Miklos Horthy

Miklos Horthy Historical Figure Nationality: Austria-Hungary, then Hungary Year of Birth: 1868 Year of Death: 1957 Cause of Death: Natural Causes Religion: Calvinism Occupation: Sailor, Admiral, Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary Spouse: Magdolna Purgly de Joszashley Children: Miklos Jr, Istvan, Magda, Paula Fictional Appearances: The War That Came Early POD: July 20, 1936; Relevant POD: September 29, 1938 Appearance(s): Hitler's War Type of Appearance: Contemporary reference

Miklos Horthy (1868-1957) styled "His Serene Highness the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary," was an Austro-Hungarian naval officer who ascended to the position of Supreme Commander of the Austro-Hungarian fleet at the end of World War I. In 1919, following the collapse of the Dual Monarchy, he led the Hungarian National Army in its defeat of Communist revolutionary Bela Kun. In 1920, Horthy became Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary on behalf of the perenially absent King Otto von Hapsburg. Many people noticed the irony of a landlocked country being ruled by an admiral.

During World War II, Horthy brought Hungary into the war on the side of the Axis, but Adolf Hitler considered him an inadequately cooperative ally and invaded Hungary and deposed Horthy in March 1944. Horthy was imprisoned in Germany until the end of the war, when he was liberated and immediately arrested by American forces. Horthy assisted the Allied Forces in preparing evidence to be used in the upcoming war crimes tribunals against Nazi leadership, and testified against the Nazis' administrator of Hungary. In 1949, Horthy was allowed to emigrate to Portugal, where he lived out the rest of his life.

Miklos Horthy in The War That Came Early

Miklos Horthy entered the war of 1938 on the side of Germany in order to make good his territorial claims against Czechoslovakia. He also had territorial claims against Romania and Yugoslavia. However, while Britain and France had immediately severed ties with Hungary, neither made any military move against Hungary, nor did Hungary do much more than claim Czechoslovakian territory, a status quo that persisted into 1939.

Horthy used the commencement of hostilities in 1938 as an excuse to conscript a large army.

In late 1940, after the conclusion of the Hess Agreement, Horthy officially aligned with Germany and joined the war against the Soviet Union.

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Political offices (OTL)
Preceded by Zoltán Szabó	Minister of War of the Counter-Government 1919	Succeeded by Ferenc Schnetzer
Preceded by Béla Kun (communist)	Regent of Hungary (Head of State) 1920–1944	Succeeded by Ferenc Szálasi (as the Leader of the Hungarian Nation)
Military offices (OTL)
Preceded by Maximilian Njegovan	Commander-in-Chief of the Austro-Hungarian Naval Fleet 1918	Succeeded by None