Paris Peace Conf. 181.9202/42: Telegram
General Bandholtz to the Commission to Negotiate Peace
[Received August 25—1:50 a.m.]
25. Up to noon today no further developments in Archducal situation. Yesterday afternoon after learning that Mission was not going to send for them again, Diamandi and General Rudeanu called upon British Admiral Troubridge apparently considerably discouraged. In my opinion the former was sent to Budapest to pull off a coup in the way of forcing Hungary to make separate peace with Roumania practically along lines of annexation. In this connection it is reported but not yet confirmed that on August 21st Roumanian Crown Prince as future King of Hungary gave audience to a number of Hungarian aristocrats. Unofficial ultimatum handed Archduke and sent through Ardeli the former Roumanian Minister to Hungary was unquestionably an act of Roumanian Government intended to scare Archduke into accepting their terms. Diamandi expressed to Admiral a desire to leave here soon as possible and he evidently follows [Page 653] [fears] that his diplomatic record has been smirched by Supreme Council’s action in practically into force [forcing] Archduke to resign. There now remains to Roumanians only the thorough loot of Hungary which is going on systematically. I shall endeavor to send later today a telegram giving many of more glaring instances of this systematic looting, in case it may be desirable to give same to the press. A Roumanian naval officer had been sent to take over entire Hungarian river flotilla and he is likewise on verge of collapse due to fact that same is in Admiral Troubridge’s hands. I have had the situation west of Danube investigated and find that Hungarians have still about 8,000 troops in that territory under Admiral Horthy whose force is well armed, has machine guns and artillery, is in a good condition of discipline, and is now formed into one division but has enough officers for two more divisions. His headquarters are at Siofok about 110 kilometers from Budapest by railroad. This force is composed mostly of peasants with practically no Communists or Socialists. It is divided into three groups with one group headquarters at Szombathely, another at Dombovar and a third at Siofok. There are still some White Guard troops at Szegedin but mostly officers. In and around Budapest I am reliably informed there are at least 100,000 concealed arms that belong to the Reds: in the Csepel factory district alone there are 40,000 arms of which the Roumanians [got only 2,000. I have had instances reported in which the Roumanians] for small cash payments returned bolshevist arms. Despite their promises to the contrary and their denial that they have gone west of the Danube, the Roumanians at Veszprem just the other day removed and interned elsewhere all the Hungarian officers and noncommissioned officers in that place, and they undoubtedly intend to clean out as much of west Hungary as possible. Last night in drafting the telegram from the Mission to the Supreme Council22 the British representative and myself insisted that there be incorporated therein a statement to the effect that it was the opinion of the Mission that so far as the Roumanians were concerned the time of this Mission had up to date been lost and it would be useless to continue its relations with Roumanian officials who were continuing their policy of procrastination and who had repeatedly broken their promises. The French representative said he would draft this telegram but when submitted it did not contain the above statement. I was then asked to draft it in English which I did and it was translated in French for the telegram. However we found that French interpreter had changed the original French interpretation into what he called better French and had again left out the statement upon which we had insisted. The original French translation of my draft was finally turned over to General Mombelli, the President of the Day, [Page 654] for incorporation in the Mission’s telegram. The foregoing has been read by General Gorton who concurs in same and requests that a copy be furnished the British Commission.
- See telegram No. 180, contained in appendix B to HD–38, vol. vii, p. 855.↩