Hungarian Defence Forces
In April 1867, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was established. Franz Josef, the head of the ancient Habsburg dynasty, was recognized as both Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. Nevertheless, the issue of what form the Hungarian military would take remained a matter of serious contention between Hungarian patriots and Austrian leaders. As the impasse threatened the political union, Emperor Franz Josef ordered a council of generals in November of the same year. Ultimately, the leaders resolved on the following solution: in addition to the joint (k.u.k.) army, Hungary would have its own defence force, whose members would swear their oath to the King of Hungary (who was also Emperor of Austria) and the national constitution, use the Hungarian language of command, and display their own flags and insignia. (Austria would also form its own parallel national defence force, the "Landwehr".) As a result of these negotiations, on 5 December 1868, the Royal Hungarian Landwehr ("Magyar Kiralyi Honvédség", or Defence Force) was established.
Hungarian nobility
The First World War brought about the disintegration of Austria-Hungary in 1918. The Aster Revolutiona movement of left-liberal, social democrat and radical peoplepersuaded King Charles IV, to appoint the leader of the opposition, Count Mihály Károlyi, prime minister on 31 October. After the Lower House dissolved itself, Hungary was proclaimed a republic on 16 November. The Hungarian National Council adopted a land reform, determining the maximum size of the estates at and ordering the distribution of the exceeding part among the local peasantry. Károlyi, whose inherited domains had been mortgaged to banks, was the first to implement the reform.