35008 HUNGARIAN OFFICER SZENT LASZLO DIV.

The Szent László Infantry Division is a Hungarian infantry division that was formed in October 1944 from soldiers of the ground forces and personnel of the Hungarian Air Force. The tactical union was treated as elite in the Hungarian army, which was also to be emphasized by the name of the division referring to an outstanding figure in the history of Hungary - King Władysław I the Holy reigning in the second half of the 11th century. The organizational composition of the division was highly unusual and consisted of one infantry regiment, one paratrooper regiment and - initially - one air regiment, composed of soldiers previously serving in the air force. In addition, there were support units in the form of, for example, three artillery battalions with 210 and 305 mm howitzers, a motorized artillery battalion or a motorized sapper battalion. Both the equipment and structure differed from the standard equipment of the Hungarian infantry division. From December 1944, some of the division fought in defense of Budapest, and some in heavy fights with the Soviets on the Hron and Ipola rivers. Later, the units of the division fought in the area of Lake Balaton, along the Mura River and finally in south-eastern Austria. The division surrendered to the British on May 11, 1945.