Why did Lajos Kossuth call for a Hungarian national force in 1848?

In July 1848, Lajos Kossuth persuaded the Hungarian Diet to call for a large national force primarily to defend Hungary against the threats he identified from the Croats and Serbs.1

This move was part of a broader escalation in tensions between the new Hungarian government and the Austrian Empire. Kossuth had also successfully pressured the Diet to tie the dispatch of Hungarian troops to Italy to political conditions that were unacceptable to Vienna, further precipitating a final clash. These actions occurred within the context of the Revolution of 1848, as the Hungarian government sought to assert its autonomy and protect the reforms established by the March Laws.123