25th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Hunyadi (1st Hungarian)

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The 25th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Hunyadi (1st Hungarian) was a short-lived infantry division of the Waffen-SS, the armed wing of Nazi Germany. It was not part of the regular Wehrmacht.

Formation and origins
- The division was created in November 1944 after Germany overthrew Hungary’s Miklós Horthy government.
- It mainly drew troops from Hungary’s Royal Army, especially the 13th Honvéd Division, plus a ski battalion.
- It was never fully formed, trained, or equipped. By January 1945 about 20,000 men were gathered at the Neuhammer training camp, but weapons, vehicles, and other supplies were very scarce.

Name and insignia
- It was first called the 25. SS-Freiwilligen Grenadier Division, later renamed 25. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS “Hunyadi” (ungarische Nr. 1).
- The division’s name honors John Hunyadi, a 15th-century Hungarian general.
- Some members wore a right-hand collar patch with the letter “H”; many wore blank patches or the standard sig runes. An arm shield in Hungarian colors was planned, but it’s unclear if any were made or worn.

Combat and fate
- In February 1945 the Soviet Red Army closed in on the division’s training area, so the troops were evacuated and reached Austria in April.
- A rear-guard kampfgruppe left behind at Neuhammer was destroyed.
- The remainder saw its first major combat on May 3, 1945, against elements of the U.S. Third Army.
- The division surrendered to American forces near Lake Attersee over the next two days.

Commanders
- The division was led by two officers during its short existence: Thomas Muller and József Grassy.