András Hadik’s Berlin Raid in the Light of Special Operations

Abstract

András Hadik’s raid on Berlin deservedly elevated him to the ranks of the most famous generals of his time. The planning, organization and execution of the raid, and the cooperation between the various branches of the armed forces involved in it, are still exemplary today. The very nature of the raid raises the question of whether Hadik's action corresponds to a special operations task in today's sense and, more broadly, whether there is a link between Hussarism and modern special operations capability.  The paper attempts to answer these questions along the lines of the principles set out in the special operations doctrine.