The Hungarian Third Army ( hu, 3. magyar hadsereg) was a field army in the

Royal Hungarian Army The Royal Hungarian Army ( hu, Magyar Királyi Honvédség, german: Königlich Ungarische Armee) was the name given to the land forces of the Kingdom of Hungary in the period from 1922 to 1945. Its name was inherited from the Royal Hungarian Hon ...

that saw action during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Commanders

* Lieutenant General Elemér Gorondy-Novák from 1 March 1940 to 1 November 1941 * Lieutenant General

Zoltán Decleva Zoltán Decleva (30 July 188717 July 1950) was a Hungarian military officer, who served as commander of the Hungarian Third Army during the Second World War. He commanded the Hungarian I Corps during the Invasion of Yugoslavia. In 1941, he was ...

from 1 November 1941 to 1 December 1942 * Lieutenant General

Lajos Csatay Vitéz Lajos Csatay de Csataj (born as ''Lajos Tutzentaller'' on 1 August 1886 – 16 October 1944) was a Hungarian military officer and politician, who served as Minister of Defence between June 1943 and October 1944. Life World War I and ...

from 1 December 1942 to 12 June 1943 * Lieutenant General

Károly Beregfy Károly Beregfy (12 February 1888 – 12 March 1946) was a Hungarian military officer and politician, who served as Minister of Defence in the 1944–45 Arrow Cross Party government. He was born as Károly Berger in Cservenka (Crvenka). He ...

from 12 June 1943 to 15 May 1944 * ''The Hungarian Third Army was disbanded May 1944 and reformed September 1944'' * Colonel General József Vitéz Heszlényi from 19 September 1944 to 8 May 1945

Order of Battle - Yugoslavia - April 1941

On 5 April 1941, the Hungarian Third Army was mobilized for the

invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, or ''Projekt 25'' was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was ...

. The invasion began with the bombing of Belgrade and the crossing of the border by the Germans on 6 April. The Third Army faced the

Yugoslavian First Army The 1st Army was a Royal Yugoslav Army formation commanded by ''Armijski đeneral'' Milan Rađenković during the German-led Axis invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in April 1941 during World War II. It consisted of one infantry division, ...

. By the time the Hungarians crossed the border and finally attacked, the Germans had been attacking Yugoslavia for over a week. As a result, the Yugoslavs put up little resistance to the Hungarians. Units of the Hungarian Third Army advanced into a triangular shaped area known as the Baranya-triangle between the Danube River and the Drava River. The Hungarians suffered few casualties in this invasion. As a result of participating in the invasion of Yugoslavia, Hungary regained Bácska and Baranya. * Hungarian Third Army - Lieutenant General Elemér Gorondy-Novak ** Hungarian Mobile Infantry Corps (Gyorshadtest) ***Hungarian 1st Mobile Infantry Brigade ***Hungarian 2nd Mobile Infantry Brigade *** Hungarian 1st Cavalry Brigade ** Hungarian I Infantry Corps *** Hungarian 1st Infantry Brigade *** Hungarian 13th Infantry Brigade *** Hungarian 15th Infantry Brigade ** Hungarian IV Infantry Corps *** Hungarian 2nd Infantry Brigade *** Hungarian 10th Infantry Brigade *** Hungarian 12th Infantry Brigade ** Hungarian V Infantry Corps *** Hungarian 14th Infantry Brigade *** Hungarian 19th Infantry Brigade *** Hungarian 2nd Cavalry Brigade ** Hungarian 9th Infantry Brigade ** Hungarian 11th Infantry Brigade **Hungarian 1st Air Brigade **Hungarian 1st Airborne Battalion **Hungarian 16th Border Guards Infantry Battalion

Order Of Battle - Soviet Union - October 1944

From 25 March to 15 April 1944, the Hungarian VII Army Corps was involved in the Battle of

Kamenets-Podolsky pocket Kamianets-Podilskyi ( uk, Ка́м'яне́ць-Поді́льський, russian: Каменец-Подольский, Kamenets-Podolskiy, pl, Kamieniec Podolski, ro, Camenița, yi, קאַמענעץ־פּאָדאָלסק / קאַמעניץ, ...

. The Hungarian VII Army Corps was to become part of the Hungarian Third Army in August. On 30 August, the Hungarian Third Army was mobilized to defend Hungary against the relentless advances of the Soviet

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit, ...

and

4th Ukrainian Front The 4th Ukrainian Front (Russian: Четвёртый Украинский фронт) was the name of two distinct Red Army strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The front was first formed on 20 October 1943, ...

s. The Chief of Staff of the Hungarian Armed Forces, Colonel-General János Vörös, ordered this army of nine weak, undermanned, and underequipped reserve divisions to attack west of the

Hungarian Second Army The Hungarian Second Army (''Második Magyar Hadsereg'') was one of three field armies (''hadsereg'') raised by the Kingdom of Hungary (''Magyar Királyság'') which saw action during World War II. All three armies were formed on March 1, 1940. ...

(which was mobilized at the same time). The Third Army was to then cross Arad and the Maros Valley and occupy the mountain passes of

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...

. This attack failed. On 6 October, in the opening stages of the

Battle of Debrecen The Battle of Debrecen, called by the Red Army the ''Debrecen Offensive Operation'', was a battle taking place 6–29 October 1944 on the Eastern Front in Hungary during World War II. The offensive was conducted by the 2nd Ukrainian Front ...

, the Hungarian Third Army was badly mauled near Arad. Very quickly, the army was scattered near the town of

Kecskemét Kecskemét ( , sk, Kečkemét) is a city with county rights central part Hungary. It is the eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the capital Budapest and the country's th ...

Rodion Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky (russian: Родио́н Я́ковлевич Малино́вский, ukr, Родіо́н Я́кович Малино́вський ; – 31 March 1967) was a Soviet military commander. He was Marshal of the Sov ...

's 2nd Ukrainian Front attempted a pincer maneuver to encircle

Army Group Fretter-Pico An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. The

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front (2-й Украинский фронт), was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943 the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During the Second Jassy–Kishinev ...

's southern pincer sliced easily through the Hungarian Third Army. This southern pincer was spearheaded by Soviet General

Issa Pliyev Issa Alexandrovich Pliyev (also spelled as ''Pliev''; os, Плиты Алыксандры фырт Иссæ; russian: Исса Александрович Плиев; — 2 February 1979) was a Soviet Union, Soviet military commander. Pliyev wo ...

's Mobile Group Pliyev. Later, in the same battle, Mobile Group Pliyev was encircled and badly mauled by

(''Armeegruppe Fretter-Pico''). The northern pincer was stalled and turned back by veteran German ''panzer'' forces. The

was an integral part of the German-Hungarian ''Armeegruppe Fretter-Pico''. The Order Of Battle in October 1944 was as follows: *Hungarian Third Army - Lieutenant-General József Heszlényi (awarded German

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

on 28 October 1944) **Hungarian VIII Army Corps ***Hungarian 1st Cavalry Division ***Hungarian 20th Infantry Division ***Hungarian 5th Replacement Division ***Hungarian 8th Replacement Division **Hungarian VII Army Corps ***Hungarian 10th Infantry Division ***Hungarian 23rd Reserve Division ***Hungarian Battle Group Szücs **German

LVII Panzer Corps LVII Panzer Corps was a panzer corps in the German Army during World War II. This corps was activated in Augsburg in February 1941 as the LVII Army Corps, for the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which commenced on June 22, 1941. It fought in ...

***German

23rd Panzer Division The 23rd Panzer Division ( en, 23rd Tank Division) was an armoured division in the German Army during World War II. Formed in France in late 1941, the division spent its entire combat history on the Eastern Front. History The 23rd Panzer Divisio ...

***German

24th Panzer Division The 24th Panzer Division was formed in late 1941 from the 1st Cavalry Division based at Königsberg. The division fought on the Eastern Front from June 1942 to January 1943, when it was destroyed in the battle of Stalingrad. Reformed, it once ...

***Hungarian 1st Armoured Division The

was disbanded on 1 December 1944, after the Battle of Debrecen, and its remaining units were transferred to the Third Army.

Fall of Budapest and the End

From 29 December 1944, the Hungarian capital city, Budapest was under siege. In the

Battle of Budapest The Siege of Budapest or Battle of Budapest was the 50-day-long encirclement by Soviet and Romanian forces of the Hungarian capital of Budapest, near the end of World War II. Part of the broader Budapest Offensive, the siege began when Budap ...

every available Hungarian unit was employed in the defense of the capital. After great loss, the city was unconditionally surrendered on 13 February 1945.

Order of Battle - Hungary - March 1945

For Operation Spring Awakening the Third Hungarian Army, under the command of the German Sixth Army, had the following order of battle: * Hungarian VIII Army Corps ** Hungarian 1st Hussar Division ** Hungarian 23rd Infantry Division ** German

6th Panzer Division The 6th Panzer Division ( en, 6th Tank Division) was an armoured division in the German Army, the ''Heer'', during World War II, established in October 1939. The division, initially formed as a light brigade, participated in the invasions of P ...

** German 96th Infantry Division ** German 711th Infantry Division Between 16 March and 25 March 1945, most of what was left of the Hungarian Third Army was surrounded and destroyed about forty kilometers to the west of Budapest. The army was destroyed by the Soviet 46th Army as it advanced towards

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

.''Page 199, The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan'', Hans Dollinger, Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 67-27047 But, even after this, the Hungarian Third Army did not totally cease to exist. Some remnants remained and they fought on. Fighting as they went, they moved progressively westward to southern

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. The army was not officially disbanded until 8 May 1945, the end of the war. That is when the last commander of the Hungarian Third Army, Lieutenant General

József Heszlényi József Vitéz Heszlényi (''Heyszl''; 24 July 1890, Igló, Szepes (county) – 2 June 1945) was a Hungarian General during World War II and commander of the 3rd Hungarian Army. He graduated from the Imperial and Royal Technical Military Aca ...

, surrendered.

Notes

;Footnotes ;Citations

References

* * *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Third Army, Hungarian Military units and formations of Hungary in World War II Third Army, Hungarian Hungarian Military units and formations established in 1940