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Military Awards

For devotion, courage and national service

Endre’s Hungarian Uniform Awards

First Lieutenant Endre Kovacs was loyal and courageous Hungarian military officer, deeply devoted to national service and the territorial integrity of Hungary. His decorations shown (left to right) reflect a career marked by active participation in key national and regional military operations—especially those connected to Hungary’s territorial reintegration campaigns before and during World War II—and by personal valor, technical skill, and leadership in both combat and organisational roles.

  1. Hungarian Crown Bronze Medal with the swords on a war ribbon with the visible sign of “Governor’s Commendation”. This was also announced in the Honvédség Közlöny. Awarded for World War II merits.
  2. Cross of National Defense (received for the activities in Transcarpathia in 1939). He took part in irregular, reconnaissance, and counter-intelligence missions, often under difficult and politically sensitive conditions. The medal recognises courage, initiative, and loyalty in these semi-clandestine or front-line operations.
  3. Transylvanian Memorial Medal. A commemorative medal awarded to the members of the National Guard, the Gendarmerie and the Police, who were mobilized during the reintegration of Transylvania, their members and officials who participated in the mobilization, as well as those who performed official service, plus the officials of the MÁV and the Royal Hungarian Post Office.
  4. Highland Memorial Medal. During the return of the Highlands, awarded to the members of the National Guard, the Gendarmerie and the Police, such as to officials who participated in the mobilization, as well as those who performed official service, as well as the officials of the MÁV and the Royal Hungarian Post Office.
  5. Hungarian War Memorial Medal. Between 1914 and 1918, it was given to those performing military service. In exceptional cases, those who fought in the national interest between 1919-1921 could also receive it.
 
Taken together, these awards portray Lieutenant Endre Kovács as a trusted, battle-tested officer whose service spanned Hungary’s critical military and territorial campaigns of the late 1930s and  up to mid 1940s. His decorations reflect both front-line valor and organisational reliability—qualities prized by the Horthy-era army. The combination of combat and commemorative medals situates him among those mid-ranking professionals who formed the backbone of Hungary’s armed forces: men who balanced operational competence, ideological loyalty, and patriotic conviction. Within the interwar and wartime officer corps, such a record would have marked him as a disciplined and dependable leader, one who embodied the continuity of Hungarian military tradition from the Great War through the nation’s later struggles for territorial restoration and defense. His war efforts in the Siege of Budapest are also acknowledged in various documented sources.
 

The Kingdom of Hungary (Regency period) did not have time to create or authorize a specific campaign medal for the defense of Budapest before the siege ended in February 1945.


By that time, the capital had fallen, the government had fled to western Hungary, and the remnants of the Honvédség were collapsing under German control. As a result, no officially sanctioned medal was struck for those who fought in the siege.

Awards Given During or Immediately Before the Siege

Some officers and soldiers defending Budapest did receive earlier wartime decorations, typically for acts of bravery or service prior to or during the siege itself:

  • Signum Laudis (Silver or Bronze Medal of Merit with Swords) — still being awarded in 1944 for combat merit.

  • Order of Merit of the Hungarian Crown (with Swords) — often bestowed on officers for leadership or organizational excellence.

  • Governor’s Commendations continued to appear in the Honvédségi Közlöny through late 1944 for distinguished conduct under siege conditions.

These were not specific to Budapest but were the de facto recognitions available for participants in the city’s defense.

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