It all depends on unit cohesion

Text: Levente Petróczy | Photo: Sztaniszláv Horváth | 10:23 July 2, 2026

Quickness, teamwork, harmony. This is how one can summarize the tactical week of the HDF 30th Mechanized Infantry Brigade held in the Bakony Hills, where the soldiers of the 2nd company of the 1st Grenadier Battalion breached a bunker, seized it and then conducted trench warfare. The training sessions did not end nightfall, as the mortar platoons used their Hirtenberger M12 mortars to break the silence of the night.

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The secret of successful trench warfare is that the soldiers of a given platoon can understand each other in all situations, and are able to react to unexpected events as quickly as possible. It is important that the soldiers know the objective area and its environment, so the Hódmezővásárhely troops started the exercise by combing through the forest around the bunker. According to Private Second Class Ferenc Vigh Ivó, it is crucial for everyone to become a team player, because they are interdependent in the darkness of the bunker.

“It’s dark down there, we don’t know how strong the opposing force is. We have to move quietly in silence, so we’re communicating with hand signals” – this is how the infantryman of the 2nd Company of the 1st Grenadier Battalion summarized the special character of Close Quarters Battle (CQB) tactics.

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The success of trench warfare, too, depends on good and rapid communication, because a trench is not just a corridor but rather an area where the enemy may attack from all directions. For this reason, no amount of training is enough once and for all, this task requires regular brush-up sessions. Thanks to the regular training sessions, soldiers reach the level at which they are able to independently make decisions and react to events.

The tactical training session in the Bakony Hills concluded with the action of the mortar platoons of the Hódmezővásárhely-based unit: using their night vision devices and 120 mm Hirtenberger mortars, they conducted a live firing exercise under cover of night.