[First published 6 February 2025; updated 27 February 2025.]
Regular readers of this blog will know that the Hungarian War of Independence is one of my particular enthusiasms. Decent English-language sources on the military history of this substantial war are few and far between. I am therefore very pleased to report on an important addition to this underserved bookshelf: The Honvéd War: Armies of the Hungarian War of Independence 1848-49, by Nigel James Smith, which was published by Helion in 2024.
(Let me preface this book review with a disclaimer. Nigel and I are both Helion authors; I gave Nigel some minor assistance with the preparation of his book and he kindly acknowledges me in it. Furthermore, I have met him once and I owe him a drink. That said, I was already in his debt because of his previous visit to 1848 in his work published by Pickelhaube Press in 2006, The Magyar War, which I had found very useful and full of information that was difficult to obtain from anywhere else.)
Anyway, to business:
For £29.95 you get over 200 pages of nicely produced book on glossy paper that enables a gallery section in beautiful colour, as well as dozens of rare black-and-white illustrations scattered throughout the text.
Of those 200 pages:
- 20 are devoted to the history of the war;
- 60 pp to the organisation, weapons and tactics of the three armies involved;
- 9 pp to ten of the most important generals;
- 73 pp to uniforms and flags (including 14 colour plates);
- 29 pp to historical orders of battle.
The history section is nicely written and does a good job of explaining the course of this complicated war. Perhaps my favourite part is where Smith describes how "Jellačić, in his capacity as [Kaiser Ferdinand's] Croatian Viceroy, on behalf of King Ferdinand of Croatia pronounced a declaration of war against King Ferdinand V of Hungary. Astute readers will have noted that this Kaiser and both these Kings were one and the same man." It might have benefited from a couple more maps or, at least, having the major battles marked on the one map on p12. However, the campaign history is not the main focus of this work, so this is a minor complaint. (In fact, for readers who already have the complementary campaign histories published by Helion, it minimises redundant overlap.) One tiny quibble: it was not Windischgrätz but his subordinate, Jellačić, who defeated Perczel at the battle of Mór.
Perhaps inevitably, the text displays some inconsistencies in the spelling of eastern European place names, etc. In particular, Smith uses an idiosyncratic spelling, "Széklars", for the Transylvanian people known in Hungarian as Székelyek or conventionally in English as "Szeklers". However, these are cosmetic problems rather than being likely to cause any real confusion.
The sections on organisation, weapons and tactics are comprehensive, thorough, and full of detail. This ranges from corps structure and offensive artillery doctrine down to small unit tactics. There is a lot of dense information here but it is conveyed in a clear and readable manner that helps us to understand the character of each army and how it operated. E.g., of the Russian army, Smith says, "obedience was literally beaten into the rank and file".
In the earlier version of this review, I expressed some mild regret that, for all its comprehensive coverage, The Honvéd War didn't provide information on a couple of obscure Imperial units I'd struggled to identify during my own researches: Cordonisten and National-Uhlanen. It is a tribute to Nigel's research skills - and therefore further assurance of the quality of this book - that he has since tracked down and sent me detailed information on the two Cordonisten battalions, including their combat history during 1848-1849, their uniforms, and even their commanders' names. Much obliged!
Smith's brief biographies of the main commanders are clear and informative and give us pen portraits of some colourful characters such as the "Hyena of Brescia", "Papa Bem", etc. (Though I might question his statement that Richard Debaufre Guyon subsequently "served the Ottoman Army with distinction against the Russian Army in Asia Minor": as Zarif Pasha's chief of staff during the Crimean War, he devised a plan that might have worked for the honvéd but was too sophisticated for the Ottoman army of the Caucasus, which was consequently destroyed in the battle of Kurudere.)
A third of the book is given over to uniforms and flags. This is truly exhaustive and has all you could possibly need on this topic. As well as everything you'd expect concerning types of headgear, the colours of tunics and buttons, or the hues of regimental facings, we learn about such things as linen recognition strips tied to Austrian shakos to tell friend from foe, or Polish konfederatki caps being worn both with and without peaks. The colour plates are a good mix of old prints or paintings and original new artwork. I particularly like the Imperial grenadier in his splendid M1836 bearskin.
The 'Orders of Battle' section provides detailed snapshots of the composition and structure of the major formations at several pivotal junctures in the course of the war. Smith's footnotes demonstrate that he has not simply reproduced these from other sources but has examined them critically to check their accuracy.
My few criticisms above do not materially detract from the work and are offered mainly to show that this is a thorough and unbiased review by a reasonably qualified reviewer. The fact that they are all so minor also proves that this is a very good, well-researched book by a skilled and knowledgeable author. It will be invaluable to any wargamer or military modeller seeking to portray this fascinating conflict. Essential reading if you want your tabletop armies for 1848 to be properly organised and look authentic. Excellent value and highly recommended!
PS - I cannot avoid some self-promotion here. Anyone who has read this far is surely sufficiently interested in this war that I should mention my own related publications (in case you don't already know about them). These include three translated histories and one wargames campaign book:
Hungary 1848: The Winter Campaign
Hungary 1849: The Summer Campaign
The Hungarian War of Independence 1848-1849: an illustrated military history (forthcoming 2025)
Bloody Big HUNGARY '48 Battles!
