175 years army
The army had come up with a special challenge for its anniversary – it turned into a mass movement in sports-loving Hungary.
On April 7, 1848, Lázár Mészáros was officially appointed Minister of War in the government of Prime Minister Lajos Batthyány – this day 175 years ago is officially the day of the birth of the Hungarian Army. By April 7th, as many 175 km as conceivable should be run within two months – in singles, doubles or in a foursome. That was the original task for the soldiers, but numerous civilians also rose to the challenge, running, swimming or canoeing the said distance, while some converted the 175 years into kilograms, which they then benched.
Defense ministers kicked off the campaign Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky (from left) and army chief Romulus Ruszin-Szendi (from right) carried out together with two officers who appeared as the “advertising faces” of the campaign. Valuable prizes will be raffled among the participants, such as a flight in an army helicopter, trying out combat simulators or firefighting robots.