Royal Hungarian Honvéd
The Royal Hungarian Honvéd (Hungarian: Magyar Királyi Honvédség) or Royal Hungarian Landwehr (German: königlich ungarische Landwehr),[1][2][3] commonly known as the Honvéd, was one of four armed forces of the armed forces (Bewaffnete Macht or Wehrmacht) of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. The others were its counterpart the Austrian Landwehr, the Common Army and the Imperial and Royal Navy.
History
The word honvéd in Hungarian (sometimes "honved" in English sources[4][5][6]) means "defender of the fatherland" and first appeared during the 1848 revolutions. At that time it was the name given to volunteers who were engaged for several weeks or a gyözelemig (i.e. "until victory") and sent to fight the Serbs and Croats. Subsequently, the bulk of the fighting was against the Empire of Austria, whereupon a number of regular imperial regiments went over to the Hungarian side. Some volunteers were attached to these existing regiments and some joined new regular regiments. Consequently, the term honvéd was used to refer to all members of the Hungarian land forces in 1848-49. The Honvéd was finally defeated by Austria with Russian assistance.
When the armed forces were re-established following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, the Landwehr of the so-called Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen, received the Hungarian name Honvédség (pronounced "hon-véd-shég", with the é as in French), literally "homeland defence" and, in practice, a territorial army.
On 21 May 1893 the Honvéd Memorial was unveiled in Budapest in commemoration of the deeds of the Hungarian national army during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848-49. From 1919 to 1945, Honvéd was also a name given to the Royal Hungarian Army.
Structure
The Hungarian Landwehr consisted of territorial units from the Hungarian half of the Empire (called Transleithania or the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen. These territories included what is present-day Hungary, Slovakia (so-called Upper Hungary, Hungarian: Felvidék) and parts of the present-day countries of Romania, including Transylvania and Banat, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia (Prekmurje/Üpper Mur) and Austria (Burgenland).
Usually the term Landwehr implies units of limited fighting power. This was not the case in the Hungarian Honvéd. Although weaker in numbers - there were only three battalions per infantry regiment insteald of the usual four in the Common Army - the troops were regular combat soldiers.
The Royal Hungarian Honvéd was divided into the Hungarian Honvéd and the Croatian-Slavonian Honvéd (or Landwehr). The Croatian–Hungarian Settlement of 1868 granted the Croats the right to introduce Croatian as their working and command language within their units. In addition, the Croatian-Slavonian Honved units were subordinated to the Ban in Agram and not to the National Defence Minister in Budapest.
The training of Hungarian Honvéd officers was carried out in the Ludovica Military Academy in Budapest.
Landwehr districts
- I Landwehr District – Budapest
- M.kir. I budapesti honvéd kerületi parancsnokság
- II Landwehr District – Szeged
- M.kir. II szegedi honvéd kerületi parancsnokság
- III Landwehr District – Kassa (Kaschau; now Košice, Slovakia)
- M.kir. II kassai honvéd kerületi parancsnokság
- IV Landwehr District – Pozsony (Pressburg; now Bratislava, Slovakia)
- M.kir. IV pozsonyi honvéd kerületi parancsnokság
- V Landwehr District – Kolozsvár (Klausenburg, now Cluj-Napoca, Romania)
- M.kir. V kolozsvári honvéd kerületi parancsnokság
- VI Landwehr District – Zagreb (Agram)
- M.kir. VI zágrábi horvát-szlavon kerületi parancsnokság
Formations and units of the Royal Hungarian Honvéd
The Royal Hungarian Honvéd was the standing army of Hungary. A part of the Honvéd was the Royal Croatian Home Guard (Kraljevsko hrvatsko domobranstvo), which consisted of 1 infantry division (out of 7 in the Honvéd) and 1 cavalry regiment (out of 10 in the Honvéd). Its order of battle at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 was as follows:
- 6 Landwehr districts (Distrikte)
- 2 infantry divisions (Infanterie Truppendivisionen)
- 2 cavalry divisions (Kavallerie Truppendivisionen)
- 4 infantry brigades (Infanteriebrigaden)
- 12 independent infantry brigades
- 4 cavalry brigades (Kavalleriebrigaden)
- 32 infantry regiments (Infanterie-Regimenter)
- 10 regiments of hussars (Husaren-Regimenter)
- 8 field artillery regiments (Feldkanonen Regimenter)
- 1 horse artillery battalion (Reitende Artillerie Abteilung)
The infantry regiments of the k.u.k. army had four battalions each; the infantry regiments of the k.k. and k.u. Landwehr had three battalions each, except the 3rd Regiment of the Tiroler Landesschützen (Tyrolian State Rifles), that had also four battailons.
In 1915, units that had nicknames or honorific titles lost them by order of the War Ministry. Thereafter units were designated only by number. For instance, the k.u.k. Infanterie-Regiment (Hoch und Deutschmeister) Nr. 4 became Infanterie-Regiment No. 4 (4th Infantry Regiment).
All details relate to the year 1914:
Infantry divisions
- 20th Honved Infantry Division – Nagyvárad (Großwardein)
- Commander: Feldmarschalleutnant Friedrich von Csanády
- 39th Honved Infantry Brigade – Nagyvárad
- Commander: Major General Koloman Patzák
- 40th Honved Infantry Brigade – Szatmárnémeti (Sathmar)
- Commanding Officer: Colonel Béla Tarnáky
- 41st Honved Infantry Division – Budapest
- Commander: Feldmarschalleutnant Johann Nikić
- 81st Honved Infantry Brigade – Budapest
- Commander: Major General Eugen Perneczky
- 82nd Honved Infantry Brigade – Veszprém (Wesprim)
- Commander: Major General Rudolf Schamschula
Independent infantry brigades
- 45th Honved Infantry Brigade – Szeged
- Commander: Major General Rudolf Seide
- 46th Honved Infantry Brigade – Lugos
- Commander: Major General Lehel Festl
- 73rd Honved Infantry Brigade – Pozsony
- Commanding Officer: Colonel Paul von Nagy
- 74th Honved Infantry Brigade – Nyitra
- Commander: Major General Franz Cvrček
- 75th Honved Infantry Brigade – Kolozsvár
- Commander: Major General Karl Lippner von Nagyszentmiklós
- 76th Honved Infantry Brigade – Nagyszeben
- Commanding Officer: Colonel Adalbert Benke von Tardoskedd
- 77th Honved Infantry Brigade – Kassa
- Commanding Officer: Colonel Desiderius Molnár von Péterfalva
- 78th Honved Infantry Brigade – Miskolc
- Commander: Major General Josef Foglár
- 79th Honved Infantry Brigade – Budapest
- Commander: Major General Koloman Tabajdi
- 80th Honved Infantry Brigade – Pécs
- Commanding Officer: Colonel Johann Háber
- 83rd Honved Infantry Brigade – Agram
- Commander: Major General Nikolaus Ištvanović von Ivanska
- 84th Honved Infantry Brigade – Osijek
- Commanding Officer: Colonel Daniel Kolak
Cavalry divisions
- 5th Honved Cavalry Division Budapest
- Commander: Feldmarschalleutnant Ernst Anton von Froreich-Szábo
- 19th Honved Cavalry Brigade – Budapest
- Commander: Major General Ferdinand Graf von Bissingen und Nippenburg
- 23rd Honved Cavalry Brigade – Zalaegerszeg
- Commanding Officer: Colonel Baron Colbert Zech
- 11th Honved Cavalry Division – Debreczen
- Commander: Major General Julius Freiherr Nagy von Töbör-Éthe
- 22nd Landwehr Cavalry Brigade – Szeged
- Commanding Officer: Colonel Karl Czitó
- 24th Landwehr Cavalry Brigade – Kassa
- Commanding Officer: Colonel Ladislaus Jóny von Jamnik
Infantry regiments
| I. | II. |
|---|---|
|
|
Cavalry regiments
- 1st Budapest Honved Hussars
- 19th Honved Cavalry Brigade – 5th Honved Cavalry Division
- Commanding Officer: Colonel Colbert Zech von Deybach Freiherr von Hart und Sulz – Debachi Zech Colbert harti és sulzi báró, ezredes
- 2nd Debrecen Honved Hussars
- 22nd Honved Cavalry Brigade – 11th Honved Cavalry Division
- Commanding Officer: Lieutenant Colonel Johann Flór – Flór János alezredes
- 3rd Szeged Honved Hussars’’’
- 22nd Honved Cavalry Brigade – 11th[7] Honved Cavalry Division
- Commanding Officer: Lieutenant Colonel Árpád Cserépy von Kisruszka – Kisruszkai Cserépy Árpád alezredes
- 4th Szabadka Honved Hussars
- I and II Sqns, 23rd Honved Infantry Division
- III and IV Sqns, 20th Honved Infantry Division
- V and VI Sqns, 41st Honved Infantry Division
- Commanding Officer: Lieutenant Colonel Nikolaus Jankovich von Jeszenicze – Jeszeniczai Jankovich Miklós alezredes
- 5th Kassa Honved Hussars
- 24th Honved Cavalry Brigade – 11th Honved Cavalry Division
- Commanding Officer: Colonel Paul Hegedüs – Hegedüs Pál ezredes
- 6th Zalaegerszeg Honved Hussars
- 23rd Honved Cavalry Brigade – 5th Honved Cavalry Division
- Commanding Officer: Lieutenant Colonel Ladislaus Forster von Szenterzsébet – Szenterzsébeti Forster László alezredes
- 7th Pápa Honved Hussars
- 23rd Honved Cavalry Brigade – 5th Honved Cavalry Division
- Commanding Officer: Colonel Johann Graf Lubienski – Gróf Lubienski János ezredes
- Pécs Honved Hussars 8
- 19th Honved Cavalry Brigade – 5th Honved Cavalry Division
- Commanding Officer: Lieutenant Colonel Alexius Thege von Konkoly – Konkoly Thege Elek alezredes
- 9th Maros-Vásárhely Honved Hussars
- 24th Honved Cavalry Brigade -1st Honved Cavalry Division
- Commanding Officer: Colonel Koloman Géczy von Garamszeg – Garamszegi Géczy Kálmán ezredes
- 10th Varazdin Honved Hussars
- I and II Sqns, 36th Honved Infantry Division
- III and IV Sqns, 42nd Honved Infantry Division
- V and VI Sqns, 13th Honved Infantrybrigade
- Commanding Officer: Lieutenant Colonel Alois Hauer – Hauer Alajos alezredes
Field artillery regiments
- 1st Regiment of Artillery – 1. honvéd tábori ágyúsezred
- Garrison: Budapest – 4th Honved Infantry Division – I Landwehr District
- formed: 1913
- Commanding Officer: Colonel Anton Hellebronth von Tiszabeö – Tiszabeöi Hellebronth Antal ezredes
- 2nd Regiment of Field Artillery – 2 honvéd tábori ágyúsezred
- Garrison: Nagyszeben – 23rd Honved Infantry Division – V Landwehr District
- formed: 1914
- Commanding Officer: Lieutenant Colonel Ladislaus Thaisz – Thaisz Lázló alezredes
- 3rd Regiment of Field Artillery – 3 honvéd tábori ágyúsezred
- Garrison: Kassa – 39th Honved Infantry Division – III Landwehr District
- formed: 1914
- Commanding Officer: Lieutenant Colonel Heinrich Loidin – Loidin Henrik alezredes
- 4th Regiment of Field Artillery – 4 honvéd tábori ágyúsezred
- Garrison: Nyitra – 37th Honved Infantry Division – IV Landwehr District
- formed: 1914
- Commanding Officer: Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Mattanovich – Mattanovich Sándor alezredes
- 5th Regiment of Field Artillery – 5 honvéd tábori ágyúsezred
- Garrison: Maros-Vásarhely – 38th Honved Infantry Division – V Landwehr District
- formed: 1914
- Commanding Officer: Lieutenant Colonel Egon Stráner – Sztráner Jenő alezredes
- 6th Regiment of Field Artillery – 6 honvéd tábori ágyúsezred
- Garrison: Agram – 42nd Honved Infantry Division – VI Landwehr District
- formed: 1914
- Commanding Officer: Lieutenant Colonel Rudolf Sekulić – Sekulić Rezső alezredes
- 7th Regiment of Field Artillery – 7 honvéd tábori ágyúsezred
- Garrison: Hajmaskér – 41st Honved Infantry Division – VII Landwehr District
- formed: 1914
- Commanding Officer: Lieutenant Colonel Gustav Kapp – Capp Gusztáv alzredes
- 8th Regiment of Field Artillery – 8th honvéd tábori ágyúsezred
- Garrison: Hajmaskér – 20th Honved Infantry Division – II Landwehr District
- formed: 1914
- Commanding Officer: Colonel Albert Pohl – Pohl Albert ezredes
- 1st Honved Horse Artillery Division – honvéd lovastüzér osztály
- Garrison: Szeged – 11th Honved Cavalry Division – II Landwehr District
- formed: 1914
Museum coverage
The history of Austro-Hungarian forces is documented in detail in the Military History Museum in Vienna, which was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I as the Imperial-Royal Court Armaments Museum (k.k. Hofwaffenmuseum). In a special display cabinet in Hall V (the Franz Joseph Hall) of the museum, several uniforms of the Imperial Royal Landwehr are displayed, a relief on the rear of the cabinet shows the territories from which the Hungarian Landwehr and the Imperial Royal Landwehr recruited.[8]
References
- ↑ Austro-Hungarian Infantry, Royal Hungarian Landwehr (Honvéd) section, at www.austro-hungarian-army.co.uk. Accessed on 18 Jul 2013
- ↑ Steed, Henry Wickham; Phillips, Walter Alison and Hannay, David (1914). A Short History of Austria-Hungary and Poland, Encyclopaedia Britannica Company.
- ↑ Ortner, M. C. and Artlieb, Erich (2003). With Drawn Sword: Austro-Hungarian Edged Weapons from 1848 to 1918. Verlag Militaria.
- ↑ Tucker, Spencer C. (2005). World War One, Volume 1, p. 1053.
- ↑ League of Nations (1938). Armaments yearbook; general and statistical information, League of Nations publications. p. 426.
- ↑ JPRS Report: East Europe, Issues 23-31, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, 1992, p. 18.
- ↑ "The Hungarian Landwehr (Honvéd) Cavalry as at August 1914". Retrieved 17 August 2014.
- ↑ Johann Christoph Allmayer-Beck: Das Heeresgeschichtliche Museum Wien. Saal VI - Die k.(u.)k. Armee von 1867-1914, Vienna, 1989, p. 25.
Literature and sources
- Allmayer-Beck, Johann Christoph and Lessing, Erich (1974). Die K.u.k. Armee. 1848–1918 ("The Imperial and Royal Army 1848-1918"), Verlag Bertelsmann, Munich, 1974, ISBN 3-570-07287-8.
- k.u.k. Kriegsministerium Dislokation und Einteilung des k.u.k Heeres, der k.u.k. Kriegsmarine, der k.k. Landwehr und der k.u. Landwehr ("Location and Organization of the k.u.k. Army, the k.u.k. Navy, the k.k. Landwehr and the k.u. Landwehr") in Seidel's kleines Armeeschema – published by Seidel & Sohn, Vienna, 1914
- Rest, Stefan, Ortner, M. Christian and Ilmig, Thomas (2002). Des Kaisers Rock im 1. Weltkrieg ("The Emperor's Coat in the First World War"). Verlag Militaria, Vienna. ISBN 978-3950164206
- k.u.k. Kriegsministerium (1911/12). Adjustierungsvorschrift für das k.u.k. Heer, die k.k. Landwehr, die k.u. Landwehr, die verbundenen Einrichtungen und das Korps der Militärbeamten ("Dress Regulations for the k.u.k. Army, the k.k. Landwehr, the k.u. Landwehr, the Associated Organizations and the Corps of Military Officials"), Vienna.
External links
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