This week, seventy years ago, Hungarian and Finnish troops joined the German, Slovakian and Rumanian soldiers in their assault on the Soviet Union. Finland had a score to settle with the U.S.S.R. and Hungary had a debt to pay to the German Reich.
    Prior to World War I, Hungary had been a significant part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire. The Emperor of Austria was also the King of Hungary and each country had its own Parliament to govern its internal affairs. With the Empire’s defeat in World War I, the Empire was dismembered and the Treaty of Trianon imposed upon the Kingdom of Hungary.  Pursuant to the Treaty of Trianon, the Kingdom of Hungary lost 60 percent of its population, 89 percent of its timber, 84 percent of its iron, 61 percent of its arable land, 74 percent of its public roads, 65 percent of the canals, 62 percent of its railroads, 83 percent of its pig iron, 55 percent of its industrial plants, 100 percent of its gold, silver, copper, mercury and salt mines, and 67 percent of the credit and banking institutions. Industrial output dropped by 65 percent. In addition, the Treaty of Trianon restricted the Hungarian Army to 35,000 men with no heavy artillery, tanks or air force.
    After the Nazis took power in Germany, trade was increased with Hungary and in 1938, in the First Vienna Award, over which German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop and Italian Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano presided, the Kingdom of Hungary was able to recover some of the territory that it had lost, in the Treaty of Trianon, from Czecho-Slovakia.  Pursuant to the Second Vienna Award, two years later, over which the same two Foreign Ministers presided, the Kingdom of Hungary was able to recover part of Transylvania, which had been lost to the Kingdom of Romania, in the same treaty.  
    In the meantime, the Hungarian populace moved further to the right, politically, enacting laws restricting Jews, and finally in 1939, giving the Fascist-style Arrow Cross Party the second highest number of votes in the Parliamentary election.
    On November 20, 1940, the Kingdom of Hungary executed the Tripartite Pact and formally allied itself with the German Reich, the Japanese Empire and the Italian Kingdom. These countries would be joined by Slovakia and Croatia and the kingdoms of Romania, Bulgaria and Thailand.
    On April 6, 1941, the German Luftwaffe assaulted the Yugoslav Air Force and the Yugoslav Capital of Belgrade. On April the 8th the Wehrmacht began its invasion of Yugoslavia. Shortly thereafter the Italian Second Army joined in the invasion. On April the 12th the Hungarian Third Army, under the command of Lieutenant-General Elemér Gorondy-Novák, also joined the invasion with the purpose of recovering more territory that had been taken by the hated Treaty of Trianon.
    When the German Reich and the Slovak Republic launched their invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, the Kingdom of Hungary was not asked to assist. However, many Hungarian officials felt that it ought to participate in order to continue incurring Hitler’s favor regarding further border revisions.
    On June 26, 1941, the Hungarian City of Kassa was bombed by three planes. Kassa was located in the territory recovered by the Kingdom of Hungary from Czecho-Slovakia in the First Vienna Award. The Slovakian name of the city is Kosice. At the time its population was 67,000. Today it has a population of 242,000 and it is the second largest city in Slovakia, behind the capital of Bratislava.
    The bombing killed and wounded over a dozen people and became the pretext for the Hungarian Declaration of War on the Soviet Union the next day. The Soviets denied responsibility, and no solid evidence was ever presented regarding responsibility. One explanation is that the bombers were Soviet, but that their targets were Slovakian - since Slovakia was now at war with the U.S.S.R. - and that their maps had not been updated to reflect the border change effected by the First Vienna Award or they simply made a mistake, intending to bomb Slovakia. Remember when, on April 29, 1999, NATO/U.S. forces intended to bomb Serbia, and instead bombed the Bulgarian capital of Sofia?
    There was no doubt of the identity of the 460 planes sent to bomb 18 Finnish cities on June 25, 1941. In addition, Soviet artillery from the Hanko Naval Base began shelling Finnish targets and the Red Army was launched against the town of Parikkala, in the southern part of Finland. The excuse was that Finland had allowed German troops to cross its territory and when the invasion began, there were five German divisions and Luftwaffe units in Finland. In addition, Finland allowed German planes to refuel at its bases and Finnish forces occupied the, heretofore, autonomous island of Åland, located between Sweden and Finland, in the Baltic Sea, in the mouth of the Gulf of Bothnia.
    Finnish military leaders were informed of the Reich’s plans for an invasion in May 1941. Between June 3-6, details of military cooperation were discussed in Helsinki. The Finnish government was informed of the negotiations between the military leaders on June 9. Finnish mobilization began six days later. On June 20, 45,000 Finns were evacuated from the border regions. The next day, the Finns were informed that the Axis’ attack would be launched the next morning.
    At the meeting of the Finnish Parliament, on June 25, 1941, Prime Minister Johan Wilhelm Rangell announced that a “Continuation War” existed between the Republic of Finland and the U.S.S.R. This would be a “Continuation” of the “Winter War” between the two countries. Finnish Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal Baron Carl Gustav von Mannerheim called it a “Holy War.” Finnish President Rysto Ryti declared that this time, “...we are not alone. Germany has decided to wage war against the Soviet Union, and other nations have joined it. The U.S.S.R. is facing a united front from the White Sea to the Black Sea.”
    In October 1939, the Soviets, knowing war was imminent, and concerned about the security of Leningrad, had demanded: that the border near Leningrad be moved westward to a point 30 kilometers east of Finland’s second largest city, Viipuri; that Finland cede to the Soviet Union the islands of Suursaari, Tytärsaari and Koivisto in the Gulf of Finland, as well as the Kalastajansaarento Peninsula; and lease the Hanko Peninsula for thirty years and permit the Soviets to establish a military and naval base there. In exchange the Soviets offered Ruppelii and Porajärvi in eastern Karelia. The Soviets were offering territory twice as large as the territories they wanted. In making that offer, Stalin queried, “Would any other Big Power do that? No, only we are that stupid!” When the Finns rejected the “stupid” Soviet “offer,” Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov, responded that, “Since we civilians can’t achieve anything, the matter has to be left to the military personnel.”
    Although the plucky Finns initially fought the massive Red Army to a standstill, the outcome was never really in doubt, and in the end, the Soviet Union took everything that it had originally demanded, and more, and gave nothing. The Finns lost 10 percent of their territory, including the city of Viipuri. Today, it is the Russian city of Vyborg, with a population of 90,000. More than 400,000 Finnish citizens were evacuated from the areas ceded to the U.S.S.R.
    In the ensuing year, Finland totally revamped its military, purchasing new and modern equipment and requiring all military aged men to undergo training. This resulted in an increase from ten to 16 divisions, from the Winter War, with better equipment.
    On July 4, the Finns went on the offensive, recapturing all of the territory lost in the Winter War, including Viipuri and Hanko, and a little more. But there they stopped, and they did not join the Germans in the assault on Leningrad, which, if they had, would surely have caused its fall.
    Everyone thought that the Soviets would be defeated in a few weeks, and when it didn’t happen that quickly, the Finns began thinking that maybe they didn’t want to go “all in.” And even though they didn’t, Great Britain gave them an ultimatum to withdraw to the pre-Winter War borders, and when they didn’t, the British and the Commonwealth countries declared war on Finland, in December 1941. The U.S. did not follow suit.
    During the Winter War, diminutive Finnish sniper, Simo Häyhä became the all time, undisputed, sniper leader with more than 542 kills of Soviet soldiers, before he was seriously wounded. It is a record which still stands. Finnish fighter pilot Eino (“Illu”) Ilmari Juutilanen finished the war with 94 confirmed victories over the Soviets, far exceeding the totals of any airmen except those from Germany.
    58,000 Finns died in the Continuation War, while 26,000 had died in the Winter War, from a population of 4,000,000. Because they had not advanced “too far,” and had fought well, Stalin allowed the nation its postwar independence.
    On March 25, 2010, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev conferred the status of “City of Military Glory” on Vyborg for,  “...courage, endurance and mass heroism, exhibited by defenders of the City and the struggle for the freedom and independence of the Motherland.”
    On July 1, 1941, the 40,000 man Carpathian Group, under the command of General Ferenc Szombathelyi, was attached to the German 17th Army, commanded by General Karl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel, which was a part of Army Group South, commanded by Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt. The Kingdom of Hungary also contributed several fighter and bomber squadrons from its Air Force. At the end of 1941 the Carpathian Group and the air force units were withdrawn, having suffered 4524 killed, leaving the Kingdom’s contribution to rear-area security units totaling about 63,000 men.
    In 1942 Hungary sent its Second Army, under the command of Lieutenant-General Vitéz Gusztáv Jány, to stand with its German Allies as part of Army Group South, commanded by Field Marshal Fedor von Bock. In June, after Army Group South was divided into Army Groups A and B, Second Army became a part of Army Group B, commanded by Colonel-General Maximilian von Weichs. On December 16, 1942, the Soviets launched Operation Little Saturn, attacking between the Italian Eighth Army and Hungarian Second Army. The Hungarian Second Army was essentially destroyed, suffering 100,000 dead, 35,000 wounded, and 60,000 prisoners of war.
    The Second Army was reformed and took the field under Lieutenant-General Lajos Veress von Dálnoki, in an attempt to defend the Kingdom. It was joined by the newly reformed Third Army, under the command of Lieutenant-General Vitéz József Heszlényi. Both Armies were destroyed during the Battle of Budapest.
    The butcher’s bill for Hungary’s alliance with the Axis nations was: (1) at least 235,000 dead soldiers; (2) 270,000 Jews murdered; (3) 28,000 Gypsies murdered; (4) 40,000 civilian deaths; (5) at least 60,000 civilian deaths as a result of the Soviet “liberation;” (6) tens of thousands of Hungarian women raped by the Red Army as it “liberated” their country; (7) the utter destruction of its beautiful capital of Budapest during a months long siege; and (8) 50 years of the Communist utopia. This, from a prewar population of 8,000,000.

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Mr. Wimbrow writes from Ocean City, Maryland, where he practices law representing those persons accused of criminal and traffic offenses, and those persons who have suffered a personal injury through no fault of their own.