Memorial of the 308th regiment
The commemoration of military actions and fallen heroes already began during the Great War. Monuments were ceremonially inaugurated on the scene of previous battles, but in several places chapels were also built in memory of the heroes. Memorial columns were erected in several places in the Eastern Carpathians to commemorate the efforts of the regiments who fought there. Some of these, even if in ruins, have survived to this day. The monument of the 6th honvéd infantry regiment was also restored by the mayor’s office of a settlement in Bukovina. On the Karst, the 4th honvéd infantry regiment erected several memorial pyramids. Some of these are also still present.
The main topic of the post, however, is war propaganda. Thus, the focus is not primarily on the monuments, but on the inauguration ceremonies organized around them. Such solemn events also took place regularly. The best known of these is perhaps the lifting and decorating of the tree of the 46th Infantry Regiment on the Karst Plateu and its transport to Szeged. The tree of the 46th regiment is still in the local museum.
Now I am attaching the pictures of the inauguration ceremony of the monument 308th regiment erected at the scene of the battles in Siemikovce. I already wrote about the battle itself here. We see two pieces of the series of press photos taken from the inauguration in the post. Baron Samu Hazai, Minister of War, visited the ceremony. After laying a wreath on the monument, he decorated soldiers, and then the 308th regiment marched in front of him. The minister also visited the trenches of the famous battle scene. As you can see, the event, if properly documented, served as valuable propaganda material.
Since badge 308 with the monument was already included in the previous post, I am now attaching another propaganda badge related to Bukovina. Its title is “Bukovina Heroes’ Memorial”.