Operation Toxon
Operation Toxon | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of Zemplen War | |||||||
Syaran soldiers pray before the offensive | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Ruvelka | Syara | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Eliska Hanáková | Valentin Stavrik | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
6th Püspökladány Front | 9th Army | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
115,000 | 70,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
6,740 killed 13,175 wounded |
2,308 killed 5,699 wounded |
Operation Toxon was an offensive carried out by Syara during the Zemplen War.
After a year of bloody fighting, 9th Army had been strung out along an extended front line filled with ravines and valleys that made concentrated defense-in-depth difficult. Wary of heavy casualties but eager to avoid further defensive fighting, Colonel General Valentin Stavrik ordered the 9th Army to conduct a limited drive towards Székesfehérvár, which lay apporximately 120 kilometers behind Ruvelkan lines. The Syarans hoped to capture several key valleys amid the connection between the Matra and Kurilla Mountains. Opting for small, independent combined arms formations rather than a large sweeping offensive, the Syarans saw surprising success, capturing a number of vital areas along their area of operations before halting and repelling a local Ruvelkan counter-stroke. Despite the success, 9th Army was ordered to maintain the defensive in preparation for a major Syaran offensive intended to begin in the late summer, which never came.