Page 512 - Le Operazioni Interforze e Multinazionali nella Storia Militare - ACTA Tomo II

1152 XXXIX Congresso della CommIssIone InternazIonale dI storIa mIlItare • CIHm

Defense without confidence
Austria facing the cold war threat

lukas mAYRHUBER

efending Austria against the threats arising during the cold war period was not an
D easy task. Austria was from 1955 on a neutral state in the middle of Europe. Neu-
trality was declared by the Austrian federal government after the end of the allied oc-
cupation. The state of neutrality was crucial for the full independence since both blocks,
the Western North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Eastern Warsaw-Treaty
Organization, had some interest in Austrian territory. In order to prevent the separation
of the country into a western and an eastern zone, just like done in Germany, the state
of neutrality opened the way for the full independence of the whole country. Since both
blocks wanted to integrate Austrian territory in their defense plans, neutrality guaranteed
that no one was able to do so. Neutrality brought independence but also obligations for
Austria: In the neutrality law, anchored in the constitution, the government promised to
do everything needed to defend the country against all existing threats.
The Austrian Defense Forces were reinstituted in 1955 and were mainly responsible
for the defense of the country. The cold war was a period of continuing and progressive
armament in east and west. After 1955 the situation even got worse: More and more
troops were stationed near Austria’s border. Sowjet troops widened their influence in
Eastern Europe, clearly evident for example in Hungary 1956 or in Czechoslovakia in
1968. East and West also dispatched atomic warheads and transport systems in Cen-
tral Europe and as a matter of fact again close to the Austrian border. The conquest of
Austria was never planned, neither by the Western nor the Eastern Treaty-Organization.
Austria’s infrastructure was vital for any military action in Europe, because well built
transport routes exposed the quite weak NATO defense in southern Germany to the east-
ern troops. The most important transport route was a nearly straight line from Vienna
to Passau, following the river Danube. A second though less important transport route
was located in the eastern part of Austria and was the shortest connection to Yugoslavia.
A third potential route was the Alps crossing highway from Kufstein via Innsbruck to
the Italian border, connecting the NATO-forces in Germany with those in Italy. To some
extent, Austria was therefore part of the planning in east and west for a military conflict
in Europe. without doubt neutrality did not guarantee, that the two treaty organizations
would spare Austria’s territory during a war in Europe. So the defense of the country was
not only proclaimed in the neutrality law 1955, but was an important and needed task.
The Austrian politicians never had much confidence in their defense forces. In the first
years after 1955 politicians even doubted, that the defense forces would ever be called up
for war. In case of emergency the armed forces had to show some “symbolic defense”, was
said in 1958. The Austrian defense forces on the other hand were ready to do more than
a “symbolic defense” but their funds were strictly limited. In case of the deployment of