Was there a specific military bicycle used by the Hungarian Army in 1938-41?

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Sid Guttridge
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Posts: 10158
Joined: 12 Jun 2008, 12:19

Was there a specific military bicycle used by the Hungarian Army in 1938-41?

#1

Post by Sid Guttridge » 04 Feb 2022, 13:52

Was there a specific military bicycle used by the Hungarian Army over 1938-41?

If so, does anyone know of any photographs or line drawings of it?

I have an Osprey illustration of one, but this is a secondary source.

I have found two photos on the internet, but they aren't clear enough to answer my question.

Has anyone any other sources?

Many thanks,

Sid.

Peter89
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Posts: 2369
Joined: 28 Aug 2018, 06:52
Location: Europe

Re: Was there a specific military bicycle used by the Hungarian Army in 1938-41?

#2

Post by Peter89 » 05 Feb 2022, 16:34

Sid Guttridge wrote:
04 Feb 2022, 13:52
Was there a specific military bicycle used by the Hungarian Army over 1938-41?

If so, does anyone know of any photographs or line drawings of it?

I have an Osprey illustration of one, but this is a secondary source.

I have found two photos on the internet, but they aren't clear enough to answer my question.

Has anyone any other sources?

Many thanks,

Sid.
Hello Sid,

yes, there was a standardized military bicycle in the Hungarian Royal Army. It's designation was 32M - Csepel-2 hadikerékpár, so in my own rough translation "Mark 32 Csepel-2 war bicycle". Csepel referred to its factory, the Weiss Manfréd Művek, Mark 32 refers to the date of design (1932).

This is a renovated vintage piece:

Image

This is a folding version (Weiss Manfred 40M), made for the paratroopers:

Image

If you are interested in the topic, Zoltán Sőregi started to publish some research about bicycle troops in the HRA and the KuK army.
http://real.mtak.hu/115619/1/HT_2020-5_Book_cikk_14.pdf
http://real.mtak.hu/118261/1/HT_2020-6_cikk_14.pdf
"Everything remained theory and hypothesis. On paper, in his plans, in his head, he juggled with Geschwaders and Divisions, while in reality there were really only makeshift squadrons at his disposal."


Sid Guttridge
Member
Posts: 10158
Joined: 12 Jun 2008, 12:19

Re: Was there a specific military bicycle used by the Hungarian Army in 1938-41?

#3

Post by Sid Guttridge » 07 Feb 2022, 08:59

Hi Peter,

Thanks very much. The official name of the bicycle, 32M - Csepel-2 hadikerékpár, has opened up a lot of material on the internet and more than answers my question.

However, it has opened up a set of contradictions.

According to Niehorster on p.40 of The Royal Hungarian Army, which I have valued for some 25+ years, on 23 January 1939 the seven original bicycle battalions were renumbered as follows:

1 - 14
2 - 16
3 - 10
4 - 15
5 - 9 and 13
6 - 12
7 -11

However, several of the more recent internet sources you have led me to give the following:

1 - 16
2 - 15
3 - 14
4 - 13
5 - 9
6 - 11
7 - 10
new - 12

Do you know which is accurate?

Many thanks,

Sid,

Peter89
Member
Posts: 2369
Joined: 28 Aug 2018, 06:52
Location: Europe

Re: Was there a specific military bicycle used by the Hungarian Army in 1938-41?

#4

Post by Peter89 » 24 Feb 2022, 09:57

Sid Guttridge wrote:
07 Feb 2022, 08:59
Hi Peter,

Thanks very much. The official name of the bicycle, 32M - Csepel-2 hadikerékpár, has opened up a lot of material on the internet and more than answers my question.

However, it has opened up a set of contradictions.

According to Niehorster on p.40 of The Royal Hungarian Army, which I have valued for some 25+ years, on 23 January 1939 the seven original bicycle battalions were renumbered as follows:

1 - 14
2 - 16
3 - 10
4 - 15
5 - 9 and 13
6 - 12
7 -11

However, several of the more recent internet sources you have led me to give the following:

1 - 16
2 - 15
3 - 14
4 - 13
5 - 9
6 - 11
7 - 10
new - 12

Do you know which is accurate?

Many thanks,

Sid,
Hello Sid,

sorry for the late reply, I haven't been notified I was quoted.

I wish I could give you a definite answer, but I am not an expert of the topic to the degree that I was able to make source correction. It would be the easiest to write to Zoltán Sőregi to address this issue, but for some reason I can not find his email now. Let me get back to this topic later on.
"Everything remained theory and hypothesis. On paper, in his plans, in his head, he juggled with Geschwaders and Divisions, while in reality there were really only makeshift squadrons at his disposal."

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