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WWI - CAUSES AND POSITION OF HUNGARY IN DUAL MONARCHY
THE TRIANON TREATY AND ITS EFFECTS
REVISIONISM - THE PARTIAL RETURN OF HUNGARIAN TERRITORIES
WWII -CAUSES: HUNGARY'S ROLE; EFFECTS OF CASABLANCA, TEHERAN AND YALTA
PARIS TREATY - THE "COLDWAR" YEARS
CAUSES OF THE 1956 REVOLUTION/FREEDOMFIGHT
SUMMARIES OF MAJOR WWII HUNGARIAN BATTLES
HEROIC ACTS.
S/Sgt Antal Hagen (Inf) - Facing a T-34 Tank!
On February 3, 1943, a Hungarian infantry column in the village of Babino (by the Don River) was suddenly attacked from the rear by a Soviet battle-tank (T-34). When this tank got near S/Sgt Hagen, he crawled atop the armored vehicle, tore open the turret hatch and tossed in a hand-grenade. The tank came to an abrupt halt and the crew attempted to escape from inside. The courageous Hagen jumped down after them. A few seconds later and a few steps from the disabled, burning tank, Hagen was hit by rifle fire and collapsed. A few hours later, at the First Aid Station, he succumbed of his wounds. His deed had saved many of his comrades who were without effective anit-tank weapons.
PFC Laszlo Nagy (Art) - An Encircled Artillery FOP (Forward Observation Post)
PFC Nagy was part of an artillery observer detail in a location between Storoshevoje- Uryw at the Don River, in January 1943. His position was under very heavy artillery and infantry fire as part of the heavy Soviet attack coming from the Uryw bridgehead. Ignoring the dangers, Nagy had steadfastly supported his comrades in the FOP even then, when their position was completely surrounded. When the detail commander decided to break out of this encirclement, PFC Nagy volunteered to recon the best spot for this withdrawal. During the attempt, the detail commander was attacked by eight enemy soldiers which Nagy noticed; with well aimed hand grenades, he disabled his commander’s attackers. The FOP’s long stand in their positions prior to their break-out allowed successful artillery fire on the enemy and thus aided in the mission of the infantry regiment to which this FOP was attached. PFC Nagy’s heroic actions saved not only his commander’s life, but aided in the successful break-out action.
Sgt. I. Feri (Inf) – A Forced Recon Mission
On January 17, 1943, Sgt. Feri received orders to take his reinforced squad and reconnoiter the small depression in the area between the villages of Kochatovka and Semidesjatzkoja (near the Don River). As he lead his unit eastward into the depression, he suddenly received strong infantry fire from behind a number of hay-bales. The sergeant engaged the enemy frontally with half his squad, while the other half, supported by the attached grenade-launcher and BAR teams, maneuvered to envelope the enemy positions. Moving closer Feri noticed that he was facing some 100 enemy soldiers with only his 12 men! However, this did not deter him; serving as an example to his men, he charged the enemy and lead with a hand-grenade attack upon their positions. The enemy scattered and fled their position. Sgt. Feri’s unit captured several marked maps, orders, submachineguns, rifles and ammunition. His excellent leadership, bravery and his men’s trust in him proved that one can even prevail against vastly superior numbers.
Captain Istvan Szakonyi (Air Force) – How a Bombed-out Bridge Brought 60,000 Prisoners.
In mid-summer 1941, when Hungarian mechanized forces first joined the war against Bolshevism, the small, but superbly trained Hungarian Air Force was an integral part of the campaign in the East-Galicia (North-east Ukraine) area.
Capt.Szakonyi, and his crew led two other tactical bombers on a mission to bomb the major road-bridge over the River Bug near the city of Nikolajev. His flight did not consist of dive-bombers; nevertheless, from a height of 1800 meters (approx. 5,000 feet), using his standard aiming devices, Szakonyi’s flight succeeded in dropping the bridge into the river. During this attack his flight was under heavy enemy anti-aircraft fire as well as a large number of enemy fighters; he and his unit defended itself so well that the above bombing result was achieved and in addition, three enemy fighters were also shot down. The superb result brought with it that some 60,000 Soviet troops were unable to complete their withdrawal across the Bug river and could not avoid becoming Prisoners of War a short time later.
Cpl. Karoly Molnar (Inf) – Another Recon Mission
On January 26, 1943, at 2000 hours, Cpl. Molnar received orders to take his squad on a recon mission to find out what Soviet strength was – or was not – in the nearby village of Andreyevka (near the Don River). As he and his men neared the village stealthily he noticed that at the first house there was a Soviet LP (listening post). He left his men behind and crawled forward by himself to find out what was before them. He realized that the enemy post contained a machinegun in fire-ready position, with two soldiers in the foxhole. Crawling closer he pulled the pin on a hand-grenade and tossed it into the machinegun nest, disabling the enemy immediately. The grenade explosion brought a large number of enemy soldiers out of the nearby houses, who opened fire at Molnar and his advancing recon element. Molnar shouted to his men to take cover and stop their advance, while he turned the captured machinegun at the attacking Russians and opened fire. After he figured that his squad withdrew far enough to be out of danger, Molnar started his own retreat – bringing the captured machinegun with him. His leadership and brave actions was judged to be exemplary by his superiors.
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