The Hungarian Honvéd Army

As a result of the Austro-Hungarian settlement, after 1868 the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s armed forces were made up of three separate parts: alongside the k. u. k. Army, two separate territorial armies were formed, one for Austria and one for Hungary. By the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the Royal Hungarian Territorial Army, known as the ‘Honvéd’, had developed, in virtually every branch of arms, into a veritable Hungarian miniature version of the Common Army. The Honvéd Army, with its motto, ‘For King and Fatherland’, embraced the Hungarian soldierly traditions that had evolved from the revolution of 1848, the Napoleonic Wars and the great hussar legends. This book details the development of the small ‘second line’ Hungarian army from its formation to the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918; its historical background and political significance, as well as its structure, uniforms and equipment. The subtle nuances and differences compared with the uniforms of the k. u. k. Army are illustrated by many items of headgear, uniform and equipment. Contemporary photographs, many of them never before published, and colour photographs of items from the collections of the Museum of Military History in Budapest, and a number of private collections, present a vivid and colourful picture of the lives and work of the ‘Honvéd’.