Tamás Kovács
Central and Eastern Europe underwent a deep-rooted transformation in the years following World War I. The German Empire became a republic, Tsarist Russia sank into a bloody civil war, while the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire became fragmented. It was obvious throughout the region that political extremism combined with violence moved into the forefront. This study focuses on the events unfolding in Hungary at that time. It examines the extent to which the National Army and the so-called officers’ detachments contributed to the rise of Admiral Miklós Horthy during the Civil War. Their activities were also intertwined with the period of the White Terror that followed the short-lived Soviet Republic, or with the election of Horthy as Governor of Hungary. However, amid consolidating conditions, Horthy, who had just been elected Governor, also became increasingly embarrassed by the excesses committed by military personnel.