The Kingdom of Hungary is a country in Central Europe. It borders the Slovak State to the north, the Greater Germanic Reich to the west, the Kingdom of Croatia to the southwest, the Independent State of Serbia to the south, the Kingdom of Romania to the south and southeast, and the General Governorate of the Vistula to the northwest. The current form of the Kingdom has never had a king and is led by Regent István Horthy, who succeeded his father Miklós. Hungary was a former member of the Axis that participated in World War II, and currently a member of the Einheitspakt.
History[]
Origins[]
Upon the dissolution and break-up of Austria-Hungary after World War I, the Hungarian Democratic Republic and then the Hungarian Soviet Republic were briefly proclaimed in 1918 and 1919, respectively. The short-lived communist government of Béla Kun launched what was known as the "Red Terror", involving Hungary in an ill-fated war with Romania. In 1920, the country fell into a period of civil conflict, with Hungarian anti-communists and monarchists violently purging the communists, leftist intellectuals, and others whom they felt threatened by, especially Jews. This period was known as the "White Terror". In 1920, after the pullout of the last of the Romanian occupation forces, the Kingdom of Hungary was restored.
Regency (Kingdom without a King)[]
On 29 February 1920, a coalition of right-wing political forces united and returned Hungary to being a constitutional monarchy. However, it was obvious that the Allies would not accept any return of the Habsburgs. Earlier, Archduke Joseph August had declared himself regent, but he stood down after two weeks when the Allies refused to recognize him.
It was thus decided to choose a regent to represent the monarchy until a settlement could be reached. Miklós Horthy, the last commanding admiral of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, was chosen for this position on 1 March. Sándor Simonyi-Semadam was the first Prime Minister of Horthy's regency.
In 1921 King Charles IV of Hungary returned in Hungary and tried to retake its throne, even trying to march on Budapest with some rebel troops in October 1921; however, his attempts failed as much of the Royal Hungarian Army remained loyal to Horthy. Unfortunately things had gotten worse for Charles as Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Romania threatened to invade Hungary. On 29 October, Edvard Beneš, Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia, hoping to exploit the situation, presented an ultimatum threatening an invasion if the Habsburgs were not dethroned, the Little Entente did not participate in disarming Hungary, and Hungary did not show a willingness to compensate Prague for its troop mobilisation. Horthy thought this was outrageous, though Hohler dissuaded him from mobilising his own army to resist invasion. On 1 November, when an invasion seemed imminent, Bethlen informed Hohler that Hungary placed itself entirely in the hands of the great powers and would conform to their decisions. He gave assurances that legislation would be passed excluding the Habsburgs, and Horthy urged his officers that all insurgents should be evacuated from western Hungary, else he would do so himself. On 3 November Bethlen presented Parliament with a bill that would nullify the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713. Passed on 6 November, this in essence dethroned the Habsburg dynasty, though Hungary remained a monarchy and a Habsburg could theoretically be elected king in the future and thus Charles was arrested and exiled to Madeira. Hungary was a kingdom without royalty. With civil unrest too great to select a new king, it was decided to confirm Horthy as Regent of Hungary.
Joining the Axis[]
The Kingdom of Hungary was originally a member of the Axis, joining in 1940, specifically after being enabled by Hitler to fulfill its irredentist goals, retaking multiple swaths of territory formerly stripped from them upon the signing of the 1920 Treaty of Trianon following the Central Powers defeat in the Great War.
