Lajos Csatay
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Lajos Csatay | |
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File:CsatayLajos.jpg | |
Born | Arad, Kingdom of Hungary (now in Romania) | 1 August 1886
Died | 16 October 1944 Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary | (aged 58)
Allegiance | Austria-Hungary Hungarian Soviet Republic Kingdom of Hungary |
Rank | Colonel General |
Unit | 4th Home Defence Brigade, 5th Brigade, Hungarian Second Army |
Commands | Hungarian Third Army |
Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
Vitéz Lajos Csatay de Csataj (born as Lajos Tutzentaller on 1 August 1886 – 16 October 1944) was a Hungarian military officer and politician, who served as Minister of Defence between 1943 and 1944.
Life
World War I and the Interwar
He fought in World War I and then joined the Hungarian Red Army to fight against the rebelling Slovakian, Romanian, and other nationalists. Between 1919 and 1921 he was a teacher of the Military Academy of Budapest. From 1926 he was a commander of a mixed brigade.
In 1943 he was appointed commander of the Hungarian Third Army. Miklós Kállay appointed him as Minister of Defence in June 1943. Initially he supported the Nazis and the continuation of the war, but his opinion changed continuously. After the replacement of the Sztójay administration he kept his position. Géza Lakatos, the new prime minister's real aim was leaving the war.
The cabinet wanted to initiate peace negotiations with the Allies. Miklós Horthy moved to reconsolidate his influence and began considering strategies for surrendering to the Western Allies because he distrusted the Red Army. The attempted coup was unsuccessful. Horthy was captured by Edmund Veesenmayer and his staff later on 15 October and taken to the Waffen SS office, where he was held overnight. Lajos Csatay was captured by the Gestapo; as a result he committed suicide along with his wife.
References