Military moves

[illustration: Gen. Schlik]

With Kossuth’s appeal falling on deaf ears, Windischgraetz moved militarily.
Crossed the Hungarian border with 52,000 trained regulars and 210 artillery pieces. His opposite was Arthur Görgey, who was outnumbered in manpower and especially in firepower. While this was Windischgraetz’s most overt move, in fact he used other resources as well. This included General Puchner in Transylvania, Simunich in Galicia (now partly Poland, mainly Ukraine) who used his army corps and General Schlik to occupy Kassa (now Kosice, Slovakia), thus threatening the Northern Hungarian flank. Görgey decided on a strategic withdrawal down the Danube valley, relying on fortifications (e.g. Komárom) to slow Windischgraetz.

On the diplomatic front, Kossuth and the diet had tried to obtain recognition internationally. The government of Piedmont appoints Alessandro Monti ambassador to Hungary, however the British foreign minister (T.H.J. Palmerston) considers his Viennese chargè d’affairs the sole representative to the Empire.

Back to Milestones of 1848-49