How to Pronounce Artúr Görgei
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Jan 30, 1818 Toporec, Prešov Region, Slovakia Died on 21 May 1916 (aged 98)
Hungarian military leader
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Artúr Görgei, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Family, Facts, Age, Net Worth, Biography and More in FamedBorn.com
About Artúr Görgei
- Artúr Görgei de Görgo et Toporc (born Arthur Görgey; Hungarian: görgoi és toporci Görgei Artúr, German: Arthur Görgey von Görgo und Toporc; 30 January 1818 – 21 May 1916) was a Hungarian military leader renowned for being one of the greatest generals of the Hungarian Revolutionary Army. In his youth Görgei was a talented chemist, with his work in the field of chemistry being recognized by many renowned Hungarian and European chemists; however, he is more widely known for his role in the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849, as the most successful general and greatest military genius of the Hungarian army, the leader of the victorious Spring Campaign, which liberated almost all Western Hungary from the Austrian occupation.
- As a recognition of his military successes, he was decorated by the Hungarian Government, and given him also political positions: he became Minister of War, and in the last few days of the revolution, he was appointed the dictator of Hungary, which meant that he gathered in his hands all military and political powers of Hungary.
- Seeing that he could not withstand the numerically and technologically 4-5 times superior Austrian and Russian armies, on 13 August 1849 he surrendered his troops to the Russians at Világos, thus ending the Hungarian revolution. Görgei's relationship and conflicts with Lajos Kossuth, the foremost politician and president-governor of the revolutionary Hungary, influenced the course of the war of independence and his military career but also his post-revolutionary life until his death.
- During his campaigns in the Winter and summer of 1848-1849, he entered in conflict with Kossuth, because of their different opinions about the military movements, and because Görgei disapproved the Declaration of the Hungarian Independence, the architect of which was Kossuth.
- The latter avoided many times to name Görgei to the Main Commandement of the Hungarian army, naming instead of him weak commanders, like Henryk Dembinski or Lázár Mészáros, weakening the military actions against the enemy armies. After his surrender to the Russian army, he was not executed, like many of his generals, but, thanks to the Russian demand for his forgiveness, he was taken by the Austrians in Klagenfurt in Carinthia, and kept under surveillance, until 1867, when, thanks to the amnesty issued as a result of the Hungarian-Austrian Compromise, and founding of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, he could return in Hungary.
- After a several years of hardships in different parts of Hungary, where he tried to find, without success, a suitable job, his brother, István Görgey, provided him a home in Visegrád, where Artúr Görgei lived the last decades of his life. After his returning in Hungary, during almost all his life, the Hungarian public opinion was hostile to Görgei, because some false accusations.
- Kossuth's Letter from Vidin, written in the aftermath of Görgei's Surrender, instilled a long-lasting hatred for Görgei amongst the Hungarians, many of whom came to believe that he was a traitor.
- In the 20th century, this characterization was challenged by modern research.
- As a result, Görgei is less often considered treasonous, and his reputation as one of the most talented and successful Hungarian generals of the 19th century has been restored, being regarded as one of Hungary's greatest historical heroes.
