Armies -- Europe -- History -- 19th century; Europe -- Armed Forces -- History -- 19th century
In Trans-Leithania the Landwehr forms a peculiar national Hungarian
Army, the so-called Honvéd Army, which is subject in war-time only to
the commander-in-chief, and in peace-time only to the Royal Hungarian
jurisdiction, _i.e._ the Ministry of Defence and the Landwehr Ministry.
It forms in peace-time the Cadres for 92 battalions of Infantry and
15 regiments of Honvéd Hussars (60 squadrons). The officers of this
force are trained in the Honvéd Ludovica Academy at Buda Pesth. It
is on this Army, whose standards and badges are of the Hungarian
colours, and which in time of war reaches nearly 200,000 men, that the
pride of Hungary rests. It is this Army whose predecessors saved the
Austro-Hungarian Monarchy from destruction a century and a half ago. On
the 21st of September, 1741, the Empress Queen, Maria Theresa, came to
her Parliament at Presburg in dire distress. Dressed in the national
Hungarian dress, with her newly born son (destined to become Joseph
II.) in her arms, pain and courage depicted on her noble countenance,
she advanced towards the Hungarian nobles, and in a powerful Latin
speech asked for the National Army to be called out, to protect her and
her country from her many foes. Then the Hungarian magnates tore their
crooked swords from their scabbards, clashed them wildly together, and
shouted: “Moriamur pro rege nostro Maria Theresa!” With the help of her
brave Hungarians, Maria Theresa, after making peace with Frederick II.
of Prussia, succeeded in beating off her numerous enemies.
[Illustration: Austria-Hungary. I.
_Printed by G. Löwensohn, Fuerth Bavaria_
_Published by William Clowes & Sons, L^{d}, London._]
[Illustration: Austria-Hungary. II.
_Printed by G. Löwensohn, Fuerth Bavaria_
_Published by William Clowes & Sons, L^{d}, London._]
[Sidenote: +Conclusions.+]
If we consider that the total strength (on a war establishment) of
the Austro-Hungarian Army, Line and Landwehr included, exceeds one
million of trained men, of which 778,889 belong to the 1st Line, and
we remember that the Cis-Leithanians are in no way inferior in warlike
spirit, that inheritance of their forefathers, to their brethren on
the far side of the Leitha, we shall come to the conclusion that in
the Austrian Army, with its excellent Corps of officers and excellent
material in the shape of men and horses, any State in Europe would find
either a powerful adversary or a most desirable ally.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 18: Turkey set this example long ago.—_Tr._]
ITALY.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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