A large number of people gathered in the military cemetery in Debrecen in the morning of 10th January in order to commemorate the victims of the Soviet breakthrough on the river Don. At the 71st anniversary of the tragic events in the Don bend a wreath-laying ceremony was organized by the 5th Bocskai István Rifle Brigade and the Debrecen branch of the “Honvédség and Society” Support Group.

The participants of the commemoration ceremony included the representatives of the Hungarian Defence Forces and law enforcement agencies, those of local self-governments, associations, military cadets of Gábor Dénes Electrotechnical Vocational and Boarding School and the principals of schools providing defence education to their students. Having created overwhelming local superiority in force, on 12th January the Soviets launched an all-out counter-offensive from the bridgeheads held since the bloody battles in the region in the previous summer. First they attacked from the Uryv bridgehead then, two days later, from the Shchuchye one. The defence of the Hungarian Second Army had no operational depth and its mobile reserves were insufficient. Retreat was forbidden. In many cases Soviet armour was resisted with the use of small arms. The outcome of the unequal and bitter fight was clear from the very first moments. “The losses were tragic. Approximately 120,000 Hungarian soldiers might have been killed during the offensive and another 30,000 men were captured”, Colonel Péter Lippai, deputy commander of the Bocskai Brigade emphasized in his speech. He added, “We, military people must remember and pay tribute to the memory of our comrades-predecessors who got into such a hopeless situation far-far away from their motherland and did their duty in accordance with their oath and stood firm although they foresaw their fate.”

At the commemoration ceremony wreaths were laid by vice-chairman of the Hajdú-Bihar County Assembly Mr Róbert Kocsis; Head of HR Department of the City Municipality of Debrecen Dr Edit Bene; Deputy Commander of the 5th Bocskai István Motorised Infantry Brigade Colonel Péter Lippai; Deputy Commander of the 2nd Military Administration Centre of the Recruitment and Central Registration Office Major Károly Rácz; First Lieutenant Dániel Márta, representing the Debrecen Office of the Hajdú-Bihar County Disaster Relief Directorate; President of the Jewish Community of Debrecen Mr Tamás Horovitz; President of the Foundation for the Jewish Temple and Cemetery in Debrecen Mr Zsolt Heller; Principal of the Secondary School of the Debrecen Reformed College Mr József Győri; Head of the Boarding School Mr Imre Nagy; Vice President of the Bocskai István Fraternal Association Colonel (Ret.) Mihály Rácz and Secretary of the Bocskai István Fraternal Association Captain (Ret.) Csaba Kiss.

(Ministry of Defence)