HUNGARIAN PEOPLE'S ARMY SUBJECTED TO PERSONNEL CUT IN THE FALL OF 1953

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A005500210003-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 26, 2010
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: November 8, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

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Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/26: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA005500210003-8
4ZAMFICATION CONFIDENTIA
Mt People's Army Subjected to Personnel Cut in
~_ - - Pikl of 1953.
P1 Af.F
fRTAINFf
DATE PREPARED
8 November 1954
ENCLOSURES (NO. & TYPE)
REMARKS
1. In May 1953, a meeting which involved all commanding officers
subordinate to the army artillery command down to regimental.
and independent battalion commanders, consequently also the
commander of the lst Obsn Bn, wqs held at the army artillery
command in Budapest. After his return to the summer camp west
of Nagykoeroes, the battalion commander told the headauartPrEq
personnel
that it was planned to activate the Second
Army in th-eT-al-1 of 1953. Some units of the new army would be
formed of cadres to be provided by the First Army, while other
.units would be newly activated. The activation of the Second
Army would involve such a great demand for officers that it
could not be covered even with the officers. leaving the officer
schools in the fall of 1953. Consequently, special stress should
be laid especially on the training of the young officers in an
effort to render them qualified to fill the places of unit
commanders although they would not..be old enough for this kind
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of appointment. ;. , 00.40*?,# dapest
2. In August 1953, another commanders' meeting was held at the army
artillery command in Budapest. The subject of this meeting was no
longer the activation of the Second Army, but a personnel cut which
was to be effected in the Hungarian People's Army. The points discussed
at the meeting were disclosed at an officers' meeting of the 1st
Obsn Bn, but no reason for the army personnel cut was given. It was
announced that, as far as artillery was concerned, the cut would be
effected not by the disbanding of regiments, but by reduction of the
number of battalions and the authorized strength of the units.
3. Due to the reduction of the number of the battalions in October 1953,
about 70 officers of the 30th Arty Div or about 10 percent of actual.
strength were discharged, On the basis of an understanding, a* minor
portion of these officers was transferred to the staff of the
Ministry of the Interior (constabulary). Others of the officers
discharged were pensioned; they received their full salary for the
month following the date of discharge and reimbursement for the 50X1-HUM
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/26: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA005500210003-8
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/26: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA005500210003-8
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a
1.
three months after the date of their discharge and reimbursement
for the costs of their moving.
In all orders concerning the army personnel cut, reference was
made to the so-called strength reduction (Hungarian: letszamcsoek-
kentes).
y
(XS~4~'t l"DENTIA
sts of moving. Most of the dischargees were transferred to
the reserve officer corps and received their full salary for
L.
5. During a visit to Cegled (0 49/0 0.8), Lieutenant Mihaly `Feket
formerly deputy. battery commander of the sound-ranging. _.W ,
who was reassigned to an infantry regiment in Keszthely (Y 4/V 40)
as deputy company commander for political affairs in the fall of
1953, said that he would get another appointment in this infantry
regiment because the place of the deputy company commander for
political affairs had been abolished.2
Comment. A First Army is mentioned for the first.time.
Except for military area headquarters, only corps headquarters
were regularly determined as top command agencies subordinate
to the ministry which included the general staff.
Comment. The army personnel cut in the fall of 1953 has
been mentioned in a previous report
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Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/26: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA005500210003-8