Osobine suvremenog geopolitičkog položaja Mađarske
Characteristics of Present Geopolitical Position of Hungary

Summary/Abstract: The possibilities of communication and geographic (physical) valorization of Hungarian state territory play a significant part in appreciation of geopolitical and geostrategic position of Hungary. The fact that Hungary is the part of so called continental Europe, which is the most outstanding crash zone of West European seapowers and the powers of Heartland, is also to be pointed out. The shortest and the most suitable continental communication line that links Central and Western Europe with the southeast of the Continent and Near East is that running through Carpathian basin. The same line links Eastern Europe with the lowland of the Po and the Apennines. Such Territory relations and the fact that Alfold (Carpathian basin) is, being the centre of gravitation of its mountainy surrounding, the geostrategic key of complete military control over Carpathian basin, define Hungary as one of two or three most important communication crossroads of Europe. The significance of the communication crossroad is determined by the transcontinental communication lines North East-South West-South East. Both lines have great economic and geostrategic importance. The North East-South West line, running through the wooded Carpathian Mts and Hungary, is the shortest way that links the Lvo’v communication crossroad and North Adriatic. The possibility of rapid exit to so called »warm sea« and penetration to the lowland of the Po, which would at the same time cut through the south wing of NATO Pact, would result in the establishing of the communication links with Arab world (across the Strait of Messina, Sicily and Tunisia). It would at the same time stop vitally important oil support of Western Europe. The same line from the point of view of NATO Pact, means the direct contact with so called vellow earth (loess) zone which is, alongside its communication openness toward Ukraine and Western Siberia, one of the most important natural and demographic skeleton of Warsaw Pact countries. The control over Carpathian basin and specially over Slovakia allows at the same time the cutting through of the continental longitudinal communication line that links (across the Polish plane) Eastern and Western Europe on the line Moscow-Warsaw-Berlin-Paris. The significance of the communication transversal NE-SW is even greater through the fact that it runs through the area of demographic and economic gravity centre not only of Hungary, but of the western part of Yugoslavia as well. It should be added that the broadness of the river courses and the alluvial plans in Carpathian basin result in the small number of bridge passages and consequently, these are from military¬ -strategic point of view the most vulnerable spots of the communication line. The NW-SE line links, in the shortest possible way, Western and Central Europe with the southeastern part of the Continent and with Near East. The line that starts in Alfold and runs along the valleys of the Nišava and Vardar to Salonika and along the valleys of the Nišava and Maritsa to Istanbul is one of the oldest operation lines toward Eastern Mediterranean, or toward the heart of the Continent. In the present conditions the achievement of the control over this line assures the way out to the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles and to some other important Easter Mediterranean ports, and this can be of the great importance in stopping of the oil transport toward Western Europe. The Danube is, thanks to direction of its course, the further possibility of military-strategic utilization, or better to say the combination of utilizations (water and road communication lines) of the NW-SE line. In the strategic valorization of Hungary one shouldn't oversee the line that starts in Alfold and runs, along the vallies of the Bosnia and Neretva, toward Central Adriatic. The importance of this line is to be searched in the fact that successful military penetration along this line results in the cutting through of Dinaric wall«, and this in return can fundamentally lessen the function of military efforts aimed at the achievement of Yugoslav conception of the state territory defence. The primary things that should be taken into consideration when speaking about the importance of the depth of the battlefield and of war tactics, are some elements of the natural and geographic base, such as relief and waters Relief (physical) openness of Hungary and culturally very well shaped paysages allow an easy view of situation and progress of any military array. Only the network of watercourses directed transversally over the line of military progress (the Danube and the Tisa) can't have some effects on slowing down of military progress and on efficient defensive arrangements. The examples from World War II (Budapest) prove this very well. It is in the interest of Warsaw Pact to prolong the military presence in Hungary for it is (Hungary) one of the most important U.S.S.R. provision centre for uranium and bauxite, vitally important strategic row materials. At last, one should take into consideration relatively numerous (3,5 million) Hungarian population living outside the borders of their native country, and this fact, alongside its positive effect on neighbourly relations, can be very efficiently used, especially if related to some territorial problems, as a very effective measure of political pressure aimed at the achievement of the corresponding military-strategic aims.

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