[GOV]: The Defense of Austria

Day 1,246, 18:01 • Published in Austria Austria • by BundesPresseDienst


Over the past several days, Austria has participated in negotiations with our neighbors, with the hope that a rental agreement for several of our regions could be reached. Although a preliminary agreement was reached, it had yet to go into action - there needed to be final confirmation from Czechoslovakia and Slovenia. While we waited for this, Slovenia announced it had withdrawn. Prospects for a deal with the other three nations - Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Austria - still existed, and we pursued this possibility. However, our attempts to communicate with Czechoslovakia went unanswered by their government.

Today, we have received an answer in a form we did not expect. Czechoslovakia has moved to declare war on Austria. Although this was initially described as the action of a “rogue congress,” it has received official approval from the Czechoslovakian president, and is intended as an act of war against Austria. Their casus belli is simple: they want Lower Austria and Styria. They regard these regions as rightfully belonging to Czechoslovakia, despite them being original Austrian regions, and despite the lack of any treaty which signed them over.

We will fight in defense of Austria, and in defense of our regions. The threat of attack from a larger neighbor will not cause us to renounce claims to our own regions, or abandon our long-standing belief in respecting the sovereignty of all nations, our own included.

We again express our hope that the old friendship between Austria, and Czechoslovakia may be restored. We look towards a brighter day when these issues are behind us, and peace holds between our two countries. Presently, however, we must take to the battlefields, in defense of our nation.

Albert Neurath, President of Austria