October 23, 1956 · Europe Theater
October 23, 1956
Sparked by student demonstrations in Budapest on October 23, 1956, the Hungarian Revolution briefly toppled the Soviet-backed government and installed reform communist Imre Nagy, who announced Hungary's withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact. The West — preoccupied with the simultaneous Suez Crisis — watched as Soviet tanks crushed the uprising on November 4, killing some 2,500 Hungarians and causing 200,000 to flee as refugees. Nagy was arrested, secretly tried, and executed in 1958.
Commanders