73rd anniversary – The WWII ‘Don Disaster’

Budapest, January 12 (MTI) – Hungarian soldiers’ service, commitment and sense of duty shown in the second world war by the Don river was exemplary, the defence ministry state secretary told a memorial event on Tuesday marking the 73rd anniversary of the event.

Under terrible conditions and in freezing cold weather, the Hungarian soldiers attempted the impossible: to stop the Red Army that was much better equipped and greatly outnumbered the Hungarians, Tamas Vargha said.

The Hungarian soldiers and labour servicemen deserve mourning and respect for their example of “selflessness, endurance, making sacrifice for others and determination,” he added.

The Don Disaster in the winter of 1943 represented “a catastrophe in Hungarian history comparable in significance to Mohacs, Vilagos, Doberdo and Trianon,” he said.

The memorial event held in the courtyard of the military history institute and museum in the Buda Castle was also attended by former Prime Minister and head of the national memorial committee Peter Boross and Deputy Chief of Defence of the Hungarian Armed Forces Zoltan Orosz. Earlier in the day, a mass was celebrated by military chaplain Laszlo Biro at Mathias Church.

Several memorial events and wreath-laying ceremonies are held on the day throughout Hungary.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters