Abstract
Reviewed by: Thomas Lorman, University College London, UK
Studies of particular branches of a nation’s armed forces can be narrow in their focus and of interest only to a minority of military historians. This book avoids that trap. This monograph, the first serious study of the Hungarian air force to be published in English, examines the minor role that the Hungarian air force played in the series of conflicts that afflicted Central Europe in the first half of the twentieth century. Nevertheless, the story of the air force’s destruction after the First World War, reconstruction in the interwar period, and collapse during the Second World War provides fresh insight into the larger story of Hungary’s own troubled history in this period.
One reason the author has achieved this feat is because he places the story of the Hungarian air force in its proper context. Indeed, the very first chapter of this book is a detailed discussion not only of the origins of Hungarian aviation but also of the development of the Habsburg Monarchy’s ‘airship section’ of its armed forces, out of which the Hungarian air force emerged fighting fit in 1918. Each of the succeeding chapters, arranged in a sensible chronological order, is also framed by a concise discussion of the broader political, diplomatic or (in the case of Chapter 4) theoretical context in which the activities of the Hungarian air force need to be understood.
Moreover, as the author repeatedly demonstrates, the successes and failures of the Hungarian air force in this period also serve to illuminate Hungary’s ultimately futile efforts to restore the country to greatness after her catastrophic defeat in the First World War. Thus, Chapter 2 provides fresh insight into the destruction caused by war, revolution and territorial dismemberment in 1918–1919 as it documents the parallel destruction of the Hungarian air force including the loss of key airports, factories and the bulk of the actual planes. Chapter 3 amply demonstrates how Hungarian efforts to circumvent the restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Trianon included efforts to recreate a surreptitious air force concealed as a commercial operation, while Chapters 6 and 7 reveal how Hungary’s initial military successes in 1938–1940, when with the help of the air force she recovered much of her lost territory concealed deeper problems that rendered her air force and by extension her entire armed forces increasingly ineffective and dependent on German support and ultimately control.
The fruitful links between the story of the Hungarian air forces and the story of Hungary in the first half of the twentieth century is reinforced by the curious number of aviation incidents that directly shaped broader Hungarian developments. For example, the effectiveness of Hungary’s campaign for territorial revision in the interwar period was embodied by the record-breaking flight of ‘Justice for Hungary’ across the Atlantic in 1931 (163–6). Likewise, the decision to join the German assault on the Soviet Union in 1941 was justified by a mysterious bombing raid on the town of Kosice, which, the author convincingly argues, was carried out in error by Soviet planes (252–8), while the Hungarian regime’s growing disillusionment with the war was exacerbated by the death of the Regent of Hungary, Miklós Horthy’s son and designated successor, István, on the eastern front in 1942 (271–4). Each of these incidents is clearly analysed and explained by the author who uses his familiarity with the evidence and his own technical knowledge to compelling effect.
Occasionally, the writing, which is generally clear and concise, is afflicted by an excessive enthusiasm for acronyms, although a useful list of their meanings is provided at the beginning of the book. This reviewer would have also liked to know more about wider attitudes among Hungarian soldiers towards the air force and the actual experience of the pilots and ground staff. Nevertheless, this remains an accessible book that not only offers much to readers interested in aviation history and aerial combat, but also provides a study that will prove to be enlightening for those interested in Hungarian history in the first half of the twentieth century.