Military history of Hungary

The military history of Hungary includes battles fought in the Carpathian Basin and the military history of the Hungarian people regardless of geography.

The first well established reference to Hungarians derives from Georgius Monachus' work in the 9th century. It mentions that around 837 the Bulgarian Empire desired an alliance with the Hungarians. Although the Hungarians supposedly participated earlier at the Battle of Pliska in 811. The Hungarians began the conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895. They continued to raid adjacent countries for many years. The Hungarians were able to defeat three major Frankish imperial armies between 907 and 910, however a military defeat in 955 forced them to withdraw and consolidate their gains.

The strength of the Hungarian people (Magyars) arriving into the Carpathian Basin is well demonstrated by the failure of European countries in stopping them. The Magyars advanced as far as the Iberian Peninsula, the Coast of Normandy and city of Constantinople.

The Magyar arts of war involved agility, speed, and precision. Their armies were well-organized and the men were well trained and disciplined. The Hungarians used many tools of war to defeat their foes, the most characteristic of their weapons being the quick-firing reflex bow, which they fired accurately from the saddle, even at full gallop. They also carried sabers and spontoons, but the reflex bow remained their armament of choice. The Magyars placed an emphasis on ranged fighting – their charges were usually preceded by a volley of arrows, and followed up by hand-to-hand combat. The majority of their troops were trained to fight on horseback.

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