Austrian Civil War

The Austrian Civil War (German: Österreichischer Bürgerkrieg) of 12–15 February 1934, also known as the February Uprising (Februar Aufstand) or the February Fights (Februarkämpfe), was a series of clashes in the First Austrian Republic between the forces of the authoritarian right-wing government of Engelbert Dollfuss and the Republican Protection League (Republikanischer Schutzbund), the banned paramilitary arm of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria. The fighting started when League members fired on the Austrian police who were attempting to enter the Social Democrats' party headquarters in Linz to search for weapons. It spread from there to Vienna and other industrial centres in eastern and central Austria. The superior numbers and firepower of the Austrian police and Federal Army quickly put an end to the uprising. The overall death toll is estimated at about 350.

This article is about the February 1934 violence between the right-wing government and socialist forces. For the July 1934 Nazi violence, see July Putsch.
Austrian Civil War
Part of the interwar period

Soldiers of the Austrian Federal Army in Vienna, 12 February 1934
Date12–15 February 1934
(4 days)
Location
Various cities in Austria
Result Fatherland Front victory
Demise of multi-party system
Creation of the Federal State of Austria
Belligerents

SDAPÖ

  • Republikanischer Schutzbund

First Austrian Republic

Commanders and leaders
Richard Bernaschek
Ludwig Bernaschek 		 Engelbert Dollfuss
Emil Fey
Strength
10,000 – 20,000 actively resisting Schutzbund members Federal Army, police, gendarmeries, and paramilitary Heimwehr forces (est. 60,000)
Casualties and losses
Estimated 110 killed
399 wounded
9 executed		 Estimated 110 killed
319 wounded

The socialists' defeat led to arrests, executions and the banning of the Social Democratic Party. In May 1934, Austria's democratic constitution was replaced by the Austrofascist constitution of the Federal State of Austria, with the Fatherland Front as the only legal party.

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