Hungarian Royal Army. Hungarian troops in the Second World War. I'm Hungarian army

Those who like to rewrite history should familiarize themselves with the dry numbers of a brief description of the Hungarian army and its actions in the Second World War. Which, almost in full force, fought with the anti-Hitler coalition until the last day.

The main goal of Hungarian foreign policy was the return of territories lost after the First World War. In 1939, Hungary began reforming its Armed Forces (“Honvédség”). The brigades were deployed into army corps, a mechanized corps and an air force were created, prohibited by the Treaty of Trianon in 1920.

In August 1940, in accordance with the decision of the Vienna Arbitration, Romania returned Northern Transylvania to Hungary. The eastern Hungarian border passed along a strategically important line - the Carpathians. Hungary concentrated the 9th (“Carpathian”) Corps on it.

On April 11, 1941, Hungarian troops occupied a number of areas of northern Yugoslavia. Thus, Hungary returned part of its lost in 1918 - 1920. territories, but became completely dependent on German support. The Hungarian army encountered almost no resistance from Yugoslav troops (except for the April 8 Yugoslav air raid on German military bases in Hungary) and occupied the main city of the Yugoslav left bank of the Danube, Novi Sad, where mass pogroms took place against Jews.

By mid-1941, the Hungarian armed forces numbered 216 thousand people. They were led by the head of state with the help of the Supreme Military Council, the General Staff and the War Ministry.

Military parade in Budapest.

The ground forces had three field armies of three army corps each (the country was divided into nine districts according to the areas of responsibility of the army corps) and a separate mobile corps. The army corps consisted of three infantry brigades (Dandar), a cavalry squadron, a mechanized howitzer battery, an anti-aircraft artillery battalion, a reconnaissance aircraft unit, an engineer battalion, a communications battalion and logistics units.

The infantry brigade, created on the model of the Italian two-regimental division, in peacetime consisted of one infantry regiment of the first stage and one reserve infantry regiment (both three-battalion strength), two field artillery divisions (24 guns), a cavalry detachment, air defense companies and communications, 139 light and heavy machine guns. Regimental platoons and heavy weapons companies each had 38 anti-tank rifles and 40 anti-tank guns (mainly 37 mm caliber).

Standard infantry armament consisted of a modernized 8 mm Mannlicher rifle and Solothurn and Schwarzlose machine guns. In 1943, during the unification of the weapons of Germany's allies, the caliber was changed to the standard German 7.92 mm. During the course of the war, 37 mm German-made and 47 mm Belgian-made anti-tank guns gave way to heavier German guns. The artillery used Czech-made mountain and field guns of the Skoda system, howitzers of the Skoda, Beaufort and Rheinmetall systems.

The mechanized corps consisted of Italian CV 3/35 wedges, Hungarian armored vehicles of the Csaba system and light tanks of the Toldi system.

Each corps had an infantry battalion equipped with trucks (in practice, a bicycle battalion), as well as anti-aircraft and engineering battalions, and a communications battalion.

In addition, the Hungarian Armed Forces included two mountain brigades and 11 border brigades; numerous labor battalions (formed, as a rule, from representatives of national minorities); small units of the Life Guards, Royal Guards and Parliamentary Guards in the capital of the country - Budapest.

By the summer of 1941, the battalions were approximately 50% equipped with tanks.

In total, the Hungarian ground forces consisted of 27 infantry (mostly framed) brigades, as well as two motorized brigades, two border jäger brigades, two cavalry brigades, and one mountain rifle brigade.

The Hungarian Air Force consisted of five aviation regiments, one long-range reconnaissance division and one parachute battalion. The Hungarian Air Force's aircraft fleet consisted of 536 aircraft, of which 363 were combat aircraft.

1st stage of the war against the USSR

On June 26, 1941, unidentified aircraft raided the Hungarian city of Kassa (now Kosice in Slovakia). Hungary declared these planes to be Soviet. There is currently an opinion that this raid was a German provocation.

On June 27, 1941, Hungary declared war on the USSR. The so-called “Carpathian Group” was deployed to the Eastern Front:

First Mountain Infantry Brigade;
- eighth border brigade;
- mechanized corps (without a second cavalry brigade).

These forces invaded the Ukrainian Carpathian region on July 1 and, after starting battles with the Soviet 12th Army, crossed the Dniester. Hungarian troops occupied Kolomyia. Then the mechanized corps (40 thousand people) entered the territory of Right Bank Ukraine and continued military operations as part of the 17th German Army. In the Uman region, as a result of joint actions with German troops, 20 Soviet divisions were captured or destroyed.

Hungarian soldier with an anti-tank rifle. Eastern front.

In October 1941, the corps, after a rapid 950-kilometer throw, reached Donetsk, having lost 80% of its equipment. In November, the corps was recalled to Hungary, where it was disbanded.

From October 1941, the first mountain rifle and eighth border brigades in the Ukrainian Carpathian region were replaced by newly formed security forces brigades numbered 102, 105, 108, 121 and 124. These brigades each included two reserve infantry regiments armed with light weapons, an artillery battery and a squadron cavalry (6 thousand people in total).

In February 1942, the Germans moved the 108th Security Forces Brigade to the front line in the Kharkov area, where it suffered significant losses.

2nd stage of the war against the USSR

In the spring of 1942, Germany's need for more soldiers on the Soviet-German front forced the Hungarians to mobilize their second army of 200,000 men. It included:

3rd Corps: 6th Brigade (22nd, 52nd Infantry Regiments), 7th Brigade (4th, 35th Infantry Regiments), 9th Brigade (17th, 47th Infantry Regiments) shelves);

4th Corps: 10th Brigade (6th, 36th Infantry Regiments), 12th Brigade (18th, 48th Infantry Regiments), 13th Brigade (7th, 37th Infantry Regiments) shelves); 7th Corps: 19th Brigade (13th, 43rd Infantry Regiments), 20th Brigade (14th, 23rd Infantry Regiments), 23rd Brigade (21st, 51st Infantry Regiments) shelves).

In addition, subordinate to the army headquarters were: 1st armored brigade (30th tank and 1st motorized infantry regiments, 1st reconnaissance and 51st anti-tank battalions), 101st heavy artillery division, 150th motorized artillery division, 101st motorized anti-aircraft division and 151st engineer battalion.

Each brigade had an artillery regiment and support units, the number of which was identical to the brigade number. After October 1942, a reconnaissance battalion was added to each of the brigades, formed from the newly created mobile units (which combined cavalry, motorized rifle, cyclists and armored units). The armored brigade was formed in the spring of 1942 from two existing mechanized brigades and was equipped with tanks 38(t) (formerly Czechoslovak LT-38), T-III and T-IV, as well as Hungarian Toldi light tanks, Csaba armored personnel carriers ( Csaba) and self-propelled guns "Nimrod" (Nimrod).

Germany proposed rewarding Hungarian soldiers who distinguished themselves on the Eastern Front with large land plots in Russia.

Under the command of Colonel General Gustav Jani, the Second Army arrived in the Kursk region in June 1942 and advanced to forward positions along the Don south of Voronezh. She was supposed to defend this direction in case of a possible counter-offensive by Soviet troops. From August to December 1942, the Hungarian army fought long, exhausting battles with Soviet troops in the area of ​​Uryv and Korotoyak (near Voronezh). The Hungarians failed to liquidate the Soviet bridgehead on the right bank of the Don and develop an offensive towards Serafimovichi. At the end of December 1942, the Hungarian Second Army switched to passive defense.

During this period, the territory of Hungary began to be subject to air raids. On September 5 and 10, Soviet long-range aviation carried out strikes on Budapest.

Hungarian troops in the Don steppes. Summer 1942

At the beginning of the winter of 1942, the Hungarian command repeatedly turned to the German command with a request to provide the Hungarian troops with modern anti-tank guns - the shells of outdated 20-mm and 37-mm guns did not penetrate the armor of Soviet T-34 tanks.

On January 12, 1943, Soviet troops crossed the Don River across the ice and broke through the defenses at the junction of the 7th and 12th brigades. The 1st Armored Brigade, which was subordinate to the German command, was withdrawn and did not receive the order to counterattack the enemy. The disorderly retreat of the Hungarian army was covered by units of the 3rd Corps. The losses of the 2nd Army amounted to about 30 thousand soldiers and officers killed, and the army lost almost all tanks and heavy weapons. Among the fallen was the eldest son of the Kingdom's regent, Miklos Horthy. The remaining 50 thousand soldiers and officers were taken prisoner. This was the largest defeat of the Hungarian army in the entire history of its existence.

Hungarian soldiers who died at Stalingrad. Winter 1942 - 1943

3rd stage of the war against the USSR

In March 1943, Admiral Horthy, seeking to strengthen troops within the country, recalled the Second Army back to Hungary. Most of the army's reserve regiments were transferred to the "Dead Army", which turned out to be the only association of Hungarian troops that actively fought on the Soviet-German front. Its military formations were reorganized and given new numbers, although this process was more likely aimed at the German ally than at the Russians. Now the Hungarian army included the 8th Corps stationed in Belarus (5th, 9th, 12th and 23rd brigades) and the 7th Corps remaining in Ukraine (1st, 18th, 19th I, 21st and 201st brigades).

This army first of all had to fight the partisans. In 1943, artillery and reconnaissance units were deployed into battalions. These Hungarian units were subsequently united into the 8th Corps (soon to become known in their homeland as the "Dead Army"). The corps was formed in Kyiv, and was tasked with protecting communications from Polish, Soviet and Ukrainian partisans in northeastern Ukraine and the Bryansk forests.

In mid-1943, the Hungarians decided to reorganize their infantry brigades along German lines: three infantry regiments, 3-4 artillery divisions, as well as engineering and reconnaissance battalions. The regular infantry regiments of each corps were united into “mixed divisions”, the reserve regiments into “reserve divisions”; All mechanized units were reassigned to the first corps; its basis was the recreated 1st armored division, the newly formed 2nd armored division and the 1st cavalry division, formed in 1942 from the previous cavalry brigades.

The Border Guard Group of the 27th Light Division operated as a third regiment throughout the 1944 campaign. The mountain and border battalions were not reorganized, but were reinforced in Transylvania by 27 Szekler militia battalions. A shortage of weapons seriously delayed this reorganization, but eight mixed divisions were ready by the end of 1943, and reserve divisions by the spring of 1944. Most of them were transferred to the “Dead Army”, which the German command refused to send to Hungary and which now consisted from the 2nd Reserve Corps (former 8th, 5th, 9th, 12th and 23rd Reserve Divisions) and the 7th Corps (18th and 19th Reserve Divisions).

Armored divisions were stationed at the forefront of the Soviet-German front. The tank battalions were equipped with Hungarian medium tanks Turan I and II. The combat readiness of the crews after several years of war was at a high level.

In addition, they added eight assault gun divisions. At first it was supposed to equip them with new assault guns of the Zrinyi system, but there were only enough guns for two battalions, the rest were armed with 50 German StuG III. Initially the divisions were numbered 1 to 8, but later they were assigned the numbers of the corresponding mixed divisions to which they were supposed to be attached.

4th stage of the war against the USSR

In March - April 1944, German troops entered Hungarian territory to guarantee its continued loyalty. The Hungarian army was ordered not to resist.

After this, mobilization was completely carried out for the first time. In May 1944, the 1st Army (2nd Armored, 7th, 16th, 20th, 24th and 25th Mixed and 27th Light Divisions, 1st and 2nd Mountain Infantry brigade) was sent to the Ukrainian Carpathian region. She was also given the 7th Corps of the “Dead Army”, which was already conducting combat operations in this direction.

The 1st Hungarian Tank Division attempted to counterattack the Soviet tank corps near Kolomyia - this attempt ended in the death of 38 Turan tanks and the rapid withdrawal of the Hungarian 2nd Armored Division to the state border.

By August 1944, the army was reinforced with the remaining regular divisions (6th, 10th and 13th mixed). However, the army soon had to retreat to the Hunyadi line in the north of the Carpathian section of the border, where it took up defensive positions. Meanwhile, the elite 1st Cavalry Division linked up with the 2nd Reserve Corps in the Pripyat area. The division distinguished itself during the retreat to Warsaw and was awarded the right to be called the 1st Hussar Division. Soon after this the entire corps was repatriated.

Romania's defection to the USSR in August 1944 exposed Hungary's southern borders. On September 4, the Hungarian government declared war on Romania. To obtain new formations, training units of infantry, armored, cavalry divisions and mountain brigades were combined into depot divisions or “Scythian” divisions. Despite the pompous name "division", they usually consisted of no more than a couple of battalions and batteries of artillery and soon, together with some formations from the 1st Army, were transferred to the 2nd Army (2nd Armored, 25th Combined, 27th light, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th and 9th “Scythian” divisions; 1st and 2nd mountain brigades, Zeckler militia units), which quickly moved into Eastern Transylvania .

The newly created 3rd Army (1st armored, “Scythian” cavalry, 20th mixed, 23rd reserve, 4th, 5th and 8th “Scythian” divisions) was transferred to Western Transylvania. She had to stop the Romanian and Soviet troops who began crossing the South Carpathian passes. The 3rd Army managed to create a defensive line along the Hungarian-Romanian border. In the Arad area, the 7th Assault Artillery Division destroyed 67 Soviet T-34 tanks.

The Soviet command tried to convince the commander of the 1st Army, Colonel General Belo Miklos von Dalnoky, to oppose the Germans, but he eventually decided to retreat to the west. Finding itself in a hopeless situation, the 2nd Army also retreated.

On September 23, 1944, Soviet troops entered Hungarian territory in the Battonyi area. On October 14, 1944, a Soviet ultimatum to Hungary followed with a demand to declare a truce within 48 hours, break all relations with Germany, begin active military operations against German troops, and also begin the withdrawal of its troops from the pre-war territory of Romania, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.

On October 15, 1944, M. Horthy accepted the terms of the ultimatum, but the Hungarian troops did not stop fighting. The Germans immediately arrested him and installed the leader of the ultranationalist Arrow Cross party, Ferenc Szálasi, at the head of the country, vowing to continue the war to a victorious end. The Hungarian army came more and more under the control of German generals. The corps structure of the army was destroyed, and the three active armies were reinforced by German military units.

Otto Skorzeny (1st from right) in Budapest after the completion of Operation Faustpatron. October 20, 1944

The German command agreed to the creation of several Hungarian SS infantry divisions: the 22nd SS Maria Theresa Volunteer Division, the 25th Hunyadi, the 26th Gombos and two others (which never were formed). During the Second World War, Hungary gave the largest number of volunteers to the SS troops. In March 1945, the XVII SS Army Corps was created, called “Hungarian”, since it included the majority of the Hungarian SS formations. The last battle (with American troops) of the corps took place on May 3, 1945.

Propaganda poster “Against all odds!”

In addition, the Germans decided to equip four new Hungarian divisions with modern weapons: Kossuth, Görgey, Petöfi and Klapka, from which only Kossuth was formed. The most effective new military formation turned out to be the elite parachute division “St. Laszlo” (Szent Laszlo), created on the basis of the parachute battalion.

The composition of the formed divisions was as follows:

"Kossuth": 101st, 102nd, 103rd infantry, 101st artillery regiments.

“Saint Laszlo”: 1st parachute battalion, 1st, 2nd elite infantry regiments, 1st, 2nd armored regiments, 1st, 2nd reconnaissance battalions, two river guard battalions, anti-aircraft division.

Modern German tanks and self-propelled artillery units were transferred to the Hungarian armored forces: 13 Tigers, 5 Panthers, 74 T-IVs and 75 Hetzer tank destroyers.

5th stage of the war against the USSR

On November 4, 1944, Soviet troops approached Budapest, but already on November 11, their offensive was bogged down as a result of fierce resistance from German and Hungarian troops.

At the end of December 1944, the Hungarian 1st Army retreated to Slovakia, the 2nd Army was disbanded and its units were transferred to the 3rd Army, stationed south of Lake Balaton, and the German 6th and 8th armies. occupying positions in Northern Hungary.

On December 26, Soviet troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts completed the encirclement of the Budapest group of German and Hungarian troops. Budapest was cut off, it was defended by a mixed German-Hungarian garrison, which consisted of the 1st Armored, 10th Mixed and 12th Reserve Divisions, the Bilnitzer assault artillery group (1st Armored Car, 6th, 8th , 9th and 10th Artillery Assault Battalions), anti-aircraft units and Iron Guard volunteers.

From January 2 to January 26, 1945, counterattacks by German and Hungarian troops followed, trying to relieve the encircled group in Budapest. In particular, on January 18, Hungarian troops launched an offensive between lakes Balaton and Velence and on January 22 occupied the city of Szekesfehervár.

On February 13, 1945, Budapest capitulated. Meanwhile, the bloodless 1st Army retreated to Moravia, where it occupied a defensive line that lasted until the end of the war.

On March 6, 1945, Hungarian and German troops launched an offensive in the area of ​​Lake Balaton, but on March 15, Soviet troops stopped it.

In mid-March 1945, after the failure of the German counteroffensive in the area of ​​Lake Balaton, the remnants of the 3rd Army turned west, and the 1st Hussar Division was destroyed near Budapest. By March 25, most of the remnants of the Hungarian 3rd Army were destroyed 50 kilometers west of Budapest. The remnants of the 2nd Armored, 27th Light, 9th and 23rd Reserve Divisions, as well as the 7th and 8th "Scythian" divisions surrendered to the Americans in Northern Austria, while the remaining units (including the " St. Laszlo") fought on the Austrian-Yugoslav border and only surrendered to British troops in May 1945.

During the battles for Budapest in the winter of 1945, Hungarian formations appeared as part of the Soviet army.

During the Second World War, Hungary lost about 300 thousand military personnel killed, and 513,766 people were captured.

FOREIGN MILITARY REVIEW No. 8/2002, pp. 18-21

GROUND TROOPS

Major S. KONONOV

The Hungarian Republic is an independent state. The area of ​​the territory is 93 thousand km2. The country's population (as of February 1, 2001) is 10,197 thousand people. Hungary borders Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, FRY, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria. .

The ground forces are the main branch of the country's armed forces. They are designed to conduct combat operations independently, in cooperation with the Air Force and Air Defense Forces as part of NATO Allied Forces groups, both on national territory and, in the case of fulfilling allied obligations, beyond its borders.

After Hungary joined the North Atlantic Alliance, taking into account the discrepancy between the level of combat capability and combat readiness of the national armed forces with modern NATO requirements, the country's leadership took measures to improve the military development of the state. To this end, in 2000 it developed a program for reforming the armed forces, including the ground forces. Its main provisions affecting the ground forces were aimed at improving military command and control bodies, changing the organizational structure of troops, relocating units and subunits, developing a communications and combat control system, etc. Great importance was also attached to increasing the level of combat training of troops, working out issues of practical interaction between the ground forces of Hungary and other NATO countries.

As a result of the reorganization carried out in 2001, on the basis of the main headquarters of the ground forces, an army command was formed (Szekesfehérvár, Fig. 1), subordinate directly to the chief of the general staff of the Hungarian Armed Forces. Institutions and units not intended for direct participation in hostilities were withdrawn from the ground forces and reassigned to two newly created commands: the mobilization and joint support and logistics command. As a result, the number of ground forces proper amounted to 13,000 military personnel (mobilization command - 7,000, joint support and logistics command - 3,600).

Currently, the ground forces include: five brigades - 5.25 and 62nd mechanized (MBR), 101st mixed artillery (SABR), 37th engineering (IBR);

three regiments - 1st mixed light (LSM), 5th anti-aircraft missile (ZRP) and 64th logistics support (PT); five separate battalions - 24th and 34th reconnaissance (RB, Fig. 2), 43rd communications (bns), 93rd chemical defense (bnkhz), 5th military police, as well as the 5th separate company electronic warfare (EW).

The main tactical formation of the ground forces is a mechanized brigade, the typical structure of which includes: headquarters, headquarters company, two mechanized and tank battalions, self-propelled artillery and anti-tank battalions, anti-aircraft missile battery, engineer battalion, logistics battalion, three companies (reconnaissance, communications and chemical protection) and a medical center. The brigade is capable of conducting combat operations both as part of an army corps and independently.

In accordance with the operational mission, formations and units of the ground forces were divided into reaction forces, main defensive forces and reinforcement forces.

Rice. 2. Military personnel of the reconnaissance battalion during exercises

The response force is intended to be primarily deployed in the interests of resolving crisis situations, ensuring the mobilization and operational deployment of the main defensive forces, as well as acting as part of the NATO response force. In addition, in peacetime, response forces can be used to eliminate the consequences of natural and man-made disasters. They are divided into immediate reaction forces (IRF) and rapid deployment forces (RDF). The response forces are staffed according to wartime staffing exclusively by regular military personnel and contract military personnel.

The basis of the SNR is the 1st Mixed Light Regiment (formed in 2000 on the basis of the 88th Rapid Reaction Battalion) with attached combat and logistics support units. They consist of one mechanized battalion from a mechanized brigade, as well as combat and logistics support units.

The main defensive forces include formations, units and subunits of ground forces that are in a lower combat readiness than the reaction forces and are deployed in wartime. Their main task is to participate (independently or jointly with Allied forces) in the first and subsequent defensive or offensive operations.

Reinforcement forces (reserve forces) are intended to make up for the losses of the active army and create an operational reserve. They will be based on the 15th reserve mechanized brigade (Szombathely), formed before or during the war on the basis of the training centers of the mobilization command. The reserve forces will also include institutions and logistics units under central command.

Rice. 3. BTR D-944, in service with the Hungarian Army

According to Hungarian military experts, in the event of a threat of a large-scale armed conflict, the number of ground forces personnel while maintaining the existing amount of weapons and military equipment (military and military equipment) can be increased three times. To ensure their full mobilization deployment, the necessary reserves of military equipment, military equipment, food, etc. were created in advance. The largest storage sites and warehouses include the following: a storage base for weapons and military equipment (Kalocha), armored vehicle warehouses ( Budapest), artillery weapons (Tapiosece), missile weapons (Nyirtelek), communications equipment (Nyiregyháza), chemical equipment (Budapest), as well as a storage base for ammunition (Pustavács) and materiel (Budapest).

Currently, according to foreign press data, the Hungarian Army is armed with 753 tanks (515 T-55 and 238 T-72), 490 BMP-1, more than 1,000 armored personnel carriers BTR-80 and D-944 (Fig. 3), about 300 towed howitzers (BG) D-20 of 152 mm caliber, 151 122-mm self-propelled howitzer "Gvozdika", 230 122-mm BG M-30, 56 MLRS BM-21, about 100 mortars of 120 mm caliber, more than 370 ATGMs, 45 Mistral air defense missile system.

The main part of the weapons and military equipment is outdated, but the command of the Hungarian army plans to begin modernizing it and replacing it with modern models only after 2006. This is due to insufficient funding for the armed forces and the limited capabilities of the Hungarian military industry, which, within the framework of the international division of labor existing in the Warsaw Treaty Organization, had a narrow specialization in the production of only radio-electronic equipment, some types of artillery weapons, ammunition, as well as components for armored vehicles.

The Hungarian military industry mainly includes assembly plants in the artillery, small arms, electronics and ammunition industries. The armored industry is represented by the Kurrus enterprise (Gedelle), which modernizes and repairs armored vehicles and small arms. At the same time, the country’s government has developed a long-term program that provides for a complete renewal of the army’s fleet of off-road trucks (it is planned to purchase for the armed forces more than 13,000 vehicles created by Hungarian designers of the Raba plant (Gyor).

The ground forces are recruited on a mixed principle with conscripts called up for compulsory military service, career military personnel and those serving on a contract basis. The period of active military service upon conscription is currently six months. Recruits initially enter one of three training centers (in the cities of Szabadsallas, Szombathely, Tapolca) of the mobilization command, where they undergo single military training for two months, and then are sent for further service directly to combat units.

Training of candidates for non-commissioned officers is carried out at the central military school of non-commissioned officers (Szentendre). It accepts civilian youth and persons who have completed compulsory military service, aged 18 to 30 years.

The main military educational institution in Hungary that trains career officers for the ground forces is the M. Zriny University of National Defense (Budapest), which has three main faculties (military science, military management and military technology) and three additional faculties (combined arms , aviation and air defense, military engineering).

Graduates of the main faculties of the National Defense University (UND) receive higher general and military education, a master's degree and an officer rank (primary or secondary). Before being assigned to the appropriate positions in the troops according to the profile of the training received, they undergo an internship (lasting from six to 12 months), after which the officer is considered to have the necessary knowledge. The period of subsequent service must be at least five years.

Graduates of additional faculties of the UNO receive higher general education with a bachelor's degree, secondary military education and primary officer rank. Before being appointed to a position, they also undergo an internship, and their period of service in the military must, as a rule, be at least three years. Having such professional training, officers can subsequently receive a master's degree by completing a two-year course of study at one of the main faculties of the UNO or at a foreign military educational institution. These diplomas are now recognized on an equal basis with diplomas from educational institutions in Western European countries.

The training program for special qualifications provides training at various courses at the faculties of the UNO of both career officers of the ground forces who have received professional military training, as well as specialists drafted into the Hungarian army or hired by the Ministry of Defense with a civilian education. It is carried out in stages, as a rule, before the appointment of officers to higher positions. Between stages there should be periods of military service lasting two to three years.

In recent years, the number of Hungarian officers studying in military educational institutions of NATO countries, primarily the USA, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, and France, has increased significantly.

The military-political leadership of Hungary pays considerable attention to increasing the level of professionalization of the army by increasing the number of junior officers, non-commissioned officers and persons serving on a contract basis. At the same time, the number of contract servicemen is planned to increase by 1.7 times by 2004.

According to the command of the Hungarian army, the new structure of the ground forces and the system of training military personnel meet modern requirements and allow them to fulfill the tasks set by the military-political leadership of the country and the North Atlantic Alliance.

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Armed forces of the Warsaw Pact countries. Hungarian People's Army. September 25th, 2017

Hello dears.
We continue our conversation with you about the armies of the Warsaw Pact. And I hope you find it interesting :-))
Let me remind you that last time we recalled the armed forces of Czechoslovakia. If anyone missed it, you can watch it here: . Well, or by the tag Army.
Today we’ll talk a little about the armed forces of the Hungarian People’s Republic. And I’ll be honest, for me they had a strange army.
Hungarians have always loved (and what is important, they knew how to fight). Apparently genetic memory. I believe that, apart from the Japanese, it was the Hungarians who were the most powerful and combat-ready ally of the 3rd Reich in World War II. And after the war, they simply could not forget how to fight. But despite the fact that the Hungarian People’s Republic was the most “Western” of the people’s democracies - a sort of showcase of the achievements of socialism with its blackjack and whores, bright shops and even Formula 1, under the gentle management of Janos Kadar, flourished (they even coined the term “goulash communism”) - they were never fully trusted.

J. Kadar

Perhaps it all comes back to 1956, when a powerful anti-government uprising took place in Hungary. There they removed Rakosi, who had been the “ruler,” and the regime was softened greatly, but there was no trust.

This also applied to the army, although the Hungarian armed forces, together with the SA troops, suppressed this uprising. But nevertheless....until 1990 there were more Soviet troops on the territory of the Hungarian People's Republic than Hungarian ones.

So, the armed forces of the Hungarian People's Republic were called the Hungarian People's Army (Magyar Néphadsereg).

They were in the second echelon of the Warsaw Pact Organization forces. In a possible military conflict, Hungary was supposed to act against Austria with the support of Soviet troops.

The Hungarian People's Army was divided into 2 types of troops:
Ground troops
Air Force and Air Defense.
The border guards belonged to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The army was headed by the Minister of Defense. One of the most famous, perhaps, was Army General Istvan Olah.

There were several military educational institutions in the country, the main and most important of which was the Miklós Zrinyi National Defense University.

Service life (since 1976) - 2 years.

The Ground Forces included tank crews, signalmen, artillery, chemists, good landing units and even small units of sailors. The ground forces in the 80s were divided into 2 armies.
The 5th Army (headquarters in Szehesfehérvár) consisted of:
7th Motorized Rifle Division (headquarters in Kiskunfelegyháza)
8th Motorized Rifle Division (headquarters in Zalaegerszeg)
9th Motorized Rifle Division (headquarters in Kaposvár)
11th Panzer Division (staff in Tata)


The 3rd Army (headquarters in Cegled) consisted of
4 motorized rifle divisions (headquarters in Gyöngyös)
15th Motorized Rifle Division (headquarters in Nyiregyháza)

The headquarters of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces was located in Veszprém and consisted of an air defense brigade (headquarters in Budapest) and 2 aviation divisions (headquarters in Veszprém and Miskolc).

The total strength of the Hungarian People's Army was about 103,000. The troops had 113 combat aircraft, 96 combat helicopters, 1,300 tanks, 2,200 armored personnel carriers, 27 artillery installations, 1,750 machine guns, etc. But you have to understand that the majority of their fleet was made up of old cars. Only 100 were new T-72s, and the rest were T-54A and T-55, plus a huge number of T-34-85s either mothballed or formally in active service.
Well, we already talked about the Hungarian copy of the AK here:


Until the military reform of the late 50s, Hungarian troops followed the uniforms and insignia of the Soviet Army. The only difference is that the red star was thinner and was located in a white circle on weapons and uniforms. Then a new uniform in green and brown was adopted, and the basic element of the twentieth century Hungarian military uniform, the horned field cap, returned. Soldiers and officers switched from long overcoats to quilted jackets with a fur collar.

It's funny that a private in Hungary was always called Honved, that is, defender, warrior. It was also the name of the famous football club, home to the great Puskas, Grosic, Kocsis and co :-))

Hungarian troops participated in almost all ATS exercises and also participated in the suppression of the Prague Spring of 1968.
And finally, as always, some interesting photos :-)

























To be continued...
Have a nice time of day

3. Royal Hungarian Army (Honved)

Infantry Division

3 infantry regiments and a regimental group with a total strength of 17 thousand people (statewide). Additional armament included 300 submachine guns, 108 light and 36 heavy machine guns, 18 50 mm mortars, 18 20 mm anti-tank rifles, 20 82 mm mortars, 20 43 mm anti-tank guns, 9 75 mm anti-tank guns. It also includes an artillery regiment of 2 batteries of 105 mm guns and 1 battery of 155 mm howitzers. Logistics and supply services are up to 75 percent non-mechanized.

Reserve division

It had weaker equipment than normal field troops, but similar composition and numbers. Reserve divisions were initially used as “light” divisions in Ukraine for garrison service (as well as carrying out punitive actions against partisans and civilians. – Ed.) and only later participated in hostilities. In the summer of 1944 they had 3 infantry regiments with weak artillery.

Field Auxiliary Division

In reality, it was the equivalent of an infantry brigade in terms of combat capabilities (about 5,500 people). Its personnel were transferred from the 3rd Reserve Division and supplemented with older military personnel. The artillery was not only weak, but also mostly outdated (most of the guns had taken part in the First World War!).

Tank division

1 tank regiment, 1 motorized rifle regiment of two battalions, 1 separate tank battalion, 1 anti-tank division, 1 motorized artillery regiment, 1 engineer battalion and 1 reconnaissance company. Equipped with T-III and T-V tanks (German production) and Turan type tanks with 40 mm and 75 mm guns.

Cavalry Division (Hussars)

Represented the elite of the armed forces. It consisted of 3 cavalry regiments, 1 motorcycle battalion, 1 tank battalion, 2 artillery divisions, 1 anti-aircraft artillery division, 1 sapper company and reconnaissance company.