On an occasion in July, 1944, Tarczay’s panzer and another Hungarian Tiger tank took up defensive position on Hill 514 near Saturnia, Galicia. In the course of about 30 minutes, they managed to knock out 14 of the approaching Soviet T-34’s.


Tiger Tank of  Lt. Tarczay, Galicia, 1944

This serious and dedicated young Hungarian was trained in tank warfare with the Hungarian-made Turan I and Turan II medium tanks in mind. He was in command of a unit of  Turan II tanks during the 1944 spring offensive of the Hungarian First Army ordered to fight in Galicia. When the Turan tanks proved to be only partially capable of  taking on the Russian T-34, their depleted numbers were replaced by a limited number of German Panzer IV, Panther, and even Tiger tanks.  

First commanding Tiger and later Panther panzer units, Tarczay (Taar-tsaa-ee)  proved to be a no-nonsense, aggressive leader, whose bold actions often tipped the scales of battle.  He was fearless, often directing the battle from an open turret, and his heroism earned him many military decorations, including the German Iron Cross. Hi is credited with over ten confirmed enemy tank “kills,” garnering the Hungarian “tank ace” designation. Ervin Tarczay ultimately gave his life in battle, along with many hundreds of thousands Hungarians.


Hungarian Tank Ace  Lt. Tarczay, during 1944-1945

The Royal Hungarian Air Force had been originally equipped with a variety of fighter planes, made domestically or obtained from Italy. By 1943, the German-designed and Hungarian-manufactured  Messerschmidt Bf-109 became the most valued and most widely deployed fighter, shown here at the Veszprem airport in 1944.