Hungarian People's Army
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The Hungarian People's Army (, MN) or the HPA was the military of the
Hungarian People's Republic The Hungarian People's Republic (HPR) was a landlocked country in Central Europe from its formation on 20 August 1949 until the establishment of the current Hungary, Republic of Hungary on 23 October 1989. It was a professed Communist_state# ...
and the armed branch of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party from 1951 to 1990. It only saw combat in a foreign country once during its existence, which was assisting the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
in crushing the
Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...
. It maintained close ties to the
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...
along with other
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
countries. It dissolved in 1989 and retained its current form through the Hungarian Defence Forces.


History


Early years

Soviet influence over the Hungarian armed forces began to rapidly increase starting in November 1948, "...when hundreds of Soviet military "advisers" were assigned to the Hungarian army from the top all the way down to the regimental level. Although theoretically acting only as advisers, they influenced all important decisions. Beginning in December 1948, thousands of Hungarians began attending Soviet military and political academies to gain technical expertise and political indoctrination. Hungarian generals were sent to Soviet general staff schools." After the 1948 creation of the HPA the allies and the Soviet Union permitted it to have a 65,000 strong Army and an Air Force with 5,000 personnel and 90 aircraft. The first Minister of Defence
Mihály Farkas Mihály Farkas (born Hermann Lőwy; 18 July 1904 – 6 December 1965) was a Hungary, Hungarian Communist politician who served as Minister of Defence (Hungary), Minister of National Defense of the Hungarian People's Republic. Biography He ...
completely based the HPA off
Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...
until the death of
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
in 1953. The HPA mimicked the Soviet Army's Political commissar model, In which party members could teach the ideas of
Marxism–Leninism Marxism–Leninism () is a communist ideology that became the largest faction of the History of communism, communist movement in the world in the years following the October Revolution. It was the predominant ideology of most communist gov ...
to soldiers of the HPA. After Stalin's death,
de-Stalinization De-Stalinization () comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and Khrushchev Thaw, the thaw brought about by ascension of Nik ...
swept through the HPA quickly leading to the resignation of Farkas as Minister of Defence.


1956 revolution and aftermath

During the
Hungarian revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...
, the People's Army was deployed at a minimum. During this period, the Soviet Army invaded Hungary due to the revolution which was taking place. As a result, the Soviets took away most of the HPA's equipment, and dismantled the Air Force. In 1959 they began rebuilding the HPA and the new Hungarian leader
János Kádár János József Kádár (; ; né Czermanik; 26 May 1912 – 6 July 1989) was a Hungarian Communist leader and the General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, a position he held for 32 years. Declining health led to his retireme ...
, asked for 200,000 Soviet troops from the Southern Group of Forces to stay in the country, which led to the government to rely more on the Soviets leading to the deterioration of the HPA.


Role in the invasion of Czechoslovakia

In 1968, the Soviet Union and four other member states of the Warsaw Pact, building on the doctrine of "limited sovereignty", invaded Czechoslovakia in gross violation of the principle of non-interference in internal affairs (Article 2(7), Chapter I of the United Nations Charter). Bypassing the Parliament, the Hungarian party and the government decided to take part. The designated troops were largely those of 8th Motor Rifle Division. The Hungarian military units were ordered on July 27, 1968, at 3 o'clock in the morning, to be fully operational and to carry out the mobilization of the reservists. The troops occupied Aszód and Rétság on 28 July, and their prepared waiting areas in the area between, and were prepared to carry out the task here. Out of the mobilised Hungarian personnel, four were killed in accidents. The Danube Flotilla was incorporated into the Ground Forces in 1968.


Reorganization and modernization

In the late 1970s, the top political leadership demanded that the military leadership propose an organizational structure better suited to the size, geographical location, position in the Warsaw Pact, and changes in armaments and technology. The aim was to create an army that was better suited to the size and military geographical position of Hungary smaller than the existing one, and with less but more modern equipment. At the end of 1984, General Lajos Czinege was retired. The plans, drawn up in consultation with the Commander-in-Chief of the Joint Armed Forces, provided for substantial changes in both forces, the implementation of which would begin in 1985. This was the so-called "RUBIN task", which was in all respects a modernization and reorganization policy that aimed to: * continue the Hungarian commitments to the Warsaw Pact * provide the HPA with modern and advanced equipment * adapt the military doctrinal practices to the changing times This policy eliminated the division level organization in both forces, and thus, four corps were created, three land forces and one for domestic air defence, replacing eight divisions. The Air Defence and Aviation Command was established to provide domestic air defence. On the basis of the disbanded 1st Home Air Defence Army Command and the two Air Force Divisions, the 1st Hungarian Air Defence Corps Command was established in
Veszprém Veszprém (; , , , ) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county of the same name. Etymology The city's name derives ...
, incorporating the newly formed brigades of Hungarian Air Defence (air-missile and radio-technical units). As a result of the replacement of reconnaissance aircraft with more modern ones, an independent squadron was organised on the basis of personnel of the 101st reconnaissance aircraft regiment. Transport and combat helicopters were organised into regiment-level units. For ground troops, although the army corps command level ( 5th Army Command) and army corps direct-reporting troops remained unchanged, an entirely new structure emerged with the abolition of divisions and many of the regiments and the introduction of NATO styled brigade organizations, a first in the Warsaw Pact. This meant that the 1st Mechanized Corps was set up in Tata and the 2nd Mechanized Corps in
Kaposvár Kaposvár (; also known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in southwestern Hungary, south of Lake Balaton. It is one of the leading cities of Transdanubia, the capital of Somogy County, and the seat of the Kaposvár District and th ...
. The 3rd Corps, which had been independent in Cegléd until then, was subordinated to the 5th Army Command. Each land forces corps, by 1988, included five brigades (infantry and armored) organized into a brigade HQ and the combat, combat support and service battalions and/or companies under the brigade framework. In 1981 Danube Flotilla received six AM type modern minesweepers, and by 1988 it consisted of 700 men and eighty-two vessels, including ten Nestin MSI (riverine) boats. During wartime its chief functions would have been to clear the
Danube River The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...
and
Tisza River The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa (see below) is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. It was once called "the most Hungarian river" because it used to flow entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national bo ...
of mines, and, in addition, to assist the Hungarian Ground Forces and other Warsaw Pact armies to successfully transport their men and its materiel across rivers.


End of the HPA

Soviet troops relaxed their control during the era of
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
, and Hungary later became a Democratic
Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
. As it moved on from socialism the HPA was converted into the new model, officially dissolving the HPA and becoming the new
Hungarian Defence Force The Hungarian Defence Forces (, ) is the national armed forces, defence force of Hungary. Since 2007, the Hungarian Armed Forces has been under a unified command structure. The Ministry of Defence maintains political and civil control over the ar ...
.


Structure

The HPA included the Hungarian Ground Forces and the Air and Air Defence Forces. In the early 1980s, it was estimated that the ground forces accounted for 90 percent of the HPA. By 1 July 1986, the
International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four co ...
estimated that the Ground Forces and the Danube Flotilla had 83,000 personnel (including 50,000 conscripts), and the Air Forces 22,000 (including 8,000 conscripts) for a total of 105,000 personnel. Four years later, a less precise 1989 manpower estimate was approximately 100,000, of which about 64,000 were conscripts. In 1963 the Ground Forces were organised into: * 5th Army at
Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...
** 7th Motor Rifle Division at
Kiskunfélegyháza Kiskunfélegyháza () is a city in Bács-Kiskun County, Hungary. Geography Kiskunfélegyháza is located in the middle of the Great Hungarian Plain, southeast from Budapest. M5 motorway, Highway 5, 451, Budapest–Cegléd–Szeged railway line ...
** 8th Motor Rifle Division at
Zalaegerszeg Zalaegerszeg (; ; ; ) is the administrative center of Zala County, Zala county in western Hungary. Location Zalaegerszeg lies on the banks of the Zala River, close to the Slovenian and Austrian borders, and west-southwest of Budapest by road. Hi ...
** 9th Motor Rifle Division at
Kaposvár Kaposvár (; also known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in southwestern Hungary, south of Lake Balaton. It is one of the leading cities of Transdanubia, the capital of Somogy County, and the seat of the Kaposvár District and th ...
** 11th Tank Division at Tata ** 34th Special Reconnaissance Battalion at
Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...
* 3rd Army Corps at
Cegléd Cegléd (; ) is a city in Pest County, Pest county, Hungary, approximately southeast of the Hungarian capital, Budapest. Name The name of the town is of disputed origin. The name may be derived from the word "szeglet" (meaning "corner") due to i ...
** 4th Motor Rifle Division at
Gyöngyös Gyöngyös is a town in Heves County, Hungary, beside of the Gyöngyös creek, under the Mátra mountain ranges. As of 2022 census, it has a population of 27,957 (see Demographics). The town is located 8.4 km from the M3 motorway and 80.8 km ...
** 15th Motor Rifle Division at
Nyíregyháza Nyíregyháza (, ) is a city with county rights in northeastern Hungary and the county capital of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. With a population of 118,001, it is the seventh-largest city in Hungary and the second largest in the Northern Great ...
Tactical Aviation Command at
Veszprém Veszprém (; , , , ) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county of the same name. Etymology The city's name derives ...
(later relocated to Börgönd) * 101st Reconnaissance Regiment at
Szolnok Szolnok (; also known by #Name and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian ...
(relocated to Taszár in 1984 as a reconnaissance squadron) * 87th Attack Helicopter Regiment at
Szentkirályszabadja Szentkirályszabadja is a village in Veszprém (county), Veszprém county, Hungary. For many years it was the home of the 87th Bakony Combat Helicopter Regiment of the Land Command (Hungary), 5th Army, Hungarian People's Army.https://dailynewshung ...
(upgraded to brigade in 1987) * 89th Composite Air Transport Regiment at
Szolnok Szolnok (; also known by #Name and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian ...
(formed in 1984 as the 101st Reconnaissance regiment vacated the air base) * 90th Command Support and Courier Helicopter Regiment at Börgönd * 93rd Composite Air Squadron at
Tököl Tököl () is a town in Pest County, Hungary. Demography The majority of residents are Hungarians, with a Croatian minority of Bunjevci or Raci. Hungarian Uprising An Budapest-Tököl airfield (47 20 35 N / 18 59 20 E) was built during World ...
1st Homeland Air Defence Army Command at
Veszprém Veszprém (; , , , ) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county of the same name. Etymology The city's name derives ...
* 1st Air Defence Division at
Veszprém Veszprém (; , , , ) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county of the same name. Etymology The city's name derives ...
** 47th Fighter Regiment at Pápa ** 31st Fighter Regiment at Taszár ** 11th Air-defence Artillery Brigade at
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
, after 1977
Érd Érd (; ; , ) is a town in Pest County, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary. It is a city with county rights. History The area has been inhabited since ancient times. Archaeological findings indicate that prehistoric humans lived here 50,000 year ...
** 104th Air-defence Artillery Regiment Nagytarcsa after
Szabadszállás Szabadszállás is a small town in Bács-Kiskun county, Hungary, 80 kilometres south of Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the ...
** 45th Radiotechnical Warning Regiment at Taszár * 2nd Air Defence Division at
Miskolc Miskolc ( , ; ; Czech language, Czech and ; ; ; ) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 as of 1 January 2014, Miskolc is the List of cities and towns in Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, ...
** 59th Fighter Regiment at
Kecskemét Kecskemét ( ) is a city with county rights in central Hungary. It is the List of cities and towns of Hungary, eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun County, Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the ca ...
** 105th Air-defence Artillery Regiment at
Miskolc Miskolc ( , ; ; Czech language, Czech and ; ; ; ) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 as of 1 January 2014, Miskolc is the List of cities and towns in Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, ...
** 54th Radiotechnical Warning Regiment at
Kecskemét Kecskemét ( ) is a city with county rights in central Hungary. It is the List of cities and towns of Hungary, eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun County, Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the ca ...
The 1st Homeland Air Defence Army and its two constituent air defence divisions were merged in 1984 into the 1st Homeland Air Defence Corps. It took over the three fighter air regiments, the air defence brigade and the two air defence regiments and the 54th and 45th radar regiments merged into the 54th Radiotechnical Brigade. All the homeland air defence units carried the 'Honi' omelandprefix in their official designations.


HPA security forces

In the early 1980s, there were also four separate internal security forces under the
Ministry of Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, th ...
. These included the Internal Security Troops (''Belső Karhatalom''); the State Security Authority (''Államvédelmi Hatóság'', ÁVH)'s Security Police (disbanded in 1956, replaced with the MI Department III), the Frontier Guard or Border Guard (''Határőrseg'', HO), wearing army uniforms, 15,000 strong; and the Workers' Militia (''Munkás Őrseg'', MŐ). By mid-1986 it was estimated that the Frontier Guards were 16,000 strong, with 11,000 conscripts, divided into 11 districts.


Equipment

Hungary had the smallest number of aircraft and least equipment in the Warsaw Pact. In the 1950s the Army was equipped with T-34/85 tanks, as well as 68 IS-2s, which were in service between 1950 and 1956. After the crackdown of the
Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...
all were returned to the Soviet Union. The Army had 1,200 T-54 and T-55 tanks in 1988. It also had about 100 Soviet-made
T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet Union, Soviet main battle tanks that entered production in 1973. The T-72 was a development based on the T-64 using thought and design of the previous Object 167M. About 25,000 T-72 tanks have been built, and refu ...
s in its inventory. The HPA's artillery included 225 M-1938 120mm and 50 M-1943 or D-1
howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...
s. It also included 90
2S1 The 2S1 ''Gvozdika'' (, "Dianthus caryophyllus, Carnation") is a Soviet Self-propelled artillery, self-propelled howitzer introduced in 1972 and is in service in Russia and other countries . It is based on the MT-LBu multi-purpose chassis, mount ...
122mm and 20 2S3 152mm self-propelled guns. The Army had 26 river minelayers/sweepers (25 tons), 26 mine countermeasure river vessels, 15 river patrol craft (10 tons), 5 small river utility landing craft, Small river troop transport vessels, and river icebreakers.


Small arms


Crew-served weapons


Armoured vehicles


Unarmoured vehicles


Anti-aircraft weapons


Ballistic missiles


Artillery


Aircraft


Military conscription

Most conscripts were poorly trained, and therefore they were used as a labor force. All of the conscripts had to go through a few weeks of rifle training before they go into workers branches. During the conscription period opinion towards the HPA became very negative and it caused many young men to make excuses on why they should not be drafted (mainly fake medical excuses).


References

* (
Library of Congress Country Studies The Country Studies are works published by the Federal Research Division of the United States Library of Congress, freely available for use by researchers. No copyright is claimed on them. Therefore, they have been dedicated to the public domain ...
) * *


External links


The 7015th Ceremonial Regiment of the Hungarian People's Army

Hungarian Border Guards

An HPA military parade in Budapest in 1957

Tisztavatás on Kossuth Square (20 August 1987)

Soviet Nuclear Weapons in Hungary 1961-1991
{{Warsaw Pact militaries Hungarian People's Republic 1951 establishments in Hungary 1990 disestablishments in Hungary Warsaw Pact Military units and formations of Hungary Military units and formations of the Cold War Disbanded armies Disbanded armed forces Military wings of communist parties