MILITARY PERSONNELS from Slovakia

Top 6

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Slovak Military Personnels of all time. This list of famous Slovak Military Personnels is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Maurice Benyovszky (1746 - 1786)

With an HPI of 63.92, Maurice Benyovszky is the most famous Slovak Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages on wikipedia.

Count Maurice Benyovszky de Benyó et Urbanó (Hungarian: Benyovszky Máté Móric Mihály Ferenc Szerafin Ágost; Polish: Maurycy Beniowski; Slovak: Móric Beňovský; 20 September 1746 – 24 May 1786) was a military officer, adventurer, and writer from the Kingdom of Hungary, who described himself as both a Hungarian and a Pole. He is considered a national hero in Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. Benyovszky was born and raised in Verbó, Kingdom of Hungary (present-day Vrbové, Slovakia). In 1769, while fighting for the Polish armies under the Bar Confederation, he was captured by the Russians and exiled to Kamchatka. He subsequently escaped and returned to Europe via Macau and Mauritius, arriving in France. In 1773, Benyovszky reached agreement with the French government to establish a trading post on Madagascar. Facing significant problems with the climate, the terrain, and the native Sakalava people, he abandoned the trading post in 1776. Benyovszky then returned to Europe, joined the Austrian Army and fought in the War of the Bavarian Succession. After a failed venture in Fiume (present-day Rijeka), he travelled to America and obtained financial backing for a second voyage to Madagascar. The French governor of Mauritius sent a small armed force to close down his operation, and Benyovszky was killed in May 1786. In 1790, Benyovszky's posthumous and largely fictitious account of his adventures, entitled Memoirs and Travels of Mauritius Augustus Count de Benyowsky, Volume 1 and Volume 2 was published to great success.

2. Jozef Gabčík (1912 - 1942)

With an HPI of 62.87, Jozef Gabčík is the 2nd most famous Slovak Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Jozef Gabčík (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈjɔzev ˈɡaptʂiːk]; 8 April 1912 – 18 June 1942) was a Slovak soldier in the Czechoslovak Army involved in the Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of acting Reichsprotektor (Realm-Protector) of Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, SS Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich.

3. Pál Maléter (1917 - 1958)

With an HPI of 59.92, Pál Maléter is the 3rd most famous Slovak Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Pál Maléter (4 September 1917 – 16 June 1958) was the military leader of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Maléter was born to Hungarian parents in Eperjes, a city in Sáros County, in the northern part of Historical Hungary, today Prešov, Slovakia. He studied medicine at the Charles University, Prague, before moving to Budapest in 1938, going to the military academy there. He fought on the Eastern Front of World War II for the Axis, until captured by the Red Army. He became a communist, trained in sabotage, fought against the Germans in Transylvania and was sent back to Hungary, where he was noted for his courage and daring. In 1945 he joined the Hungarian Communist Party. In 1956 he was a Colonel and served with the General Staff in Budapest when during the Hungarian Uprising he was sent to relieve a unit at the Kilian barracks with some tanks and a company of officer cadets. However, only Maléter's tank arrived at the barracks, and with the permission of his superiors, he agreed to a cease-fire with the insurgent groups in the area. Later (the exact time of this is disputed) he switched to the insurgents' side, helping them to defend the Kilian Barracks against Soviet troops. He was the most prominent member of the Hungarian military to change sides, allying himself with the insurgents, rather than with Ernő Gerő's communist government. As the chief military presence on the insurgents' side, he came into contact with the new government and on 29 October, he was appointed Minister of Defense, and was promoted to Major General on 2 November. On 3 November, he went to Tököl, located near Budapest, to negotiate with the Soviet military forces based there. During discussions on the following day, and against international law, Soviet officers arrested Maléter at the conference and imprisoned him. He was executed, along with Imre Nagy and others, in a Budapest prison on 16 June 1958 on charges of attempting to overthrow the Hungarian People's Republic. His first wife and three children went to the U.S. in the wake of the uprising, and his second wife remained in Hungary. Both wives subsequently remarried. His only son, Pál Maléter II (1946 – January 4, 2017), was trained at the Hotchkiss School and Columbia University before becoming an architect in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. In June 1989, on the anniversary of their deaths, Imre Nagy, Pál Maléter, three others who had died in prison and a sixth empty coffin, symbolising all those who had died, were formally reburied in Budapest with full honours. He was also promoted to Colonel General posthumously. A pine cultivar has been named after him, a dwarf variety. Maléter was known for his great height; according to historian Victor Sebestyen, Maléter was "more than two meters tall", or at least six feet eight inches (203 cm).

4. Archduke Joseph Karl of Austria (1833 - 1905)

With an HPI of 57.87, Archduke Joseph Karl of Austria is the 4th most famous Slovak Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Archduke Joseph Karl of Austria (German: (Erzherzog) Josef Karl (Ludwig) von Österreich, Hungarian: Habsburg–Lotaringiai József Károly (Lajos) főherceg; 2 March 1833 – 13 June 1905) was a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. He was the second son of Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary (seventh son of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor) and Duchess Maria Dorothea of Württemberg.

5. János Pálffy (1664 - 1751)

With an HPI of 52.81, János Pálffy is the 5th most famous Slovak Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Johann Bernhard Stephan, Graf Pálffy de Erdőd (Hungarian: Pálffy V. János Bernard István, Croatian: Ivan Pálffy; 20 August 1664 – 24 March 1751) was a Hungarian noble, Imperial Field marshal and Palatine of Hungary. An accomplished military leader and diplomat at the time of Prince Eugène of Savoy, he was born in one of Hungary's richest families loyal to the House of Habsburg. Joining the Imperial Army in 1681, he rose swiftly through the ranks, fighting demonstrating courage in battles such as Vienna, Párkány, and Mohács. Notably, he played a pivotal role in Rákóczi's War of Independence, securing victories and negotiating truces with the Hungarian magnate commanding the rebel army. Beyond his military prowess, Pálffy engaged in diplomatic endeavours, convincing nobility to accept the Pragmatic sanction. Post-war, Pálffy was elected Palatine of Hungary and became a trusted advisor to Empress Maria Theresa until his death in 1751.

6. Paul Kray (1735 - 1804)

With an HPI of 50.01, Paul Kray is the 6th most famous Slovak Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Baron Paul Kray of Krajova and Topolya (German: Paul Freiherr Kray von Krajova und Topola; Hungarian: Krajovai és Topolyai báró Kray Pál; 5 February 1735 – 19 January 1804), was a soldier, and general in Habsburg service during the Seven Years' War, the War of Bavarian Succession, the Austro–Turkish War (1787–1791), and the French Revolutionary Wars. He was born in Késmárk, Upper Hungary (today: Kežmarok, Slovakia). He withdrew from military service temporarily in 1792 because of poor health, but in 1793, he was recalled to the Habsburg military in the Netherlands at the request of Field Marshal Prince Coburg and fought in the Flanders Campaign. In 1799 he was appointed commander of the Austrian forces in Italy and Colonel-Proprietor of the Infantry Regiment N.34, a ceremonial position he held until his death. On 18 April 1799, Kray was promoted to Feldzeugmeister. In the 1800 campaign, Kray commanded the Austrian force on the Upper Rhine, charged with the defense of all approaches to Vienna through the German states. After being out-maneuvered by the French, he was disastrously defeated in five consecutive battles. After the Battle of Neuburg, the French acquired both shores of the river, and commanded access to the Danube waterway as far east as Regensburg. During the subsequent armistice, Emperor Francis II replaced Kray with his brother, Archduke John; Kray was discharged on 28 August 1800 and retired to Pest, Hungary. He died there on 19 January 1804. For all his victories, for his fierce competitiveness on the battlefield, the French soldiers referred to him as Le terrible Kray, le fils cher de la victoire and men from both sides attended his funeral in 1804.