Hungarian armoured units during the Second World War

Book excerpt: The actions of German armored forces during World War II are well known. What has not yet been recounted as accurately are the actions of the armored forces of Germany’s Allies. While it is true that their performance was generally quite secondary to what the forces of the German Reich were able to afford, the actions of the Hungarian armored forces, which not only managed to organize their own armored forces in substantial autonomy, but also developed their own military industry capable of supplying weapons and equipment to their troops, should be emphasized. This book will thus reveal a little-known page of Hungary’s participation in World War II through the use of superb photographs provided by the author and his contributors. This story will take the reader from the beginning of the USSR campaign and consequent conquest of large Soviet territories, and then end with the bloody battles to prevent the advance of the Soviet and Romanian counteroffensive in Hungary (the siege of Budapest) and the last battles in Austrian and Slovenian territory before the unconditional surrender of the army. The author highlights the courage of these men and the terrible fate that would befall the Hungarian armored forces when the Soviet army invaded Hungary.