- First Army (Hungary)
The Hungarian First Army was a Hungarian field army which saw action during
World War II .Commanders
* Lieutenant-General Vilmos Nagy -
March 1 ,1940 –February 1 ,1941
* Lieutenant-General István Schweitzer -February 1 ,1941 –August 1 ,1942
* Lieutenant-General István Naday -August 1 ,1942 –April 1 ,1944
* Lieutenant-GeneralGéza Lakatos -April 1 ,1944 –May 15 ,1944
* Lieutenant-General Károly Beregfy -May 15 ,1944 –August 1 ,1944
* Lieutenant-GeneralBéla Miklós von Dalnoki -August 1 ,1944 –October 16 ,1944
* Lieutenant-General Dezső László -October 16 ,1944 –May 8 ,1945 Background
Under Regent, Admiral
Miklós Horthy ,Hungary was an Axis state at the beginning of theEurope an conflict. On1 March 1940 , the smallHungarian Army formed three field armies. All three Hungarian armies were to ultimately see action on the Eastern Front against theRed Army . But, unlike theHungarian Third Army which took part in theinvasion of Yugoslavia (1941) and theHungarian Second Army that fought at theBattle of Stalingrad (1942), the Hungarian First Army did not see much combat at the start of the war.The troops of the Hungarian First Army, like all Hungarian troops, were part of the one-million-plus non-German
Axis troops on the Eastern Front. While the majority of these Axis troops were Romanian, there were also significant contingents of Hungarians, Finns, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Italians, Slovakians, Croations, Frenchmen, Danes, Norweigens, Belgians, and Spaniards.Occupation Duties
The first commander of the Hungarian First Army was Lieutenant-General (or "Altábornagy" according to the Hungarian army rank) Vilmos Nagy. After
30 August 1940 , under Nagy, the Hungarian First Army took part in Hungary's annexation and occupation of northernTransylvania . This region of Romania was awarded to Hungary as a condition of the Second Vienna Award.From 1940 to mid-1944, the Hungarian First Army saw little action other than occupation duties.
Action
By
30 April 1944 , the Hungarian First Army was used to bolster Army Group South Ukraine. This army group was pushed back during theBattle of Târgul Frumos in May 1944. The Hungarians were placed in defensive positions north of theRomanian Fourth Army and south of Army Group North Ukraine.From
13 July to29 July 1944 , the Hungarian First Army participated in the SovietLvov-Sandomierz Offensive as a defender. At this time the Hungarians were attached to theGerman First Panzer Army commanded by Colonel-General ("Generaloberst ")Gotthard Heinrici . The 1st Panzer Army was part of Army Group North Ukraine.Later in 1944, Soviet troops entered Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary. The Romanians capitulated. The Bulgarians capitulated. The Hungarians tried to capitulate twice. But they did so unsuccesslly. In the end, the Hungarian First Army continued its precarious existence.
On
28 December , a newly formed Hungarian government, under acting Prime MinisterBéla Miklós , officially declared war againstNazi Germany . But the Germans and the pro-German Hungarians in Hungary fought on against the Soviets. However, there are indications that some elements of the Hungarian First Army went over to the Soviets at about this time.Béla Miklós had been the commander of the Hungarian First Army from1 August 1944 to16 October 1944 .Between
1 January and16 February 1945 , most of what remained of the Hungarian First Army was over-run, bypassed, or destroyed about 200 kilometers north of Budapest when the Soviet 40th Army advanced through the area. But, even after this, the Hungarian First Army did not cease to exist. The remnants fought on as an attachment to Heinrici'sGerman First Panzer Army . Fighting as they went, they moved progressively westward intoSlovakia . The army was not officially disbanded until8 May 1945 , the end of the war. That is when the last commander of the Hungarian First Army, Lieutenant-General László Dezső, surrendered.See also
*
Hungary during the Second World War
* Military of Hungary - 1940/45
* Second Vienna Award - 1940
*Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive - 1944
*Battle of Budapest - 1944/45
*Eastern Front (World War II)
*Hungarian Second Army
*Hungarian Third Army
*Gyorshadtest
*Szent László Infantry Division
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.