Hungarian People's Army
| Hungarian People's Army | |
|---|---|
| Magyar Néphadsereg | |
.svg) |
|
| Founded | 1948 |
| Disbanded | 1989 |
| Service branches |
Surface Forces Air Defence Forces |
| Headquarters | Budapest |
| Leadership | |
| Minister of Defense | Ferenc Kárpáti |
| Chief of Staff | Laszlo Borsits |
| Manpower | |
| Conscription | Yes |
| Active personnel | 100,000 (1989) |
| Deployed personnel |
 Czechoslovakia
|
| Industry | |
| Foreign suppliers |
 Soviet Union
|
| Related articles | |
| History | Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia |
The Hungarian People's Army HPA (Hungarian:Magyar Néphadsereg) was the military of the Hungarian People's Republic from 1948 to 1989. It only saw combat once during its existence, which was assisting the Soviet Union in crushing the Prague Spring. It maintained close ties to the Warsaw Pact along with other Eastern Bloc countries. It dissolved in 1989 and retained its current form through the Hungarian Defence Force.
After the 1948 creation of the HPA the allies and the Soviet Union permitted it to have a 65,000 strong Army and an Air Force with 5,000 personnel an 90 aircraft. The first Minister of Defence Mihály Farkas completely based the HPA off of Stalinism until the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953.The HPA mimicked the Soviet Army's Political commissar model, In which party members could teach the ideas of Marxism–Leninism to soldiers of the HPA. After Stalin's death, De-Stalinizationswept through the HPA quickly leading to the resignation of Farkas as Minister of Defence. In 1956 the Soviet Army invaded Hungary due to the revolutions that were taking place. As a result, the Soviets took away most of the HPA's equipment, and dismantled the Air Force. In 1959 they began rebuilding the HPA and the new Hungarian leader János Kádár, asked for 200,000 Soviet troops from the Southern Group of Forces Regiment to stay in the country, which led to the government to rely more on the Soviets leading to the deterioration of the HPA.In 1968 it joined Soviet troops in invading Czechoslovakia and restoring order in Prague. Out of the mobilised 4 were killed in accidents. Soviet troops relaxed their control during the era of Mikhail Gorbachev, and Hungary later became a Democratic Republic. As it moved on from socialism the HPA was converted into the new model, officially dissolving the HPA and retaining its current form in the Hungarian Defence Force.
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