The Honved at Home: Hungarians of Fortress Budapest Spoiled!

By Ian Birdwell

By mid-1944, the Red Tide sweeping across the plains of eastern Europe had finally begun to lap the borders of Hungary.

By August, Romania had switched sides, Hungary was being invaded, and it looked like Germany wouldn’t quite be able to get everything under control.

The fighting in Hungary represents one of my favorite periods in WW2. It’s the junction of almost every nation fighting in Europe. Hungarian infrastructure was destroyed by US and British bombing after all. Taking center stage was the fighting in and around Budapest.

This is the setting for warlord’s latest theater book for in Fortress Budapest.

Now as far as this review goes, I’m going to be taking you all through the broad strokes of the Hungarian section of the book. I’ll go through the new units added into the Hungarian arsenal and the brand new theater selectors able for the Honved!

Hungarians have had a platoon selector within the Armies of Italy and the Axis book, but a common complaint I’ve heard around the water-cooler has been the lack of interesting special rules and interesting units who made names for themselves in the Honved.

While Fortress Budapest doesn’t introduce any replacement army special rules, it does include a host of new units representing the diversity of a nation struggling to stem the tide of Soviet and Romanian forces overwhelming their defenses. Those units do have some great rules. So let’s get down to looking at the new options for infantry sections, support units, before finally checking out the new platoon selectors.

 

The Hungarian Infantryman

The most diverse options in Fortress Budapest lie in the new infantry options for Hungary, with most being applicable in the generic platoon selector as new options instead of the forces outlined in the Forces of Italy and the Axis. Included in the book are rules for Arrow Cross Militia, Assault Pioneers, Border Guards, Danube Flotilla Infantry, Experienced Honved Troops, Gendarmerie Battalion Troops, Hungarian Paratroopers, Replacement Honved Troops, University Assault Battalion Troops, and Vannay Battalion Troops.

Ten new options to flesh out all of the options any Hungarian player could hope to have, and the best part of these 10 options is that each section has a host of new rules to sink your teeth into. In short, it’s like a dream come true. But to me, the stars of the show are Assault Pioneers, Border Guards, and the Gendarmerie Battalion Troops.

For the squad that can do it all- from Tank busting to assaulting infantry positions- look no further than the humble Assault Pioneer squad. With an amazing degree of customization available to them, they can be tailored to deal with nearly any situation.

Tank busting? Say hello to several panzerfausts. Assaulting infantry positions? Say hello to a flame thrower and several sub-machine guns in each squad. Generalists as a solid core of your platoon? Take it all.

The best part is not only can this unit be taken as trained or veteran. It also has the special rule “motivated elite” which allows them to remove D2 pins instead of the normal 1 for passing order checks. All in all, if it absolutely needs to be accomplished in your game these guys can get it done. 

The next two entries really shine with the special rules, the border guards possess “home ground” which allows them to be set up after all other units have been deployed on both sides. Perfect for plugging holes in your defenses you noticed only after your opponent has finished setting up.

The Border Guards are also fleet of foot with the “Guardians of the Carpathians” rule, allowing them to treat woods as open ground for movement. Did I mention they can get flamethrowers as well? The can, and that’s just amazing. 

The Gendarmerie are slightly different, getting the “Faithfully, Honourably, Valiantly” rule, giving all units within 12-inches of them a reroll to morale checks. Best served in a supporting role, these military policemen will help the hold the line against the Soviet onslaught.

Beyond these three shining stars, most infantry units in this selector are offered the opportunity to upgrade their regular mg to an mg42, gaining the Hitler’s buzzsaw special rule. So for a reasonable points expenditure, your Hungarians will be more than capable of keeping Ivan at bay.

Support Teams

In terms of support teams, Fortress Budapest covers the host of new equipment Hungary introduced towards the end of the war to help the Honved modernize.

Though they are limited to only three selections, including the 44M Pancelrem Rocket Launcher, the 43M Sorozatveto (the Nebelwerfer), the 80mm 29/38M Heavy AA gun, and the 44M Buzoganyveto Rocket Launcher (The Mace Thrower). Of these weapons, my personal favorite is the Mace Thrower. An artillery piece capable of knocking out vehicles and blasting infantry to smithereens is always a win in my book. Though expensive, relatively speaking, it’s multiple roles make up for its pricing and the two shots it receives make for a fantastic piece of equipment for any platoon.

For new vehicle support, Fortress Budapest adds the Hetzer, the Panzer IV, the Panther, the StuG III, the Tiger, and updates the Zrinyi for the end of the war. Another one of my favorites, the Zrinyi makes waves by having the ability to upgrade to new HEAT ammunition and equip itself with spaced armor. All in all, the Zrinyi is turning out another all-around great vehicle to include despite losing its MMG capabilities.

The Selectors

Fortress Budapest puts out four new selectors of the Honved with their own unique special rules, which just punches up the historical factor of the army and modeling opportunities. The selectors are broken up into two infantry and two tank platoons.

Our first stop on this Selector journey is the Carpathian Mountain Border Guard Reinforced platoon, which is made up of our favorite Border Guards as the core units. Though they’re incredibly light on anti-tank assets and lose the Axis Support rule, they gain Gebirgsjaeger as supplementary infantry squads and D3+1 barricades to deploy on the board.

Next, the Armored Artillery Battery Armoured Platoon offers the opportunity to recreate the Rohamagyus Uteg units efforts to push back against the Soviet advance into Hungary with Hetzers, StuGs, and Zrinyi Assault Guns.

This selector provides all assault and anti-tank gun artillery units in this platoon the aforementioned “motivated elite” rule, helping to keep the guns moving and effective against your opponents. On top of that, the “Infantry Support Role” rule means you don’t have to worry about including transports for your infantry elements like other armored platoon selectors mandate.

The other armored platoon option for Hungary lies in the Armored Field Division Platoon, which keys into domestically produced Turan Tank series. This platoon is interesting as it allows for a great deal of aggression with the Turan, because of the “Pride of the Magyar” special rule enabling a pre-game move following deployment at the advance rate of the tanks. Great for getting that extra bit of a push towards the objectives or moving into cover.

While each of the previously mentioned selectors are fantastic, my favorite selector has to be the Budapest Pocket Defenders Reinforced Platoon.

Representing the brave defenders of Budapest during the siege, this platoon is technically a mixed platoon of German and Hungarian troops but it offers so much to the person selecting it.

Nearly all of the aforementioned infantry sections can be mixed and matched to form a platoon or be exchanged for German sections described in Fortress Budapest.

Though limiting in terms of the support offered with several collapsed selections (only one artillery, anti-aircraft gun, or field artillery piece) the sheer flexibility of this force is its greatest strength.

But wait there’s more!

The Budapest Defender Pocket includes two special rules, “Multi-national Force” and “Street Barricades”. Multi-national force allows for the mixture of German and Hungarian units, with the option of German Commanders to use “You Men, Snap to Action!” Rule on all friendly units. While Street Barricades enables D3 defensive positions to be placed within the Axis deployment zone. 

Closing Thoughts

Fortress Budapest injects new life into the Hungarian Army of Bolt Action and provides a host of new options with almost every unit having unique capabilities, flavor, and modeling opportunities. I’m incredibly excited for this release and am eager to hear your thoughts as well. Join us in