" Platoon Photograph "
The 2nd Lieutenant (Hadnagy) on the right is wearing the distinctive officer’s shoulder strap that was used by Hungarian officers until 1941. The insignia clearly distinguished officers from enlisted men and NCOs, but this conspicuous feature was eventually abolished during the war, partly because it made officers more easily identifiable to enemy marksmen and snipers.
The Warrant Officer (Zászlós) on the left is not wearing the officer’s shoulder strap, reflecting his status as a senior non-commissioned officer rather than a commissioned officer. He is also missing the shoulder cord traditionally worn on the left shoulder. Prior to 1940, it was customary for officers to wear shoulder cords on both shoulders, but regulations were later simplified so that the cord was worn only on the same side as the officer’s shoulder strap.
This photograph illustrates the transitional nature of Hungarian military uniforms during the early years of the Second World War, when several long-standing distinctions between officers and other ranks were being revised for practical wartime reasons.
