Hungarian Revolution of 1848

Hungarian Revolution of 1848
	Part of the Revolutions of 1848
	; Artist Mihály Zichy's painting of Sándor Petőfi reciting the National Poem to a crowd on 15 March 1848
Date	15 March 1848 – 4 October 1849; (1 year, 6 months, and 19 days)
Location	Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire
Result	Austro-Russian victory; revolution suppressed
Belligerents
Austrian Empire Kingdom of Croatia; Serbian Vojvodina; Serbian volunteers; pro-Habsburg Hungarians; Slovak National Council; Transylvanian Romanians; Supreme Ruthenian Council; Czech volunteers; Bohemian and Moravian volunteers; Transylvanian Saxons; Russian Empire	Kingdom of Hungary Legions of the revolutionaries from German states; Polish legions; Italian legions; Viennese legion; Hungarian Germans; Hungarian Slovenes; Pro-Hungarian Slovaks; Pro-Hungarian Romanians; Rusyns; Zipser Saxons; Croats from Western Hungary and Muraköz; Šokac and Bunjevac people; Banat Bulgarians; Hungarian Jews; Hungarian State (April–August 1849)
Commanders and leaders
Franz Joseph I; Ferdinand I (until 1848); Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz; Ludwig von Welden; Julius Jacob von Haynau; Josip Jelačić; Stevan Knićanin; Ľudovít Štúr; Avram Iancu; Hryhory Yakhymovych; Nicholas I; Ivan Paskevich	Lajos Kossuth; Lajos Batthyány (POW); Artúr Görgey (POW); György Klapka; János Damjanich; Lajos Aulich; Henryk Dembiński; Józef Bem; Józef Wysocki; Peter Giron; Alessandro Monti
Strength
170,000 men from the Austrian Empire,; and 200,000 men from the Russian Empire	Beginning of 1849: 170,000 men

Photograph of the aged Emperor Ferdinand I dated c. 1870

The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 (Hungarian: 1848–49-es forradalom és szabadságharc, "1848–49 Revolution and War") was one of the many European Revolutions of 1848 and closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. The revolution in the Kingdom of Hungary grew into a war for independence from the Austrian Empire, ruled by the Habsburg dynasty.

After a series of serious Austrian defeats in 1849, the Austrian Empire came close to the brink of collapse. Thus, the new young emperor Franz Joseph I had to call for Russian help in the name of the Holy Alliance.^[3] Czar Nicholas I answered, and sent a 200,000 men strong army with 80,000 auxiliary forces. Finally, the joint army of Russian and Austrian forces defeated the Hungarian forces. After the restoration of Habsburg power, Hungary was placed under brutal martial law.^[4]

The anniversary of the Revolution's outbreak, 15 March, is one of Hungary's three national holidays.

Hungary before the Revolution

The Kingdom of Hungary had always maintained a separate parliament, the Diet of Hungary, even after the Austrian Empire was created in 1804.^[5] The administration and government of the Kingdom of Hungary (until 1848) remained largely untouched by the government structure of the overarching Austrian Empire. Hungary's central government structures remained well separated from the imperial government. The country was governed by the Council of Lieutenancy of Hungary (the Gubernium) - located in Pozsony and later in Pest - and by the Hungarian Royal Court Chancellery in Vienna.^[6]

Other Languages

Alemannisch: Ungarische Revolution 1848/49

العربية: الثورة المجرية 1848

asturianu: Revolución húngara de 1848

беларуская: Рэвалюцыя 1848—1849 гадоў у Венгрыі

български: Унгарска революция (1848 – 1849)

català: Revolució hongaresa de 1848

čeština: Maďarská revoluce 1848–1849

dansk: Ungarske revolution i 1848

Deutsch: Ungarische Revolution 1848/1849

eesti: 1848. aasta Ungari revolutsioon

español: Revolución húngara de 1848