39M Csaba

The Csaba armoured car started life as a design by former Hungarian engineer Michael Straussler. He designed a four-wheel-drive armoured car for the British army in 1933, and asked Hungarian company Manfred Weiss to produce the prototype for him. This armoured car was the AC I.

The Hungarian saw advantages applicable to their own uses in this vehicle, but due to the depression and tight finances were unable to purchase it. In 1935 Straussler and Manfred Weiss continued to develop the concept and produced the AC II. The new vehicle had both front and rear driving positions for easy extraction from difficult positions.

Manfred Weiss produced two prototypes; one went to the British army for testing while the other remained at the factory. Under the guidance of the Hungarian Military Technical Institute Manfred Weiss went about designing a turret.

The final prototype was purchased by the army and underwent trials alongside a number of foreign designs.

After trials, the AC II was accepted in 1939, designated the 39M Csaba and was intended for reconnaissance units. The turret was armed with a 20mm 36M Solothurn anti-tank rifle and a 8mm machine-gun. In 1939 the Ministry of Defence ordered 61 Csaba and then a further 20 were ordered in 1940.

12 40M Csaba command variants were ordered in 1940 as well as command vehicles for company and battalion commands. These vehicles had smaller turrets armed with a single 8mm machine-gun and carried a more powerful radio with a large antenna array.

Contains: 3x 7/31 HMG Teams

Contains: 4x 81mm Mortar Teams and 4x 120mm Mortar Teams

During the years after the First World War the Hungarian Army used the 17M and 18M Skoda mortar they had inherited from the Austro-Hungarian Army.

In 1936 the State Weapons Factory at Diósgyör started to produce the 36M 81.4mm Mortar based on the modern French Brandt design. The Brandt 81.4mm mortar proved a popular weapon with many countries with it also being adopted by France, USA, and Romanian among others.

In 1939 the design underwent some minor modifications. This was designated the 36/39M.

A number of captured and German supplied mortars were also used through out the war, as they were able to fire the standard Hungarian 81.4mm Mortar ammunition. Among them were Dutch, Czech, Yugoslav and Soviet medium mortars.

Contains: 3x 44M Buzogányveto Rocket Launchers.

Contains: 33x Command Cards

Contains:
1x Formation 39M SMG Team,
1x Unit Leader 31M & 95M Rifle Team,
6x 31M & 95M Rifle Teams,
1x Panzerschreck Anti-tank Team,
1x 20mm Anti-tank Riflfle Team (Mid War),
1x 50mm Mortar Team (Mid War),
1x Flame-thrower Team (Mid War)

The pack contains an entire Puskás Platoon of 3 Puskás Squads and platoon command team. It also contains a Páncélvadász miniature to upgrade your command team to a Command Páncélvadász Rifle team. It also contains three machine-gunners so you can upgrade your Rifle teams to Rifle/MG teams.

The pack also contains an extra Command Rifle team to help create your Company HQ. Your minimum two platoons required for the company will get you sufficient Command Rifle teams to form your Company HQ.

The Puskás Platoon pack can also be used to field the motorised infantry of the Gépkocsizó Lövész Század. Just use this pack in conjunction with HU420 Botond trucks (3 per platoon and 1 for the Company HQ).

The backbone of the Hungarian 2nd Army in Russia were the riflemen of the Light Divisions. Nine Light Divisions in three corps were deployed along the Don River supported by the 1st Armoured Field Division in reserve.

The Hungarian rifleman has a long and proud military tradition going back to the 15th and 16th centuries when Hungarian Haiduk musketeers served as mercenaries across the Balkans and Eastern Europe, even spawning imitators (Polish Haiduks). Under the Austrian Hapsburg Empire the Hungarians (along with the Croatians and German Austrians) provided the most reliable infantry during the 18th and 19th centuries and into the First World War.

With independence after the First World War the Hungarian’s kept many of the traditions of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, with most of the officer corps coming from the old Imperial Army.

Their Uniform also reflects this influence, retaining the German style helmet and unique Hungarian calf hugging trousers. Rather than adopt the Austrian peaked cap for undress they adopted the peak-less cavalry cap which became the undress standard for the whole army. Only the Border Guard and Mountain Rifles retained the peaked cap (which is much like the German).

In 1932 the Hungarian established their first Motorised Rifle units and quickly developed it along side the armoured units. The 1st Motorised Regiment of three battalions of motorised riflemen supplied the infantry compliment of the 1st Armoured Field Division.

with turrets for both the Turán I and Turán II tanks.

In 1939 Hungary was searching for a medium tank which they could manufacture under licence. |koda offered the Hungarians the S-IIc, a design they had been working on and with further refinements the design become to be known as the T-22.

Shown to the Hungarians in May 1940, an agreement was reach between the two parties in August 1940, but before going into production the Czech design went through a series of modifications. These modifications included the alteration of the original two-man turret into a three-man turret and the installation of a Hungarian built engine.

Armed with the 40mm 41M gun which fired the same ammunition as the 40mm 37M Bofors Anti-aircraft gun and two 8mm 34/40M machine-guns, the first prototype of the Turán I was completed in August 1941 and went into production in October that same year.

Delivering to the troops begun in the beginning of 1942 and they were used to equip the 1. and 2. Armored divisions and the 1. Cavalry division in 1942-43. However, the Turán I was hopelessly outclasses by the Soviet T-34 and it was concluded that a minimum main armament of at least 75mm in caliber was needed.

Such a version of the Turán was on the drawing board as early as 1941 and was originally intended as a support vehicle to the Turán I. Armed with the short-barreled 75mm 41M gun, the new design become known as the Turán II. The Turán I and II continued to see heavy fighting during 1944 despite their inferiority to Soviet armour of the time. Regardless of this fact, the chassis of the Turán was used in the design of the Zrínyi II Assault gun and was the basis of a design intended to mount the 75mm gun of the German Panther.

Contains: 37x Unit Cards

40M Nimrod

The Hungarians adopted the Swedish Landsverk L-62 anti-aircraft tank design in 1940. It was seen as a duel purpose weapon that could serve in both the anti-tank and anti-aircraft role.

It shared many common features with the Toldi tank (L-60), which the Hungarians were already producing.

The Hungarians purchased one Swedish built L-62 in 1940 and tested it with the mobile troops who were generally pleased with its performance and the MÁVAG Company brought the licence to produce it in 1940.

The Hungarians made a few improvements to original L-62 design. The 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun remained its primary armament, but MÁVAG used the Hungarian manufactured version that they already produced. The turret was enlarged, allowing the 4 crew more room to operate, and modified to allow the 36M 40mm Bofors gun maximum traverse and elevation. The turret armour was increased to 28mm.

The first vehicles were delivered in 1940, with a total of 135 Nimrod ordered between 1940 and 1941. They saw their first combat action against the Soviets in 1942 where, even with an improved anti-tank round developed for it and the 40M 40mm anti-tank gun, the T-34 and KV’s heavy armoured often proved too much.

The Nimrods carried the registration numbers H050-095 (first batch) and 1H630-718.

38M Toldi I (light tank A20), 38M Toldi II (light tank B20), 38M Toldi IIa (light tank B40)

Tank now comes with parts to make the 20mm armed Toldi I or II or the 40mm armed Toldi IIa.

The Toldi is an adaptation of the Swedish L-60 Landsverk light tank and was imported to Hungarian in 1937 by the MÁVAG Company with support from the Ministry of Defence. It was trialled against the Hungarian designed V-4 amphibious light tank built by the Manfred Weiss Company.

In trials it proved itself better than the V-4, which had a number of teething problems. A number of design changes were sought by the Army Staff before the L-60 could be adopted for production. They recommended that the steering, transmission, vision, ventilation and suspension all be improved.

The licences to produce the L-60 was purchased off Landsverk by MÁVAG and Ganz and the new tank was designated the 38M Toldi I light tank.

The ministry of defence ordered 40 from each company and production began in 1939.

Despite the Army Staff’s recommendations the Toldi design remained almost identical to the L-60 except the main armament was changed to the 36M 20mm Solothurn anti-tank rifle and secondary machine-gun became the 34/37AM.

The first 80 tanks were assembled in Hungary from Hungarian, Swedish and German parts, but production was entirely from Hungarian sources by 1941. After initial problems with production the first two tanks were delivered to the 2nd Motorised Rifle brigade in April 1940.

The Toldi II was produced from 1941 and differed in only the type of radio fitted, the Toldi I was fitted with the R-5 radio with a arched aerial, while the R-5/a radio of the Toldi II mounted a straight aerial.

By the end of 1942 190 Toldi I & II tanks armed with the 20mm gun had been produced. After extensive combat experience in Russia an upgrade and re-design program was started in 1943.

includes five Plastic Zrinyi (105mm) Assault Guns, one Decal sheet and one Tank Commander sprue

After their experience against the Soviets on the Eastern Front, the Hungarian military leaders requested a self-propelled assault gun to aid in their efforts against the hordes of Soviet armour. Based on the hull of the Turán tank, the Zrínyi II mounted a 105mm 43M howitzer. Plans for the proposed Zrínyi I mounting a German 75mm gun were cut short when the Americans bombed the factory. Only one prototype was built.