During the peace negotiations after the first world war, the army of the still forming Czechoslovakian state crossed the demarcation line on the river Ipoly, invaded Hungary and captured the city of Balassagyarmat in an attempt to have negotiators’ mind in Paris made up for an expansion of Czechoslovakia’ boundaries. However on 29th January 1919, local citizens and a few military units expelled the occupying Czech forces, earning the “Bravest City” title for Balassagyarmat.