A undated cable signed by Washington's ambassador in Kabul, Karl Eikenberry, said the Hungarian Provincial Reconstruction Team, or PRT, is worthless and all they want is "getting home unscathed" after doing short stints of small-scale development work in the area. When insurgents caused a "security situation," New Zealand troops from the neighboring Bamyan province had to cross the border to deal with it, the cable said. Also my Father z"l had a poor opinion of Hungarian fighting capabilites. He completed (survived) two tours with the Hungarian Army in Ucraine (1943 - 1944).
9 comments:
I don't blame the Hungarians for not wanting to die on a fool's errand - "re" construction implies there was something there to begin with and there wasn't. If more Europeans had adopted the lackadaisical Hungarian/ Czech "not really interested in fighting to the death" spirit instead of the German/Russian model, the 20th century would have been a lot less bloody.
K
But I grew up with an history of heroic Hungarian fighters. Was it all a legend?
The younger Hungarian generation must be very cynical - Hungary is first on the side of the Fascists, then on the side of the Communists, then back on the capitalists, etc. The same army officers who were supposed to fight the Americans in the Warsaw Pack are now supposed to fight the Russians as NATO members. It's hard to believe in a cause if the cause you are supposed to believe in keeps changing.
K
I believe soldiering is a profession, and so, demoralization should be avoided. A good soldier is a good soldier everywhere and all the time.
I believe soldiering is a profession, and so, demoralization should be avoided. A good soldier is a good soldier everywhere and all the time.
If those lads in the picture are actual Magyar troops, they look like they would have trouble during a conflict. I have the name of the book that will document their exploits: "They Waddled into Battle."
I assume the soldiers are wearing ceramic armor beneath their jackets - this may look silly but is very effective protection against small arms fire and shrapnel.
K
That is a contemporary Magyar horde. I dont think it is ceramic armor, which is light and invisible, but it may be war souvenirs (plundered hashish, jewelry and so on). Our vitez heroes need no protection against small arms fire, they never come to fire range.
Maybe it is MRE's full of gulyas and chicken paprikas.
K
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