20. Honvéd infantry regiment
Among the various relics of the regiments, objects that are sometimes difficult to interpret appear. For example, field post cards for the regiments sometimes have decorations that we find difficult to interpret. There are five or six cards that show a cap badge, which are still unknown. They haven’t show up in material reality. Attached to the cap badge of the 15th Honvéd Infantry Regiment, I have previously presented the special 71st Infantry Regiment Kappenabzeichen. This post focuses on the 20th Honvéd Infantry Regiment’s as-yet-unknown badge.
In the opening picture, I put the regiment’s well-known cap badge on the post card in two material versions. The most important battles in the regiment’s history between 1914 and 1916 can be clearly read. They’re all connected to the Russian front. On the postcard, on the other hand, we see a battle scene on mountain terrain. The regiment’s commemorative album, of course, also reports on the events of 1917-1918. These accounts describe how the regiment was deployed to the Italian front, the Karst Plateau, in 1917. Here, the unit participated in the 10th battle of Isonzo. This battle is famous for the italian attackers’ successful action against the village Kostanjevica and the capture of the defending 31 Honvéd battalion there. The Italian break-in was stopped with the help of the 32 Honvéd infantry regiment south of the village. The next day, with the help of the 20th Honvéds, the division could retake the original positions.
Kostanjevica’s name was recorded on the cap badges of both the 31st and 32th Honvéd regiments commemorating this event. The Doberdo badge of the 20th Honvéd probably wasn’t prepared. The post card shows only a picture of the design of the planned badge. The postcard for this post was provided to me by Gábor Csiszér, who should be thanked very much for this
