Preparing for the attack

With the die now cast, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev conducted negotiations with the other communist countries in regards to Hungary, especially Yugoslavia, which while communist, was not part of the Warsaw Pact.

In Moscow, János Kádár and Ferenc Münnich held talks with the Presidium of the CPSU on the future of Hungary. Former Hungarian communist party leaders Mátyás Rákosi and Ernő Gerő were also present for the talks and itching to regain power in Hungary. The Yugoslavs would end up playing a decisive role in these talks.

But while the talks were ongoing in Moscow, Ivan Konev, the Soviet Army marshal who would oversee the invasion of Hungary arrived in Szolnok on this day in preparation of the attack. The possible became the inevitable as the Soviet Union began to finalize its plans to overthrow the Nagy government and stop the revolution.

Zoltán Csipke