Undeclared War

It used to be customary to declare war. This book, however, is about an undeclared war. It occurred immediately after the “duly declared” First World War. The victorious powers decided to divide the Austro-Hungarian monarchy into several states. Among them was Czechoslovakia, created by joining Slovakia to the historical lands of the Bohemian Crown. However, defeated Hungary did not want to give up “Upper Hungary,” which it had occupied for centuries. The fighting there lasted from the beginning of November 1918 until the beginning of 1920. In the spring of 1919, the Hungarian Red Army and the Czechoslovak Legions also took part. In the end, the Bolsheviks had to retreat…
Historians rightly call the fight for Slovakia a war. Although it was not declared, hundreds of soldiers fell, and many thousands were wounded and went missing. Light and heavy weapons, armoured trains, and aircraft were used. And yet, few people here know about this war. The recent regime placed an embargo on it. The reason? Czechoslovak volunteers were, after all, fighting against the Bolsheviks. And that was a mortal sin! Dušan Tomášek's book therefore deals with one of the “forbidden chambers” of the past regime. It is equipped with period photographs, archival documents, battle maps, a detailed calendar, commanders' orders, profiles of the main actors, etc. It acquaints the reader with the blank spots in our recent history.