Editing Hungarian Defence Forces (section)

===Habsburg Hungarian military=== <!-- [[Hungarian Revolutionary Army]] links here -->
{{Main|Royal Hungarian Landwehr}}
{{See also|Hungarian Revolution of 1848|Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867)}}

[[File:Than tapiobicskei utközet2 1849 aprilis 4.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Hungarian hussars in battle during the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]]]

Under [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg rule]], [[Hungarian Hussars]] rose to international fame and served as a model for light cavalry in many European countries. During the 18th and 19th centuries hundreds of thousands of forcibly enrolled Hungarian males served 12 years or more each as line infantry in the Austrian Imperial Army.

Two wars of independence interrupted this era, that of Prince [[Francis II Rákóczi]] [[Rákóczi's War of Independence|between 1703 and 1711]] and that of [[Lajos Kossuth]] in 1848–1849. A July 11, 1848 act of parliament in Budapest called for the formation of an army, the ''Honvédség'', of 200,000 which would use the [[Magyar language]] of command. It was to be formed around already extant imperial units, twenty battalions of infantry, ten hussar regiments, and two regiments of [[Székelys|Székely]] from the [[Transylvanian Military Frontier]]. They were further joined by eight companies of two Italian regiments stationed in Hungary and parts of the Fifth Bohemian Artillery Regiment.<ref>Rothenburg, G. ''The Army of Francis Joseph''. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 1976. p 29.{{anchor|CITEREFRothenburg1976}}</ref>

In 1848–1849 the Honvédség (mostly made up of enthusiastic patriots with no prior military training) achieved incredible successes against better-trained and -equipped Austrian forces, despite the obvious advantage in numbers on the Austrian side. The Winter Campaign of [[Józef Bem]] and the Spring Campaign of [[Artúr Görgey]] are to this day taught at prestigious military schools around the globe, including at [[West Point Academy]] in the United States. Having suffered initial setbacks, including the loss of [[Pest-Buda]], the Honvéd took advantage of the Austrians' lack of initiative and re-formed around the [[Debrecen]]-based Kossuth government.{{sfn|Rothenburg|1976|p=32-33}}  The Hungarians advanced again and by the end of spring 1849, Hungary was basically cleared of foreign forces, and would have achieved independence, were it not for the Russian intervention.  At the request of the [[Austrian emperor]] [[Franz Joseph I of Austria|Franz Joseph]],{{sfn|Rothenburg|1976|p=35}} the Russians invaded with a force of 190,000 soldiers – against the Honvédség's 135,000 – and decisively defeated Bem's Second Army in Transylvania, opening the path into the heart of Hungary. This way the Austrian-Russian coalition outnumbered Hungarian forces 3:1, which led to Hungary's [[surrender at Világos]] on 13 August 1849. [[Sándor Petőfi]], the great Hungarian poet, went [[missing in action]] in the [[Battle of Segesvár]], against invading Russian forces.

In April 1867, the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian Empire]] was established.  Franz Josef, the head of the ancient [[Habsburg]] dynasty, was recognized as both [[Austrian Empire|Emperor of Austria]] and [[King of Hungary]]. Nevertheless, the issue of what form the Hungarian military would take remained a matter of serious contention between Hungarian patriots and Austrian leaders.{{sfn|Rothenburg|1976|p=75-76}} As the impasse threatened the political union, Emperor Franz Josef ordered a council of generals in November of the same year. Ultimately, the leaders resolved on the following solution: in addition to the [[Austro-Hungarian Army|joint (k.u.k.) army]], Hungary would have its own defence force, whose members would swear their oath to the King of Hungary (who was also Emperor of Austria) and the national constitution, use the Hungarian language of command, and display their own flags and insignia. (Austria would also form its own parallel national defence force, the ''[[Imperial-Royal Landwehr|Landwehr]]''.){{sfn|Rothenburg|1976|p=77}} As a result of these negotiations, on 5 December 1868, the [[Royal Hungarian Landwehr]] (''Magyar Kiralyi Honvédség'', or Defence Force) was established.

The Honvédség was usually treated generously by the [[Diet of Hungary|Diet]] in Budapest.{{sfn|Rothenburg|1976|p=78}} By 1873 it already had over 2,800 officers and 158,000 men organized into eighty-six battalions and fifty-eight squadrons. In 1872, the [[Ludovica Military Academy|Ludovika Academy]] officially began training cadets (and later staff officers). Honvédség units engaged in manoeuvres and were organized into seven divisions in seven military districts. While artillery was not allowed, the force did form batteries of [[Gatling gun]]s in the 1870s.{{sfn|Rothenburg|1976|p=85}}

In the midst of trouble between the imperial government and the parliament in 1906, the Honvédség was further expanded and finally received its own artillery units. In this form, the force approached the coming world war in most respects as a truly "national" Hungarian army.{{sfn|Rothenburg|1976|p=136}}

==== World War I ====
{{Main|Royal Hungarian Landwehr}}
{{See also|Hungary in World War I}}
Hungarian soldiers "fought with distinction" on every front contested by Austria-Hungary in the [[First World War]].{{sfn|Rothenburg|1976|p=136}} Honvédség units (along with the [[Austrian Landwehr]]) were considered fit for front line combat service and equal to those of the joint forces K.U.K. army.{{sfn|Rothenburg|1976|p=173}} They saw combat especially on the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]] and at the [[Battles of the Isonzo]] on the [[Italian Campaign (World War I)|Italian Front]]. Out of the eight million men mobilized by Austria-Hungary, over one million died. Hungarians as a national group were second only to German Austrians in their share of this burden, experiencing twenty-eight war deaths for every thousand persons.{{sfn|Rothenburg|1976|p=218}}

After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire in late 1918, the [[Hungarian Red Army|Red Army]] of the Hungarian communist state ([[Hungarian Soviet Republic]]) conducted successful campaigns to protect the country's borders.  However, in the [[Hungarian–Romanian War of 1919]] Hungary came under occupation by the [[Kingdom of Romania|Romanian]], [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes|Serbian]], [[United States|American]], and [[French Third Republic|French]] troops, as after four years of extensive fighting, the country lacked both the necessary manpower and equipment to fend off foreign invaders.

In accordance with the [[Treaty of Bucharest (1918)|Treaty of Bucharest]], upon leaving, the [[Romanian army]] took substantial compensation for reparations. This included agricultural goods and industrial machinery as well as raw materials.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://epa.niif.hu/00700/00775/00014/109-113.html|title=Magyar Tudomny 2000. janur|access-date=23 December 2014}}</ref> The [[Trianon peace treaty|Trianon Treaty]] limited the [[Royal Hungarian Army|Hungarian National Army]] to 35,000 men and forbade conscription. The army was forbidden to possess tanks, heavy armor, or an air force.