
Always an obvious fact, German-Hungarian military coordination, from the high to the lower levels, became more strict after the German occupation of Hungary in March, 1944. Hungarian units were placed under the direct command of the German military leadership, more so than ever before. Here a gentlemanly-looking Hungarian colonel (on our right) is conversing with his German tanker counterparts in front of a Tiger tank, somewhere in Galicia, during the summer of 1944.


German-Hungarian Field Coordination, Galicia, 1944

Hungary possessed a modest  industrial productive capacity and had some domestic coal, bauxite, and oil resources, but not enough of iron ore. From 1938, the country began to manufacture all sorts of instruments of war, including tanks. But their numbers were woefully low and their armament and fire power did not match Russian or Geman levels. Therefore, the country also purchased much needed equipment from Germany and Italy, including panzers, such as the Panzer IV inspected above by a Hungarian crew in the spring of 1944, when the Second Armored Divison was being assembled in western Hungary,

Hungarian Crew Inspects Panzer IV, 1944

In the spring of 1944, the Hungarian First Army was ordered to attack toward the town of Kolomea, Galicia. After initial gains, the attack bogged down, mainly because the Turan tanks, including the new Turan II with a 75mm gun, needed a much shorter firing distance to be effective than the Russian T-34’s. Field Marshall Walter Model therefore assigned a number of German panzer replacements, including 12 Pz. IV H’s, 10 Stug III G’s, and 10 Pz. VI E Tigers. The Hungarian tank crews appreciated the thicker armament and the greater fire-power and accuracy of these welcome additions, although few in number and most of them battle-used. Of course, fuel was also usually in short supply.