Although not strictly related to this very topic, here is an excerpt from the book on the Royal Hungarian Army I am currently working on:
The testimony of a German officer who witnessed an attack of the Huszárs serves as an illustration of the Hungarian soldiers’ combat prowess:
“It happened in early August 1941, south of Uman, in the area of Pervomajsk. German troops were pinned down behind a railway embankment by strong Red Army forces. German infantry attacked the enemy four times but were repulsed each time by superior forces. The battalion commander cursed and tried to push his men into a new attack in vain, as the Russians steadily held their positions. It was then, when instead of the artillery barrage we were repeatedly asking for, that a Hungarian cavalry squadron showed up. We were laughing. What do these guys want to do here with their sleek horses, armed only with swords? Suddenly, we were stunned by astonishment. These Hungarians went mad! Squadrons followed the others, coming from our rear. Following a loud command, the Huszárs drew their swords and charged the enemy, virtually glued to their horses, with the swords’ metal blades shining in the sun. They were led by a middle-aged, sword-swinging colonel, with silver rank insignia sparkling on his uniform’s collar. Several light armoured cars covered the flanks. Seydlitz* must have charged in the same fashion, I thought! Forgetting the imminent danger, we stood up and watched the unbelievable scene. It looked like an extraordinary cavalry movie.
The Russians initially fired at their unlikely attackers, but the shots became more sporadic and finally ceased. We watched in astonishment how the Soviet battalion, which thus far fanatically defended its positions, panicked and hastily retreated under the pressure of the charging cavalry. The Hungarians, savouring their success, cut the running soldiers down with their swords. This time, incredibly, ancient weapons and war technique triumphed over modern technology.”
[*FOOTNOTE: Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, Prussian soldier, one of the greatest cavalry generals of history, active in the Eighteenth Century]
(Excerpt from Erich Kern Der Grosse Rausch, Zürich, Switzerland, 1948, pp 54–55. The Hungarian cavalry unit was most probably the 3rd Huszár Regiment of the 1st Honvéd Cavalry Brigade led by Colonel Pál Pongrácz).
Gen. Dénes |
