HUNGARIAN ARMOURED FORCES DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR

The actions of the German armoured forces during the Second World War are well known to the public, largely owing to the numerous works devoted to them.

Those of the armoured forces of their allied countries are, by contrast, far less well known. This volume sets out the role of the Hungarian armoured forces which, over the course of the global conflict, succeeded in building an armoured corps powerful enough to play a decisive role at the front, despite being destined to face one of the most formidable adversaries of its time: the Red Army.

Hungary not only succeeded in organising its armoured troops for the outbreak of the Second World War with German support, but its military industry was also able to produce various types of vehicles and weapons for its own troops. Indeed, Hungary's highly diversified industry managed to develop a complete domestic range of armoured vehicles which, in certain cases, demonstrated exceptional combat performance right through to the end of the conflict.

All models produced by this industry are presented: the Toldi, the various Turán… Throughout the pages, the author sheds light on Hungary's participation in the Second World War through a wealth of photographs provided by genuine experts in the field, as well as the role of the Hungarian armoured forces, from Operation "Barbarossa" to the fighting in Ukraine two years later, then during the subsequent retreat towards the Hungarian Carpathian lands, the defence of Budapest and the final engagements of Hungarian armour in Austria and Slovenia, just before Germany's unconditional surrender.

This book also recounts the terrible fate suffered by the Hungarian armoured troops following the Soviet invasion of Hungary, when many soldiers and officers were sent to Soviet concentration camps for several years.