The Hungarian 10th

It was a strange set of circumstances that the nation of Hungary found itself faced with in 1940.  Pushed by the Nazis to go on the offensive, Regent Horthy and the Hungarians were faced with a choice, attack and become an active aggressor in the war, or resist and undoubtedly have their country overwhelmed by the German war machine.  Ultimately, they decided on the former and in the end, paid the price. For by the end of the war their country was overwhelmed by the Red Army and the capital city of Budapest was left a smoldering ruin.

In the summer of 2018 I had the chance to visit the lands of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. As a part of that trip I spent several days in Budapest.  It is a lovely city and I would encourage anyone and everyone to visit if you have the chance.  When I returned home from that trip I found myself enamored by the former nation-state of the Austria-Hungarian Empire. As I began to read books and do research into their history I learned about the man that led Hungary through WWII; Admiral and Regent Miklos Horthy.  A fascinating figure, he lived through the collapse of one of the oldest monarchies in Europe, personally helped restore peace and stability in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire (following it’s collapse after WWI), and guided the fledgling nation of Hungary through WWII.  In addition to simply being an interesting individual, the span of his life provided him some fascinating perspectives on the role of monarchies, empires, and the Balkans in the greater European landscape.  Surviving the earth-shaking events of WWII, he was exiled to Portugal where he peacefully lived out the rest of his days.  While there he composed an auto-biography of his life.  A book that I would recommend earnestly – A Life for Hungary: Memoirs of Admiral Nicholas Horthy Regent of Hungary.

As I returned from the aforementioned trip I found myself becoming interested in Bolt Action.  Eventually deciding to jump into this system, it was with little hesitation that I decided to collect the recently released Hungarians from Warlord Games.  Below you will find a gallery that displays a true labor of love, my wonderful Hungarian 10th Regiment.  This (in combination with my WWI French) is probably my best looking army to date, and I hope that you will find a small amount of enjoyment or inspiration from my work.  Enjoy!

Figure 1: Here is my wonderful Hungarian 10th in all their pride and glory!
Figure 2: Here is the officer corp of the force. A mixture of medics and body guards are thrown in with the officers. While most are Warlord minis, there are a few Great Escape Games minis mixed in.
Figure 3: Here we see my mounted cavalry officer, a Hungarian Sniper team, and a Hungarian MMG.
Figure 4: Here is the first squad of line infantry ready to man the barricades in defense of Budapest!
Figure 5: Another line infantry squad. When I built this army it was designed around the Theater Selector: Budapest Pocket Defense Force. This Theater Selector allows you to start the game with several of these 6″ long hard cover barricades.
Figure 6: Here we see a a couple pieces of specialty equipment; an AT rifle and an Anti-Tank Gun.
Figure 7: Manning this barricade we see some of the elite infantry. Those being the Hungarian Parachute Assault Section.
Figure 8: Probably my favorite unit in this army, here are the dismounted Hungarian Cavalrymen.
Figure 9: And here they are with their horses!
Figure 10: Another shot at the lovely cavalry.
Figure 11: At the back of the cavalry we can see some more heavy weapons. These being a medium mortar and a light AT gun.
Figure 12: My second favorite unit in the army for both history and game rules. This is the Hungarian Mace Thrower. Developed late in the war this nifty device was cobbled together to help defend Budapest against the Red Army. After getting this on the table I consider this a must have in my army lists.
Figure 13: My motor pool for the Hungarians. Pictured here is the humble Opel Blitz, a Csaba Armored Car, and a Hetzer tank destroyer.
Figure 14: Finally, here is a overview shot of one of the barricades. With a painted wood base and a few bits from Miniature Market’s Tiny Terrain series an effective looking barricade is formed.

And there we have it! I hope you have enjoyed this visual tour. I’m sure I will pick up an odd unit here and there for this force, but for the now I view this project as complete.

Until we meet again, happy hobbying and Carthago delenda est. 

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