1938/39 was one of the most unsettled times in world history. In Europe, Hitler was slowly taking over neighboring states in bloodless invasions, using the need to unify the German people as an excuse. This seems to be a fairly popular 'reason' with a large number of dictators to seek the territory of neighbors even today.

Another nation that was severely restricted in terms of their military and had also lost territory due to being on the wrong end of WWI was Hungary. Unlike Germany, who started blatant rearming in 1933, Hungary did not get underway until 1938 and even then had to rely on Italy and Germany for equipment as other nations would not sell to them. Hungary also saw a fairly large loss of territory as surrounding nations nibbled away at the edges after WWI.

With the Germans taking over Czechoslovakia, Hungary saw this as an opportunity to perhaps regain some of its lost territory. There had been border skirmishes from time to time with Czechoslovakia, but with the new state of Slovakia set up by the Germans, it seemed like a good time to snag a bit back. Thus began the very short conflict between Hungary and Slovakia over a few square miles of land. A war that lasted less than a week and saw a fair amount of combat in the air that was fairly one-sided.

This book fall into the well done small histories that has made Helion so popular. It covers the air operations of the two nations told mostly from the Hungarian point of reference. This is due to the paucity of historical records on the Slovakian side of things as much as anything else. Pretty much every mission is covered and enhanced by stories from log books and post conflict publications. As usual there are color profiles, some good maps, and a fair number of period photos to illustrate this volume. A book I found interesting and I know you will as well.

June 2026

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