page_title: György Klapka
section_title: Klapka's heroical "last man standing" as the defender of Komárom
hierarchical_section_title: György Klapka / His military career in the Hungarian War of Independence / Klapka's heroical "last man standing" as the defender of Komárom
caption_attribution_description: English: The siege of Komárom after the Hungarian surrender at Világos from 13 August, Komárom being the last fortress in Hungarian hands, resisting until 2 October 1849.
context_page_description: György Klapka, also known in German as Georg Klapka was a Hungarian general. He was one of the most important Hungarian generals of the Hungarian War of Independence of 1848-1849, politician, member of the Hungarian Parliament, and deputy War Minister.
context_section_description: On 12–13 July, when, under Görgei's command, the Army of the Upper Danube retreated from Komárom to the East Klapka remained with the II and VIII corps (around 18,300 soldiers) in Komárom, having the duty to defend with all cost the fortress and to "bind" as many enemy troops around it, preventing them to participate in the campaign against the Hungarian armies. 
   
  As the captain of the encircled fortress, cut from the other Hungarian armies, Klapka decided to do a heroical fight against the superior enemy, to resist until nothing can be done, and if he would be forced to leave Komárom, he would do it only with honor and head erect. He wrote this in July:
  I say it already from now: no matter what will be the situation, we can leave this place only with honor, or we will be buried together under the crumbling ruins of this [fortress]. Long live the Fatherland, and its heroic army!
  Until 23 July this task was fulfilled with success, forcing 28,000 imperial soldiers to secure the fortress, but then half of these troops were sent to Pest. On 25 July a Hungarian raiding unit captured a stagecoach in which they found documents containing the list of the imperial troops around Komárom, from which Klapka understood that his troops from within the fortress are more numerous than the besiegers, and because the fact that the imperial troops were positioned on the both shores of the Danube, which prevented them to help each other when attacked, he had the opportunity to defeat the enemy in detail. 
  In the night of 29–30 June Klapka sent troops on the left bank of the Danube, chasing away the Austrian troops from the North-West of Komárom. In the night of 3 August 1849, Klapka personally led the Hungarian troops to the right bank of the Danube, attacking the Austrian blockade around the fortress, crushing the imperial forces led by Lieutenant Field Marshal Anton Csorich in the Fourth Battle of Komárom, causing them 1500 casualties, capturing 30 cannons, many thousands of riffles, ammunition and an entire herd of oxen. This was the last important battle won by the Hungarians in the Hungarian War of Independence. After the battle Klapka's troops advanced towards West and occupied the city of Győr, liberating a huge territory from North Transdanubia, cutting the connection and supply lines between Vienna and the troops led by Haynau in Central Hungary. Hearing the news of this victory the citizens of Székesfehérvár revolted against the occupying Austrian forces and chased them away. Klapka started recruitment from the liberated territories, which added 5000-6000 new recruits to his troops, and planned to attack the Austrian province of Styria.
  But on 11 August he received news about the disastrous situation on the other fronts, and he halted his operations. He understood that his victory came a little too late to change the fate of the Hungarian war of independence. Two days after this, at 13 August 1849, 10 days after Klapka's victory, the main Hungarian army led by Artúr Görgei surrendered in front of the Russian troops at the Szöllős Meadow near the village of Világos.
  Klapka, together with his 25,000 soldiers, retreated on 15 August to Komárom. On 19 August the Austrian and Russian troops arrived to the fortress and begun to encircle it, on 14 September the number of the Austrians reached 44,000 soldiers and 154 cannons, and the Russians numbered 12 000 soldiers and 56 cannons.  The Austrians then the Russians too demanded the surrender of the fortress but Klapka and the Hungarian military council refused.
  Thanks to the intervention in the negotiations of the Habsburg Minister of Defense Ferenc Gyulay, himself a Hungarian, on 21 August a 14 day armistice was signed, which allowed to Klapka to send four commissioners to travel across all Hungary to ascertain about the military situation in the country, and to be sure that the Hungarian army had lost the Independence War. 
  After the commissioners turned back with the news of the surrender of the Hungarian armies and the majority of the fortresses, instead of deciding to surrender as w
caption: The siege of Komárom in August–September 1849 by the Austrian and Russian troops
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