Meanwhile, the key guest among the assembled magnates, Graf Gyula Andrassy, had just recently delivered an oath to Bethlen and the whole Parliament that no restoration would be further attempted "until Hungary was ready for it."  Was his participation in this scheme open treason against the Hungarian government?  He might have considered it otherwise, since Karl was the only legitimate sovereign of Royal and Apostolic Hungary, and he did not appoint Bethlen to be Premier.  Still, his logic was not bound to be shared by the government.

Shortly after their arrival, Karl and Zita were escorted by Colonel Anton Lehar to Sopron (Ödenburg) in the disputed Burgenland region.  Now, Sopron was a mostly Magyar-speaking city surrounded by Germans.  It was seized by the same reactionary, pro-monarchist troops who had flushed the Austrians out from the rest of West Hungary.  From these ranks came FML Hegedüs and his hussars, ready to storm the Parliament with sabers and shouts of "Hurruh!" if necessary.  These hardy pioneers would turn back time itself, and to their hospitality did Lehar commit the royal couple. 

Karl refused the comfort of the Hotel Pannonia in downtown Sopron, choosing to camp with the troops.  By the next morning, the whole city had been roused to their King's return, and the festive displays of loyalty to the Habsburg royals were duly noted by Entente commissioners who were stationed in the city to review the Burgenland Question (they would set up a plebiscite vote for Sopron nearly at the time of Karl's putsch; Austria would lose).  These men slipped out of the city and quickly made their way to Vienna, where they reported to Prague, Paris, and Geneva the beginning of a new putsch by the ex-King.

This was not lost on Lehar, who took the initiative and ordered his troops to board the trains stationed in Sopron.  It came to a race.  Who would be faster, the Entente spies or the monarchists?  The putsch would rely on fate accompli--Karl remembered his assurances from Briand back in March, when France was disposed to ignore a putsch.  Unfortunately for the ex-King, Briand had changed his mind after the first attempt failed and Czech Premier Eduard Benes expressed his outrage.  Furthermore, the Burgenland Question was getting sticky, as the Czechs and Jugoslavs had demanded solutions in their favour; namely, annexation by one state or the other to separate German from Magyar with a narrow corridor.  The Entente commissioners were reviewing this possibility and weighing the strength of Hegedüs' reactionary forces.  Surely another attempt by Karl would throw the Czechs and/or Jugoslavs into a war situation--if not over a Habsburg restoration, then over the fate of Burgenland.

As Colonel Lehar assembled his trains of soldiers and supplies, volunteers and recruits from all over the region poured into Sopron, eager to bring the King to Budapest.  Former dignitaries of Austria-Hungary personally joined Karl's entourage, including Graf Gyula Andrassy. Not only magnates but even radical socialists such as Karl Payer chose to bring down the regency and restore something of Hungary's former glory.  Lehar was promoted to a full general by Karl prior to the expedition, and was given full authority to conduct military operations leading to the royal palace.  Karl also created a provisional cabinet from those dignitaries present, and most had plans ready for implementation upon resumption of royal authority in Budapest.

The first train filled with Hussar cavalry left Sopron on the night of 27 October 1921.  It reached Györ (Raab) early in the morning.  The royal train carrying Karl and Zita followed about fourteen hours later.  Upon reaching Györ, a monarchist stronghold if there ever was one, the royal train ground to a halt.  A message from Budapest awaited them, and it's contents were no more complicated than this:  "Great Entente protests vehemently against restoration, threatens intervention."  Across the Danube from Györ, Czech soldiers could be seen, making certain preparations, though for what end was anyone's guess.  The commander of Györ, General Lörinczy, was responsible for contacting Horthy to ask for advice once the first trainload of monarchists rolled into the city.  After receiving this explanation, Karl released Lörinczy, but Lehar felt it necessary to make the General the movement's first prisoner of war, and clapped him in irons. 

Shortly after this disturbing incident, Karl resolved to push forward.  At each town, the train was hailed by the people as though the royals were saviours.  Many men dropped what they were doing and volunteered for the King's service.  During the trip toward Budapest, Karl's contingent was strengthened by 4,000 volunteers.  Such makes one wonder what the turn-out might have been if news of the fast-moving putsch had reached those places beyond the railway.   Still, the garrison of Komorn blew up a long stretch of track outside the city.  This caused the first train to grind to a halt, and soon the royal train caught up.  Lehar ordered the repair of the tracks, but as it was taking so long, everyone was beginning to feel their nerves.  Lehar even had the lack of tact to suggest burning Komorn to the ground, something for which Karl openly chastised him.

While waiting for the tracks to be repaired, Premier Bethlen was called by Stefan von Rakovszky, who introduced himself as the new Premier of Hungary, by order of the King.  After a heated exchange, Rakovszky ordered an open way to Budapest, now only an hour away by train.  Bethlen replied that he would consider it, and reply with 15 minutes.  About 45 minutes passed before Rakovszky began frantically calling every place in Budapest where Bethlen might be found.  Bethlen, it turned out, had just gone home.  Rakovszky called his house and issued his first and only summary court-martial, threatening to hang Bethlen on the gallows for his perfidy.

This waste of time allowed Horthy to summon all forces, including cavalry under the command of General Gömbös, to defend the capital.  The monarchists had failed to capture Colonel Perczel of the Komorn garrison, who had ordered the tracks blown earlier in the day. The monarchists had not paid much attention to Perczel earlier, because upon the arrival of Karl, the city of Komorn acclaimed him and even the garrison that had halted the putsch decided to throw their lot in with the monarchists, now numbering many thousands in the city.   Perczel meantime succeeded in signaling government forces assembling across the limitless Alföld by--of all things--semaphor flags.  Lehar had seized the wireless stations and telegraph lines, so the Colonel had no choice but to fall back on more traditional means of communication. 

As darkness engulfed the plain and fateful 29 October rolled in, Lehar's forward train sped out of Komorn, intent on reaching the Sandberg tunnel under the Danube river by dawn.  It was only a few miles beyond Komorn when, to Lehar's frustration, a motorcar pulled alongside and ordered the train to stop.  It was one of Horthy's ministers, Dr. Josef Vass, once again putting in an appearance at Karl's putsch attempt.  He bore a letter for Karl from Horthy, who urged him to stop the putsch before events grew beyond his control.  "Premier" Rakovszky denounced the letter and suggested that any more letters for Karl should be delivered to his palace in Budapest in the morning. 

In Budapest, General Gömbös had followed his Regent's order to the fullest.  He had rallied a large portion of the army together and knew of the exact location of the monarchists thanks to fast-moving hussars on the Alföld and men like Colonel Perczel who supplied information.  Gömbös needed something more.  It was not enough for him to repel the monarchists in a military fashion.  Being strictly anti-royal, even having disdain for the likes of Regent Horthy, Gömbös found time to gather student volunteers steeped with a little bolshevik hatred for things royal.  He formed these into irregular bands of Honved.  These were led out of the city and to a line of heights called Türkensprung, lying on the railway between the ancient Eszterhazy residence of Tata and Budapest. 

Prince Ferenc Eszterhazy, long a friend of the King, welcomed the royals to his ancestor's house when the train pulled into the Tata station on the morning of 29 October.  His joy was tempered by news of the nearness of Gömbös and his bands.  The prince boarded Karl's royal train in a sign of allegiance, and the monarchists rolled on toward Budaörs, a suburb of the capital lying at the foot of the Türkensprung heights.  There was serious fighting reported ahead, as Gömbös had fortified Budaörs with a heavy contingent of regular government troops in addition to student bands.  These had opened fire on Lehar's forward train without warning, and now a battle was raging in an arc from the centre of the town all the way to the rising slopes of the Türkensprung.

Even worse, some government cavalry was reportedly charging round the back of the heights, and might trap the whole monarchist force, unless Lehar managed to force a decision early.  Upon reaching the viaduct, monarchist soldiers stopped the royal train.  As there was no pressing to Budapest until this difficulty had been breached, Zita insisted on a celebration of Holy Mass, for it was Sunday.  Priests from Sopron conducted the service in the open air, even as small-arms fire could be heard in the distance.  As the Mass drew to a close, the pulse of artillery was heard for the first time.  With communion administered to all who would fight, the soldiers of the royal train then bolted to formation and rushed forward, across the viaduct and to the battle ahead.

Karl had not wanted civil war.  A conflict of Magyar brother against brother was outrageous, especially whether he, the rightful sovereign crowned with the apostolic regalia of St. Stefan, should be restored to the position of Hungarian Head of State.  His most specific order of entire operation was that under no conditions should blood be spilled.  It shouldn't have to be done.  Karl believed the question could be answered peacefully, and honourably, either with the streets of Budapest filled with cheering subjects loyalty removing hats and bowing heads, or!  As it was, there had been no "or" in Karl's mind.  Zita would not allow it, not after the ignominious retreat from the office of Horthy during the first restoration attempt.  Civil war is what he got. 

The Battle of Budaörs was a fiasco, as Gömbös led his well-trained and experienced Honved cavalry into a breach, splitting the monarchist army in two.  The northern group was embattled from two sides and its retreat turned into a rout.  In the south, the front held, but as the combined monarchist forces had not been strong enough to match the government's army, this reduced force could not possibly turn the tide of defeat.  Karl was anxious to learn of the fate of his gambit.  Initial reports were sketchy, but as the night wore on, it became clear to all that the government forces were not beyond spilling blood to prevent the King's return.  Karl was horrified by the turn of events, and immediately boarded his royal train, and ordered it to make for Budapest with the intention of  seeking an armistice with Gömbös.  FML Hegedüs was opposed to a truce with Gömbös, as the latter had promised court-martials for all monarchist conspirators.  Karl was all the more determined to end the fighting and the killing.  Zita joined him, and they stood in the locomotive cab as it crossed the viaduct to Budaörs amidst the red sky of sunset.  However, the train was stopped by the raging battle, and the very life of the King was in peril as the front began to give way.  Soldiers trying to escape the enemy clung to the locomotive itself as it prepared to leave the chaotic scene.

The second restoration attempt thus ended in complete disaster.  As the Royal train prepared to throttle in reverse all the way to the border, if necessary, any wounded soldiers from the northern wing within reach were placed in the cars, even in the private car of the King.  The monarchists were determined to leave none in the hands of the government army.  Only the dead were left, as there was no time to bury them.  Perhaps most stunning was that the royal train was the rear-guard to the retreat of the monarchist forces.  The train roared westward in the night, stopping to occasionally pick up bands of stragglers limping their way westward.  By the late morning on the next day, they paused at Prince Ferenc Eszterhazy's vast estate of Tata, only to hear that the governmental troops drawing on Györ had cut the tracks ahead of them, and were arresting everyone trying to seek refuge in the west.  A web was being closed around the royal couple and their conspirators.

Prince Ferenc Eszterhazy offered his estate as a royal refuge, assuring the couple that it was impregnable to invasion by the enemy.  If there was no respect for the royals among the government members, there was deep admiration for the name Eszterhazy, which had even been inviolate during the nightmarish red terror of Bela Kun.  The Eszterhazys even managed to safeguard the world-famous Lipizzaner horses from the Spanish riding school in Vienna during those hard months of 1919.  How much more would the Prince protect his King and Queen!

Unfortunately, his confidence was shaken to the core when kidnappers violated the Eszterhazy stronghold on the very first night of their arrival.  Only swift action by Eszterhazy's personal servant saved the moment.  He tackled one of the criminals and threw him through a glass window.  The accomplices witnessed this brutal spectacle and fled, apparently expecting no resistance from the country house.  This crude invasion was not followed by the government, however.  Truly, the place was left in peace, though Gömbös' troops arrived in town the next morning and occupied Tata's railway station to prevent any escape. 

Meanwhile, Horthy authorised the arrest and detention of the higher magnates who had supported the putsch, including Stefan von Rakovszky and Gyula Andrassy.  These former magnates and high nobles, the real power behind Apostolic Hungary, were tracked down hunted in the wilderness like animals.  General Lehar alone escaped Horthy's warrant, fleeing right into the gleeful hands of the Czechs, who let him pass to spite the Regent.  Lehar would live an underground life for several years in Germany, fearful of being tried for treason by hid former commander in-chief. 

Even as Karl and Zita fell asleep amidst the tumult, Horthy handed out court-martials to all military personnel involved, even to the lowest rank.  The troops of Sopron were scrutinized with great care later in November, for there was the start of the whole conspiracy.

Horthy's mercy on the royals was forced upon him by his chief nemesis of late, the Czechoslovak Premier, Eduard Benes.  Once news had reached Hradcany of the putsch attempt, Benes reacted with a mobilisation of troops on the Hungarian frontier.  On 30 October, he sent Horthy an ultimatum.  Regarding Karl, it read: "If he is given further protection, the Little Entente will regard such action as a cassus belli, and will order a general mobilisation of her armies in order to obtain final settlement of the Habsburg problem in Hungary, and to eliminate once and forever the danger presented by the House of Habsburg in Central Europe."  Benes of course was struggling with a phantom.  The Habsburgs were clearly no threat to Prague, as they could not even find respect in the land whose crown they had the most claim, much less a fiercely nationalist successor state like Czechoslovakia.  The ghosts of the Habsburgs would haunt Benes until the Munich Agreement--rumours in 1937 and 1938 that Karl's son and heir Otto might be restored to the throne of Austria to thwart Nazi annexation schemes was met with strong and violent language from Prague not unsimilar (and perhaps more genuine) than the demagoguery emanating from Berlin.

Horthy was nevertheless appalled by the words coming from Prague, and so was Gömbös.   Far from complying with the demands of Benes by turning over the trouble-making ex-king and being rid of him forever, Gömbös dispatched a message to Tata, offering the royal couple sanctuary in a monastery in Tihany, southwestern Hungary.  There was a real threat that the kidnappers who assaulted Tata days earlier were Czech agents, and that Prague might authorise a military expedition across the frontier to seize Karl, since the Eszterhazy estate was close by.  Karl and Zita immediately accepted the offer, nervous about placing themselves in the protection of a government that had intended to seize them as war criminals only a week before.  Karl was astute enough by now to know that the political situation was getting out of hand and there was nothing to be gained by risking Eszterhazy's estate to plunder by an advancing Czech army.  Gömbös delivered them to Tihany and placed at their disposal two Hungarian officers, who were to hold the double roles of bodyguards for the royals and informants for Budapest. 

While Karl and Zita passed the chilly week ensconced in the grounds of the monastery, the Entente sent diplomats to Budapest at Prague's insistence, all with a mission of bringing about Karl's forma renunciation of not only the Crown of St. Stefan, but also those of Austria, Bohemia, and every other land formerly belonging to the Habsburg Empire.  Horthy deferred the issue to the ex-King, as he considered his government's position safe from any further putsch and the matter an Entente effort at humiliating the down-trodden Hungarian state.  Karl refused to sign any abdication, on the grounds that his oath of kingship was terminable only upon death, and not before.  His refusal is spoken with much eloquence:  "As long as God gives me strength to carry out my duty, I shall not abdicate the throne to which I am bound by sacred oath.  As wearer of the Holy Crown, I shall maintain its rights by professing my willingness to remain in office, despite all perils confronting me.  It is my belief that only thus can the integrity of Hungary be restored."