Law Enforcement in the Rear During the Great War – History of the Uzhhorod City Civil Guard (1914–1915)

Abstract

This article examines the activities of the city civil guard—a specific, yet hitherto understudied law enforcement institution operating in the rear following the outbreak of the First World War—using the microhistorical case study of Uzhhorod in 1914–1915. Due to general military mobilization, the personnel of both the Royal Hungarian Gendarmerie and the Uzhhorod City Gendarmerie decreased critically, while the proximity of the Galician Front and large numbers of undocumented refugees created entirely new risks for internal security and the crime situation. Based on primary archival sources (files from the State Archives of Transcarpathian Region) and the contemporary local press (the weeklies Ung and Ungvári Közlöny), the study reconstructs the circumstances surrounding the creation of the Uzhhorod City Civil Guard, its command and territorial structure, daily patrol and guard duty operations, as well as its functional duties. Aim. The main objective of the study is to fully uncover the institutional trajectory of the Uzhhorod City Civil Guard from its establishment to its disbandment. Based on empirical data and the analysis of specific legal precedents, the research aims to demonstrate the necessity and operational effectiveness of this alternative civilian law enforcement body in overcoming wartime crisis situations. An important goal is also to demonstrate how a voluntary civilian initiative was integrated into a strict, actual subordination under the official state gendarmerie. Methods. The methodological framework of the study is based on classical historical-critical source analysis, qualitative and quantitative assessment of archival sources, and the study of press materials. The contents of official reports, service logs, and personnel rosters preserved in Fund No. 6 of the State Archives of Transcarpathian Region were cross-referenced with the public discourse presented in the pages of the newspapers Ung and Ungvári Közlöny, which enabled mutual verification of the sources and ensured the objectivity of the historical reconstruction. Results. The study revealed that during its 273 days of operation, the Uzhhorod City Civil Guard became a solid pillar of local public safety. As a result of a recruitment campaign, 60 individuals were integrated into the organization out of 73 applicants, ensuring order on the city streets under a strict 12-hour shift system operating in two-person patrol units. The organization successfully enforced wartime curfew and business closing-time restrictions, played a key role in the prompt registration of refugees from Galicia, and flawlessly executed armed security details for the visit of Archduke Charles, Heir to the Throne, as well as Prime Minister Count István Tisza. The high social prestige of the organization is evidenced by the fact that individual citizens, such as Ignác Halász, organized the operation of a voluntary tea station for civil guards patrolling during the freezing months. Conclusions. The Uzhhorod City Civil Guard (1914–1915) served as an excellent example of how the administrative system of the Kingdom of Hungary proved capable of mobilizing disciplined elements of civil society to address the shortage of professional law enforcement bodies. In cooperation with the city police, it successfully established a city law enforcement system under wartime conditions.