itself to be carried along with the advance of Bolshevism, hoping perhaps that they could use
this menace as a sort of blackmail, to wrest concessions from the Allies.
To this end a propaganda office was set up in Buda-Pest (1 Mehmed-Ali Road): publishing tracts in Czech, Serb and
Romanian; an office linked directly with the maximilists [far leftists] of Moscow, with the Ruthenian Soviets of western
Galicia and with the Ukrainian extremists. Speaking frankly, without intending this ironically: Károlyi was playing
Lenin's game.
But there was a tragic turn of events. Károlyi resigned. On 21 March power was monopolised by the Revolutionary
Party (Forradalmi Kormányzótanács; President Sándor Garbai) which proclaimed a Soviet Republic
(Tanácsköztársaság); Béla Kun directed foreign affairs; József Pogány held the post of Commissar for National Defence
(Hadügyi Nčpbiztosseg). The latter was scrapped and the War Committee found itself with five delegates – Béla Kun,
Vilmos Böhm, Béla Szántó, Rezső Fiedler and József Haubrich. These puppets, by decree #8184 of 15 April, were
charged with organising a Red Army (Vörös Hadsereg) with seven divisions (one of which was Ruthenian Guards), plus
a Székely group (Transylvanian Magyars).1 The command fell on 6 May to Vilmos Böhm, former War Commissioner
under Károlyi and ex-typewriter broker; his second was Aurél Stromfeld, ex-Colonel of the Staff…"
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Amicalement
Armand
goes to sea with the Terrain Mat.
