Lyla Lindsey
The Austrian Civil War of 12–15 February 1934, also known as the February Uprising or the February Fights, was a series of clashes between the forces of Engelbert Dollfuss's right-wing government and the Republican Protection League, the banned paramilitary arm of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria. The Austrian armed forces, which included the police, Army, and Heimwehr, defeated the Protection League, ending the uprising. The Austrian Empire and its predecessor, the Archduchy of Austria, were one of the most prevalent states in Europe throughout history, with a long military history. The Austrian Civil War was not the first instance of Austrian troops putting down revolts, as they had previously done so during the Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire, which saw uprisings in Vienna, Prague, and other parts of the empire.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date | 12-15 February 1934 |
| Location | Linz, Vienna, and other industrial centres in eastern and central Austria |
| Conflict | Between the forces of Engelbert Dollfuss's right-wing government and the Republican Protection League |
| Outcome | The Austrian police and Federal Army quickly put an end to the uprising |
| Death toll | Estimated at 350 |
| Reasons for collapse | Imbalance in numbers, use of artillery by the Austrian Army, and failure of the call for a general strike |
| Other locations with revolts | Schattendorf, Styria (Bruck an der Mur and Judenburg), Prague, Milan, Venice, Toulon, Trentino, Ireland, Southern Netherlands, Luxembourg, Hungary, Bohemia, Pest, and Italy |
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What You'll Learn
The Austrian Civil War
The First Austrian Republic was created after the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in September 1919, marking the end of World War I and the Habsburg rump state of Republic of German-Austria. The Republic's constitution was enacted in October 1920. However, the republican period was marked by violent strife between those with left-wing and right-wing views, with political violence escalating into the Austrian Civil War in 1934.
The immediate cause of the civil war was the suspension of the Austrian Parliament by Engelbert Dollfuss, the Christian Social chancellor, on March 4, 1933. This led to the imprisonment of members of the Social Democratic Party and the banning of the Republican Protection League as the paramilitary arm of the party. The civil war itself began on February 12, 1934, when League members fired on Austrian police attempting to enter the Social Democrats' party headquarters in Linz to search for weapons. The fighting quickly spread to Vienna and other industrial centres in eastern and central Austria.
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The July Revolt
On July 15, a large crowd tried to storm the main building of the University of Vienna and then proceeded to attack a nearby police station and a newspaper building. They then made their way to the Austrian Parliament Building and eventually reached the square in front of the Palace of Justice. The protesters smashed windows to enter the building, demolished furnishings, and set fire to files, causing the building to blaze. The Vienna fire brigade was attacked by demonstrators, and the fire was not brought under control until early the next morning.
The clash between protesters and police resulted in 89 protesters and five policemen losing their lives, with over 600 people injured on both sides. The protests were forcibly suppressed by the former Austrian Chancellor and then-Vienna Chief of Police, Johann Schober, who supplied the police troops with army rifles.
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The Veronese Easters
On the night of 16 April 1797, Easter Sunday, a manifesto inciting the population to rebel against the French and their local collaborators was posted in Verona. Brawls broke out between French soldiers and the local inhabitants the following day, 17 April, Easter Monday. The French discharged cannons into the crowd, and the Veronese responded by raging through the streets, killing, wounding, and capturing French soldiers. Within the first hour of fighting, the enraged population succeeded in defeating more than a thousand French soldiers, forcing them to take refuge in the town's fortifications, which the mob then captured by force.
The uprising in Verona ended on 25 April 1797 with the capture of the town by French soldiers. Napoleon used the revolt as a pretext to conquer Venice, which was still a neutral, independent republic at the time. He blockaded the city's harbour with his warships and ranged his heavy artillery around it.
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The Revolutions of 1848
In the Austrian Empire, the Revolutions of 1848 can be divided into three categories: social, democratic-liberal, and national. The revolution began in Vienna, where the Diet (parliament) of Lower Austria at Niederösterreichisches Landeshaus (Estates House of Lower Austria) in March demanded the resignation of Prince Metternich, the conservative State Chancellor and Foreign Minister. The Austrian Constituent Assembly was divided into a Czech faction, a German faction, and a Polish faction, and within each faction was the political left-right spectrum.
Outside the Assembly, petitions, newspapers, mass demonstrations, and political clubs put pressure on their new governments and often expressed violently many of the debates that were occurring within the assembly itself. The Czechs held a Pan-Slavic congress in Prague between June 2 and June 12, 1848. It was primarily composed of Austroslavs who wanted greater freedom within the Empire, but their status as peasants and proletarians surrounded by a German middle class doomed their autonomy. They also disliked the prospect of the annexation of Bohemia to a German Empire. Insurgents quickly lost in street fighting to King Ferdinand's troops led by General Radetzky, prompting several liberal government ministers to resign in protest.
In April 1849, the Hungarian government proclaimed its total independence from the Habsburgs, and in that same month, the Austrian government requested military aid from Russia, which would haunt it for years to come. Finally, in August 1849, the Hungarian army surrendered, and the land was put firmly back under Austrian rule.
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The French Revolutionary Wars
In the spring of 1792, France declared war on Austria and Prussia, which responded with a coordinated invasion that was turned back at the Battle of Valmy in September. The French Revolutionary Army suffered defeats at Neerwinden in the spring of 1793, and in the remainder of the year, the Jacobins rose to power and imposed the Reign of Terror to unify the nation. In March 1793, the peasants of the conservative Vendée region revolted against mass conscription, taking up arms for the royalist cause.
In 1794, the situation improved for the French with victories at Fleurus against the Austrians and Dutch, and at the Black Mountain against the Spanish. In 1795, French troops overran Holland and established the Batavian Republic as a client state. Prussia and Spain dropped out of the war, and French General Lazare Hoche beat back British troops and French émigrés at the Battle of Quiberon.
In Italy, Napoleon Bonaparte won a series of victories against the Austrian army. In 1797, Bonaparte's victories forced Austria to seek peace, and by the Treaty of Campo Formio, Austria gave up the Austrian Netherlands and Lombardy but acquired much of Venice. The War of the First Coalition ended in 1797, and the War of the Second Coalition began in 1799.
In 1809, Napoleon invaded Austria, capturing Mantua and occupying Klagenfurt. The Austrians sued for peace, and the Peace of Leoben was concluded in April, ending hostilities. However, Napoleon's absence from Italy allowed the outbreak of the revolt known as the Veronese Easters on April 17, which was put down eight days later.
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Frequently asked questions
Austrian troops put down revolts in several places in 1848, including:
- Lombardy-Venetia, where Field Marshal Radetzky was unable to keep his soldiers fighting Venetian and Milanese insurgents.
- Vienna, where insurgents took control of the city for a short period before being defeated by Windisch-Grätz's soldiers from Prussia.
- Prague, where the Czech revolution was defeated by the Habsburgs.
- Paris, where the Austrian army surrendered Mantua and 18,000 troops to Napoleon.
- County Mayo, where French forces assisted in putting down a rebellion against Britain.
- Southern Netherlands and Luxembourg, where the local people revolted against conscription and anti-religious violence.
During the French Revolutionary Wars, Austrian troops put down revolts in:
- Toulon, where Napoleon Bonaparte contributed to the siege of the city.
- Italy, where the Austrian army defeated the French at the Battle of Valmy in 1792.
- Trento in Tyrol, where Bonaparte defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Bassano in 1796.
During the Austrian Civil War, Austrian troops put down revolts in:
- Linz, where the fighting started when Republican Protection League members fired on the Austrian police.
- Vienna, where the Vienna Palace of Justice was stormed and set on fire during the July Revolt.
- Upper Austria, where the fighting ended by 13 February 1934.
- Styrian cities, including Bruck an der Mur and Judenburg, where fighting continued until 14 February 1934.
Austrian troops have also put down revolts in:
- Austrian Galicia in 1846, where peasants rose up against the Polish nobility.
- Hungary, where the Austrian army defeated the Hungarian army in 1849.
- Bavaria, where the Austrian army crushed an uprising.
