Paris Peace Conf. 181.921/28
The Interallied Military Mission to the Commander in Chief of the Royal Roumanian Forces
Budapest, October 15, 1919.
Subject: Imposition of fine for Hungarian action toward Roumanian patrols who had gone beyond proper limits.
- 1.
- The Interallied Military Mission has learned that Your Excellency has imposed a fine of 1,250,000 kronen on the Hungarian Government as an indemnity for the death of certain soldiers of Roumanian patrols who had come into contact with patrols of the National Hungarian Army in Trans-Danubia.
- 2.
- The Mission is further informed that Your Excellency has intimated that if the fine is not paid by a certain date measures will be taken to prevent all food from entering Budapest.
- 3.
- The Mission desires to point out to Your Excellency, in the first place that according to the statement of your own Chief of Staff, the Roumanian patrols illegally penetrated beyond the neutral zone fixed between the troops of the Royal Roumanian Army in Trans-Danubia and the National Hungarian Army, and that this action naturally irritated the Hungarian Forces.
- 4.
- Secondly that an Interallied Committee, of which a Roumanian officer is a member, has been appointed to supervise the occupation by the Hungarian Army of the country evacuated by the Roumanians Forces, and that this Committee is properly the first authority to assign the blame in case of minor conflicts between the two forces. The Committee referred to, under the Presidency of Colonel Berthon, is at present engaged in an inquiry into the affair at Aba, and pending their report the Interallied Military Mission requests Your Excellency temporarily to suspend your orders regarding the payment of a fine.
- 5.
- The Mission cannot regard as serious Your Excellency’s threat to starve the population of Budapest in case of non-payment of the fine.
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