Lexi Webster
Austria lost land to Italy, Germany, and several other countries in the aftermath of both World Wars. In the years leading up to World War I, Italy had already begun to align itself with Britain and France, and in 1915, it negotiated the secret Pact of London, which promised Italy the right to annex Italian-populated lands from Austria-Hungary. Italy had historically wanted to annex territories along the frontier stretching from the Trentino region in the Alps to Trieste at the northern end of the Adriatic Sea, in order to liberate Italian-speaking populations from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During World War I, Italy repeatedly attacked Austria and made little progress, but in 1917, Italian forces were routed by a German-Austrian counteroffensive. In the aftermath of World War I, Austria's collapse was formalized in the 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and many Austrian lands were ceded to other countries.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date when Austria lost land to Italy | 1800s, 1859, 1866, 1918 |
| Territories Austria lost to Italy | Trentino region in the Alps, Trieste, South Tyrol, Trento, Brixen, Lombardy, Venetia, Mantua, Venetian Province |
| Reason | Italy wanted to annex territory along the frontier to "'liberate" Italian-speaking populations from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and unite them with their cultural homeland |
| Treaty | September 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye |
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What You'll Learn
Austria lost land to Italy in 1866
The loss of land to Italy in 1866 was a significant development in the unification of Italy and the decline of Austrian influence in the region. The main obstacle to Italian unification had been the Habsburg monarchy, which controlled much of Italy and sought to keep it divided. To overcome Austrian power, Piedmont (Italy from 1861) forged an alliance with France, agreeing to turn over the province of Savoy and Nice in exchange for military support against Austria. This alliance proved decisive, as Austria was defeated and forced to cede Lombardy to Piedmont in 1859 and Venetia in 1866.
The Italian government had ambitions to acquire even more territory from Austria, including Trentino, Trieste, and the South Tyrol, Fiume (Rijeka), and the Dalmatian Coast. However, these ambitions were not fully realised until the aftermath of World War I, when Italy’s entry into the war against Austria-Hungary led to the acquisition of Trentino-South Tyrol and Trieste in the 1919 Paris Peace Settlement. It was only under Mussolini that the full territorial goals were accomplished with the occupation of the Dalmatian coast.
The loss of land to Italy in 1866 was a significant blow to Austria and a turning point in the balance of power in Europe. It demonstrated the weakening position of the Habsburg monarchy and set the stage for further shifts in the region's territorial boundaries, particularly during World War I when Austria suffered additional territorial losses.
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Austria was annexed by Germany in 1938
On March 12, 1938, Austria was annexed by Germany in what became known as the Anschluss, which means "union" or "joining" in German. This event marked the incorporation of Austria into the German Third Reich under the leadership of Adolf Hitler. The annexation was met with widespread support from Austrians, with many enthusiastically welcoming German troops and Nazi officials into their country. However, this spelled doom for Austria's Jewish population, as they would now be subjected to Nazi persecution and the horrors of the Holocaust, in which six million Jewish people were systematically murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators.
The annexation of Austria was a significant event in the lead-up to World War II. It represented a clear challenge to the post-World War I order established by the Treaty of Versailles, which had specifically prohibited the union of Austria and Germany. Hitler, himself an Austrian-born German, had long desired to incorporate his homeland into the German Reich. In the months leading up to the annexation, he applied increasing pressure on the Austrian government, supporting pro-Nazi factions within the country and demanding concessions.
As early as July 1936, Hitler had sent a memorandum to the German military leadership, instructing them to prepare for the eventuality of a military invasion of Austria. However, the annexation itself was ultimately achieved without the use of force. On March 11, 1938, Austrian Nazi supporters, with the support of German troops, occupied key positions in Vienna and other Austrian cities. The Austrian Chancellor, Kurt von Schuschnigg, resigned, and the country came under the control of the Austrian Nazi leader, Arthur Seyss-Inquart. The following day, German troops crossed the border and were met with enthusiasm by many Austrians.
The annexation was officially ratified by a referendum held on April 10, 1938, in which Austrians were asked to vote on the question of the country's union with Germany. The referendum was heavily manipulated by the Nazis, and the official result showed an overwhelming majority in favor of the annexation. This referendum served as a pretext for the formal incorporation of Austria into the German Reich, with Austria becoming a province of the Third Reich.
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Austria's loss of Lombardy-Venetia
The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, also known as the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom, was a constituent land of the Austrian Empire from 1815 to 1866. It was created by the Congress of Vienna, which combined the territories of Lombardy and Venetia into a single kingdom ruled by the Austrian Emperor. The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was first ruled by Emperor Francis I from 1815 until his death in 1835, followed by his son, Ferdinand I, who ruled from 1835 to 1848.
In 1848, a popular revolution known as the "Five Days of Milan" resulted in the Austrians fleeing from Milan, which then became the capital of the Lombardy Provisional Government. Venice also rose against Austrian rule, forming the Venice Provisional Government. However, Austrian forces under Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky defeated the Sardinian troops at the Battle of Custoza and restored Austrian rule in Milan and Venice.
The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia faced significant challenges due to the Italian unification movement (Risorgimento). After the Second Italian War of Independence and the defeat at the Battle of Solferino in 1859, Austria was forced to cede Lombardy to France by the Treaty of Zurich, which immediately passed it to the Kingdom of Sardinia. This marked a crucial turning point, as it reduced the kingdom to only the region of Venetia.
Finally, in 1866, the remaining territory of Venetia was incorporated into the recently proclaimed Kingdom of Italy following Austria's defeat in the Third Italian War of Independence. This dissolution of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia concluded Austria's loss of these lands to Italy. The territory of Venetia and Mantua was formally transferred from Austria to France and then ceded to Italy for diplomatic reasons, finalizing the unification process.
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Austria's exclusion from German unification
Austria and Germany have a shared history, with German being the official language of both countries and Germans being the majority ethnic group of both. From 555 to 843 CE, the Germanic Baiuvarii (ancient German Bavarians) established the Duchy of Bavaria, which included the March of Pannonia that would later become Austria. From 843 to 962, Bavarian Austria was ruled by East Francia (the Kingdom of Germany), after which it became a sovereign state in 1156. From 1156 to 1806, Austria and other German states were part of the Holy Roman Empire, which was officially a German polity from 1512 and mostly led by Austria itself.
After Napoleon's defeat in 1815, Austria created the German Confederation, reuniting the German states. However, the lack of a central authority within the Confederation led to diplomatic tension between Prussia and Austria, as both had ambitions to create a unified Germany under their own proposals. Austria proposed a union centred on the Habsburgs, while Prussia sought to exclude Austria and become the central force. Prussia's success in creating a German Customs Union with northern German states in 1834 furthered the diplomatic divide.
In 1867, the North German Confederation was declared by Bismarck, excluding Austria-Hungary. After Prussia's victory in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, Bismarck announced the creation of the German Empire, again without Austria-Hungary. This period saw the rise of Pan-Germanism and the idea of a Greater Germany, which excluded Austria. The desire for unification with Germany was also present in Austria, driven by the belief that Austria, stripped of its imperial land, was not economically viable. However, this desire was not universally shared by the Austrian population, with regional patriotism often taking precedence over pan-German sentiment.
The idea of an Anschluss, or annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany, gained support after World War I and the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Republic of German-Austria sought unification with Germany, but the 1919 Treaty of Saint Germain and Treaty of Versailles not only forbade this union but also stripped Austria of territories such as the Sudetenland. The majority in both countries wanted unification, but this was forbidden by the treaties to avoid a dominant German state. After Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany in 1933, he demanded the right to Anschluss, and in 1938, the German Army invaded Austria, leading to a plebiscite that resulted in a manipulated 99.7% approval for unification.
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Soviet occupation of Austria
Immediately after World War II, Austria was jointly occupied by the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the United States, and France. The country was divided into four occupation zones, with Vienna being subdivided among all four allies. The Soviet zone included Burgenland, Lower Austria, and the Mühlviertel area of Upper Austria, north of the Danube.
The Soviet occupation of Austria lasted from 1945 to 1955. During this period, the Soviet Union exerted significant influence over Austrian politics and society. The Soviets were particularly interested in exploiting Austrian oil fields and consolidating their economic interests in the country. Soviet occupation forces engaged in systematic sexual violence against women and repression against civilians, which harmed the Red Army's reputation. In 1945, Moscow issued an order forbidding violent interrogations in an attempt to improve the conduct of Soviet troops.
The occupation of Austria was a controversial subject during the Cold War. The Western Allies and the Soviet Union disagreed over the country's future, with the Soviets initially pushing for the restoration of Austria as an independent state within its pre-1938 boundaries. The Soviet leadership, including Stalin, paid close attention to Austria during this period. The occupation ended in 1955 with the Khrushchev Thaw, after Austrian promises of perpetual neutrality. On May 15, 1955, Austria was granted full independence, and the last occupation troops departed on October 25 of that year.
The Soviet occupation of Austria has been the subject of academic study and analysis, with access to Soviet archives becoming possible after the collapse of the Soviet Union. These studies have provided insights into the decision-making of the Soviet authorities during the occupation and the structure and strategy of their propaganda machinery.
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