Economic Blockade, Border Incidents, Military Manoeuvres Against Yugoslavia During the Soviet-Yugoslav Conflict (1948–1953)

Abstract

This study examines the way the British Foreign Office saw Hungary's role in the Soviet-Yugoslav conflict through the reports and analyses of British diplomacy. Hungary actively participated in this evolving conflict and took a leading role in the anti-Yugoslav propaganda campaign and war mongering, which resulted to a sharp deterioration of bilateral relations. The British Foreign Office understandably followed every step of the escalation of the conflict with keen interest. The actions of the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites against Yugoslavia were accompanied by economic pressure; the Hungarian government's suspension of the delivery of Yugoslav reparations was a special Hungarian aspect of the conflict. To resolve the issue, the Yugoslav leadership sought help from Western powers, including Britain. In parallel with the economic pressure, ideological warfare was waged against Yugoslavia. Hungary played its part through border incidents, the development of the Hungarian army and the movement of Soviet troops inside the country. This was of course noticed by British diplomacy, but the border incidents were seen as a normal part of the “war of nerves” and the development of the Hungarian army as part of the general armament of the Soviet camp. The British leadership was also opposed to the American plan to take joint action to protest the fact that the Hungarian forces had exceeded the provisions of the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty.