A Former Cadet from Pécs in the Great War

Abstract

About the young man, whose life story and military career we attempt to reconstruct below, there are ever so little personal data and documents preserved by the family. As a young family man, in the flower of his life, László Szoleczky died unexpectedly; his uniforms, military medals disappeared between the two World Wars and during the Second World War. Regrettably, his First World War units later did not publish regimental histories, and his alma mater’s archives was destroyed during the Serbian occupation of Pécs. We were therefore forced to reconstruct the life path from fragments and newsflashes. We recall his memory based on a few photographs, some official copies of documents, including recommendations for medals, his personal files and regimental records kept in the Hungarian Military History Archives, as well as works on the First World War and period press. The information gathered from the above sources made us able to reconstruct his career.