863.00/3–348: Telegram

The Minister in Austria ( Erhardt ) to the Secretary of State

secret

268. Recent conversations with Austrian leaders on treaty questions in light of Czechoslovak coup have underlined importance of military and air clauses.

While recognizing Austria would never offer prolonged resistance to full scale war launched by USSR or neighboring satellites, Austrians of both major parties are confident of country’s ability, under certain conditions, of offering prompt and effective resistance to bandit raids and limited guerrilla warfare on frontiers. They believe Austrian defense force could be organized and placed in combat condition in three or four months, and USFA agrees this should not be impossible considering recent military training and experience of young men. Numerical strengths provided for in agreed Paragraph One of Article 171 considered adequate.

Conditions which Austrians have mentioned as necessary to ensure country’s security include (1) Austria’s freedom to equip its defense force with arms and equipment (2) availability of continued supplies of arms, et cetera, from abroad or otherwise, and (3) some evidence of [Page 1470] US intention of coming to Austria’s assistance in case fighting should develop to war proportions.

Deutsch in particular, who organized Austrian Army after first war, emphasizes primary importance of adequate arms. He does not appear aware that at Moscow Soviets sought in Article 17 to require Austria to confine itself to weapons and equipment of Austrian manufacture, in Article 26 to forbid it to use German war material except in restricted quantities and for only one year, and Articles 26 and 272 to restrict Austrian production of war material. It would seem essential, if all other provisions of treaty were agreed upon, to secure elimination of at least Soviet Paragraph Three of Article 17.3

USFA concurs.

Sent Department 268, repeated London USDel 49.

Erhardt
  1. The paragraph under reference limited Austria to an army of 53,000 men and an air force of 90 aircraft and 5,000 total personnel.
  2. For the text of Articles 26 and 27 see the Unagreed Articles of the Draft Austrian State Treaty, pp. 1517 and 1518.
  3. Paragraph three of Article 17 restricted Austria to those airfields necessary for civil aviation and the Austrian Air Force.