An item reported that the Hungarian
Danube River Police or River Guardwas founded after the First World War. The
personnel consisted at that moment mainly of ex Austro-Hungarian Navy men and
Royal Marines. In the beginning was this force responsible for supervising
vessels including cargo and passengers in the Hungarian Danube sector. After
1930 however was the River Police reorganized and became a semi-military force
including converting her fleet. Instead of the small patrol boats were now 6
larger river gunboats with a main armament of 8cm guns, 3 mine laying-sweeping
vessels and 2 suppliers When a war broke out was the Danube to be mined at the
Yugoslavian and Austro-Czechoslovakian borders. For that purpose were all ships
stationed on the Danube except for one mine laying-sweeping vessel and one
supplier which were stationed on the Tisza. Before 1938/1939 was the force
independent but subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs with ranks and
ratings similar to the navy although not identical. Afterwards was she
integrated in the Hungarian army as the River Forces Command without changing
her internal organisation structure.
The force numbered 2 battalions each of
around 250 men and armed with 2 guns and fitted out with a radio communication
unit. Two battalions were stationed at the Danube shore stations at Budapest,
Baja and Komaron (one battalion partly at Budapest and partly at Baja and one
at Komaron) and the third battalion at Szeged along the Tisza. Except for the
underground mine-storage facility at Dunafoldvar along the Danube manned by
30-35 men were all storage facilities located at Budapest where also the
headquarters with a staff of 30-35 officers was. Totally numbered the force
between 800-1.000 men.
Source
The
report was published on www.archive.org,
document number CIA-RDP80-00809A000600040089-0
