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The Royal Hungarian Honvéd Army was established as a part of the army of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, but had different uniforms and own insignias etc.

When in 1888 a rectangular stamped belt buckle was introduced with the new infantry equipment for the austro-hungarian army, the RHHA introduced it's own variation with the hungarian coat-of-arms.

The new belt buckle was used from 1892 onwards (designated, model M1892). In 1911 a new type of coat-of-arms was introduced and the belt buckles were changed (designated, model M1911).

In WW1 - for economical reasons - the copper belt plates were replaced by copper plated steel, or simple steel buckles. In 1915 all the belt buckles were rejected and a simple tongue buckle was introduced for the whole army.

Several "extra" variations of the M1892 and M1911 belt buckles exists, which are made from two pieces (the coat-of-arms is a separate part) instead of the regular EM buckle stamped in one piece. This belt buckles were used by career NCO's and "Einjaehrige Freiwilligen" (one-year-volunteers), who wanted a higher standard belt. These "extra" buckles were sold in uniform stores and were privately purchased items.

Recently many reproduction belt buckles are made in Hungary. These include all austro-hungarian types (Common Army M1888, RHHA M1892, M1911, Bosnia-Hercegovina Gendarmerie M1908), russian WW1, Wehrmacht and SS buckles. These are quite good copies - as you can see on the pictures below - and no problem if they are sold as replicas (e.g. for reenactors), but some dealers alter these repo buckles, and sell them as originals, especially for western collectors.

So if you are a western collector and you want buy militaria in Hungary, be very careful! Most german items (helmets, belt buckles, even uniforms) are faked.

Photo Section

1. Copy (left) and original (right) M1892 belt buckles. The latter is "extra" variation

2. Reverse of the "extra" buckle

3. Reverse of the copy buckle

4. Reverse of the "extra" buckle. Note the makers name

5. M1911 buckles

6. Reverse of the M1911 buckles. Left: standard version, right: "extra" version

7. Wartime M1911 buckles. Top: brownished steel buckle, bottom: copper-plated steel buckle

8. Reverse of the copper-plated buckle, note the two-piece "extra" construction and the steel body painted grey

9. Top: reproduction M1892 belt, bottom: original M1892 belt

10. Belt-end of the copy M1892 belt

Before 1919 ... A site devoted to Great War Militaria (WW1) and collectibles. We have many topics covering the following studies : World War 1 Steel Helmets, Spiked helmets, various headgear including peaked caps or képi 's , (schirmmütze), uniforms, gas mask, infantry troops and equipment , badges, Uniform and Equipment of many nations, including Germany, France, Belgium and the UK. We also have some links to reenactment groups.