Spring Campaign

The Spring Campaign (Hungarian: tavaszi hadjárat), also called the Glorious Spring Campaign (Hungarian: dicsőséges tavaszi hadjárat) was the military campaign of the Hungarian Revolutionary Army against the forces of the Habsburg Empire in Middle and Western Hungary during the Hungarian War of Independence of 1848–1849 between March and June 1849, which resulted in the capture of almost the whole territory of Hungary from the Habsburg forces.

The spring campaign's commander-in-chief was General Artúr Görgei, whose army (47 500 men, 198 cannons) defeated the numerically, technologically and tactically superior (55 000 soldiers and 214 cannons and rockets) imperial armies led by Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz and after his dismissal, Ludwig von Welden, in a series of victories. The Hungarians won the battles of Hatvan (2 April), Tápióbicske (4 April), Isaszeg (6 April), Vác (10 April), Nagysalló (19 April), on 26 April relieved the fortress of Komárom from a long Austrian siege, then on 21 May 1849 liberated the Castle of Buda, concluding the Spring Campaign.

On the other theaters of operations, the Hungarians also scored victories against the enemies of the revolution. In Transylvania, the Hungarian army led by Józef Bem, after the victory against the Austro-Russian forces in the Battle of Nagyszeben from 11 March, captured most of the provinces territory (excepting the fortresses of Gyulafehérvár, Déva, with imperial garrison and the Erdélyi-középhegység mountains, held by the Romanian insurgents). In southern Hungary the Hungarians led by Mór Perczel and Józef Bem defeated the Serb insurgents and Austrian troops, capturing the provinces of Bácska and Bánság, except the fortress of Temesvár and Titel. In southern Transdanubia, the popular uprising led by Gáspár Noszlopy also led to the capture of this region from imperial rule. During the Spring Campaign, the Hungarians captured much of Hungary from Habsburg rule. The Habsburg armies and their allies, besides the fortresses and mountains mentioned above, remained only in the westernmost territory strip of Hungary, Croatia and the fortress of Arad.

Additionally, the result of the Spring Campaign's victories was the Hungarian Declaration of Independence on 14 April 1849, which led to total Hungarian independence for several months before the Russian intervention brought about the defeat of the Hungarian revolution and war of independence in the Summer Campaign.