Since 1872, the Ludovica Military Academy had been turning out competent and efficient officers and graduated the majority of officers for the Hungarian Army. A core of competent and educated officers struggled to handle the large expansion of the Hungarian Army to meet the needs of the Eastern Front. The Hungarians enjoyed a professional and experienced core of staff officers.
Although the majority of infantry forces fielded by the Royal Hungarian Army in 1944–45 were not combat hardened, there were some experienced units after 3 years of fighting on the Eastern Front. Infantry Divisions of the Hungarian First Army had recently fought in the defence of Galicia in early 1944, and would put their experience to good use, like the 25th Division at the Battle of Tordá and the 10th Division inside the Budapest pocket.
Mussolini famously boasted that the Italian army had eight million bayonets standing at the ready. In actuality, the standing Italian army was far smaller than that, with huge numbers of troops conscripted into a war they neither believed in nor understood. The fighting ability of units of the Italian army varied greatly, with much of the rank and file lacking proper equipment, transport and even motivation. Still, there were several key battles in North Africa and the Eastern Front where they performed well.
Produced by Fiat Ansaldo, the M13/40 was the main battle tank of the Italian army in World War II and served throughout the war following its introduction in 1940. Although designated as a medium tank it was more in line with the light tanks of other nations at the time.
The initial Belgian defence proved the mettle of the Belgian Army, but they struggled to match the evolving tactics of the ever encroaching Wehrmacht in the early stages of the war. Led by well educated and dependable officers, with proven support weapons in the form of Maxim medium machine gun and 81mm Mortar, the Belgian Army have all the important tools to attempt to hold the line. This box set is an ideal expansion to your Bolt Action Belgian Army.
A Belgian infantry section consists of ten men. A section is led by a sergeant carrying either a MP-28 submachine gun or a Fusil 1889 rifle. The sergeant is supported by a corporal carrying a rifle. The Fusil-mitrailleur 1930 (FM 30) Browning Light Machine Gun or „Belgian BAR” served as the section LMG, which was carried and operated by one man. The remaining seven riflemen carried the Fusil 1889 rifle, one of which is a dedicated rifle grenadier carrying a rifle adapted to shoot grenades.