Battle of Soltvadkert

Battle of Soltvadkert
Part of Zemplen War
Ruvelkan troops during the battle.
Date 30 May - 13 June 2009 Location Soltvadkert, Kunhegyes Distrct, Ruvelka Result Ruvelkan Victory
Belligerents
Ruvelka Acrea	Syara
Commanders and leaders
Péter Novák	Nikodemos Cvetkov Simeon Karandzhulov Aharon Kechichian Branimir Potkovac Emil Zlatkov Manevski
Units involved
10th Army 14th Army 24th Army	7th Army
Strength
500,000 troops	300,000 troops
Casualties and losses
16,608 killed 33,409 wounded	15,470 killed 31,216 wounded

The Battle of Soltvadkert was a battle between Ruvelka and Syara during the Zemplen War. The battle took place from 30 May to 13 June 2009 in and around the city of Soltvadkert in northern Ruvelka.

As part of Operation Harpe, Field Marshal Nikodemos Cvetkov planned for Army Group Alpha to break through Ruvelkan lines midway between the cities of Kaposvár and Kunhegyes. 7th Army, commanded by Colonel General Simeon Karandzhulov, led the effort to seize Soltvadkert which served as a major road and rail hub for northern Ruvelka. The Syarans intended to capture Soltvadkert to stage further offensives in the direction of Mateszalka, Ruvelka's largest northern port, which would cut off Ruvelka from external trade and pave the way to circumnavigate the Kurilla Mountains. Péter Novák, commanding Ruvelka's Army Group North, committed the 10th, 14th, and 24th Armies to halt the Syaran offensive and keep Soltvadkert in Ruvelkan hands.

Following the launch of Harpe on 16 May, the Syarans broke through the lines of the Ruvelkan 10th Army and were 20 kilometers from Soltvadkert by 30 May. The Syarans attempted to assault the city between 31 May and 4 June with a pincer movement, I Corps against 14th Army in the north and II Corps against 24th Army in the South while IX Corps pushed into the city itself. By 5 June I and II Corps had pushed Ruvelka forces back from their defensive positions, but IX Corps struggled to dislodge Ruvelkan forces from their entrenched urban fortifications. Between 6-8 June the Syarans won a major armored engagement in the south of the city, but in the north I Corps struggled to take control of the Dientlev Hieghts from the Ruvelkan 14th Army. While I Corps attempted to continue to push from the south, a Ruvelkan counterattack on 9 June drove I and IX Corps from their positions, forcing II Corps to withdraw. General Karandzhulov wanted to continue the assault after regrouping, but Field Marshal Cvetkov ordered a halt to the drive eastward, too concerned by the presence of hundreds of thousands of Ruvelkan troops still fighting near Kaposvár and Kunhegyes. The Syarans broke off their assault and 7th Army assumed defensive positions 13 June, ending the battle.

Although the Syarans would wheel around to capture both Kaposvár and Kunhegyes, the failure to capture Soltvadkert effectively rendered Operation Harpe a strategic failure. Unable to secure the entirety of the Kunhegyes District, Syaran forces would be unable to push onto Mateszalka, while the heavy losses the Syaran Commonality Armed Forces would suffer during the summer fighting would force Syaran Central Command to suspend all major offensive operations. The Ruvelkans would later launch a counter-offensive known as Operation Overshadow, which further eliminated the Syaran threat to Mateszalka.