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The Daily Telegraph and Morning Post
LONDON, TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 1944
NAZI TROOPS OCCUPY ALL HUNGARY
'PHONES CUT: COUNTRY COMPLETELY ISOLATED
HITTLER'S TROOPS have occupied the whole of Hungary, and the country last night was completely isolated from the rest of Europe.
News of Germany's dramatic step, forced by military necessity as the Russian advance threatens South-Eastern Europe, was first given by Ankara radio.
Algiers radio (France) later reported, "Berlin decided to occupy all strategically important points in Hungary because the Hungarian Government refused to offer resistance in the event of a Russian invasion."
All telephone communication between Switzerland, and Hungary was cut throughout the day.
Unconfirmed rumours circulating in Stockholm, Reuterreported, were to the effect thatAdml. Horthy, Hungarian Regent, Foreign Minister Ghyczy, Gen. Szombathely, Hungarian Chief of Staff who had been summoned to Hitler's H.Q., have been prevented by the Germans from returning to Hungary.
Messages from Budapest, quoted by the Berne correspondent of the Svenska Dagbladet stated that the Germans invaded Hungary from the north and also from Rumania.
According to the Swedish newspaper Morgontidningen Imredy, former Hungarian premier, is reported to have turned quisling and seized power to pave the way for the Germans. Reliable circles in Berlin expect that the Germans will take similar action in Rumania and Bulgaria.
Berlin Foreign Office last night gave indirect confirmation of the occupation. It declared that Germany was "striving to co-ordinate all resources and forces" in South-East Europe "against the common Russian threat." Until now Hungary has been the least "occupied," in the military sense, of Germany's satellites, if only because she was entirely surrounded by German-controlled territory.
Why Hitler Acted
There were recently many signs that the Hungarians would have liked to get out of the war, but the Germans could afford to ignore them as long as South-East Europe was not a critical theatre of operations for them.
The Russian advance to the borders of Rumania has dramatically changed the situation. Within a few weeks the Germans will be standing on the line of the Carpathian Mountains, which they must hold at all costs if they are to keep the Red Army out of the Danubian Plain, the gateway to Germany from the south-east.