Front militia

The front militia was an amalgamation of several military associations in the Austro- fascist corporate state of Austria . At first part of the Fatherland Front , it was later subordinated to the Federal Ministry for National Defense as part of the armed forces .

First summary of the military associations

The government Schuschnigg wanted the influence of paramilitary formations, especially the Home Guard , and eliminate it create a single paramilitary formation and the army assumed. As a first step, the government decided on October 17, 1935 to combine various armed forces loyal to the government into a single armed forces. Therefore, the security minister and leader of the Fatherland Front, Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg, announced the amalgamation of the military associations under the name Voluntary Militia-Austrian Homeland Security . The armed forces associations retained a certain degree of independence and their rivalries with one another ( e.g. storm troops against Heimwehr or within the Heimwehr Fey - against Starhemberg supporters).

As the "military front" of the Fatherland Front

After the formation of the militia in December 1935, the front militia was introduced in May 1936 as part of the Patriotic Front. It should continue the tradition of voluntary military organizations and "militarily underpin" the Patriotic Front: The front militia falls "the task of giving the will of the Patriotic Front, as an armed arm and executive body, appropriate emphasis". However, their members were forbidden to “politicize” and speak politically in militia uniform. The Vice Chancellor Eduard Baar-Baarenfels was appointed its leader . The flag of the Patriotic Front served as the flag of the militia, in which a new green and white element was to commemorate the merits of the Home Guard "on the way to the new state".

If necessary, the front militia could be called in to support the armed forces and the security executive. The corresponding departments should then be subordinate to these executive bodies for the duration of the operation . The uniforms were provided with special badges to identify the respective original military association. Problems in the organization were of a financial nature and, due to the economy, the high proportion of unemployed among the militiamen at the front, which had a negative effect on mood and morale.

On October 10, 1936, at a meeting of the Council of Ministers, it was decided to completely dissolve all military associations, including the “Voluntary Militia-Austrian Homeland Security” - the ministers appointed by the Heimwehr resigned temporarily in order not to have to agree to the dissolution. Instead, it was decided to transfer their members to the newly created "Front Militia". The former head of the Carinthian Homeland Security, Ludwig Hülgerth , was appointed as the commander of the new troop body .

The front militia as part of the national defense

On July 14, 1937, according to plans by Chief of Staff Alfred Jansa, the front militia was organizationally incorporated into the armed power by constitutional law, which now consisted of the federal army , military assistance corps and front militia. The integration was regulated by the Front Militia Act . According to this, the front militia consisted of the general militia (hunter and booth militia) and special militia (motor vehicle, air raid, aviator, railway, university, post and telegraph militia and company militia). Army officers were assigned to their command staff as militia cadres . The militia was open to physically and mentally suitable male Austrian citizens between the ages of 18 and 60, who had a knowledge of the German language and who were members of the Fatherland Front. The Federal Chancellor could call up the militia for border protection, the protection of the constitutional institutions, the maintenance of internal order and security and to provide assistance in the event of “natural events” or “accidents of extraordinary magnitude”.

In reality, the militia could only be used for border and area protection and security tasks, as they were not prepared for military operations due to a lack of joint exercises with the armed forces and poor equipment. Service in the militia was voluntary and - except in the case of deployment - unpaid, but pressure was particularly exerted on officials to join the militia at the front.

The uniform was adapted to that of the armed forces and standardized: “Relatives wear the field-gray dress of honor of the soldier.” Militia personnel who could not be (fully) equipped with militia uniform and those who kept their professional uniform (such as postal militia or telegraph militia) wore the left Upper arm a red-white-red armband with a cross .

The total strength of the front militia in 1938 was around 100,000 men.

The quarterly magazine "Die Frontmiliz" was published as an organ in 1937. It should be a “treasure trove of military knowledge” for its readers in order to keep alive the “healthy will to fight” of the people.

After Austria's “annexation” to the National Socialist German Reich , there were considerations to take over the existing organizational structure and rename the militia to Landwehr , but ultimately the front militia was not taken over into the Wehrmacht . Weapons and uniforms of the front militia had to be surrendered.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Robert Kriechbaumer : A fatherland picture book: Propaganda, self-staging and aesthetics of the fatherland front 1933-1938 . Ed .: Robert Kriechbaumer, Hubert Weinberger, Franz Schausberger (=  series of publications by the Research Institute for Political-Historical Studies of the Dr. Wilfried Haslauer Library . Volume 17 ). Böhlau, Vienna 2002, ISBN 978-3-205-77011-4 , pp. 47–49 ( limited preview in the Google book search - listed as a volunteer front militia [sic] Austrian homeland security).
2. ↑ Standardization of the military associations and youth organizations. In:  Reichspost , October 18, 1935, p. 1 (online at ANNO ).
3. ^ ^{A b c d} Emmerich Tálos : The Austrofascist system of rule: Austria 1933–1938 (=  Politics and Contemporary History . Volume 8 ). 2nd Edition. LIT Verlag, Münster 2013, ISBN 978-3-643-50494-4 , p. 103-104, 225-227 ( limited preview in the Google book search - listed as a volunteer front militia [sic] - Austrian Homeland Security).
4. ↑ The tasks of the militia. In:  Wiener Zeitung , May 16, 1936, p. 3 (online at ANNO ). .
5. ^ Federal law on the "Fatherland Front" [commonly known as the Front Law] . In: BGBl . No. 160/1936 §11 . Vienna May 20, 1936 ( online at ALEX ).
6. ↑ ^{a b} Handbook of Austrian Uniforms . Second, completely revised and increased edition. Patria, Vienna / Graz / Innsbruck / Leipzig 1937, p. 26, 28 ( available online on the University of Vienna website ).
7. ^ Federal constitutional law on the incorporation of the front militia into armed power . In: BGBl . No. 227/1937 . Vienna July 14, 1937 ( online at ALEX ).
8. ^ Federal law, with which more detailed provisions on the integration of the front militia into the armed power are made (Frontmilitia law) . In: BGBl . No. 232/1937 . Vienna July 14, 1937 ( online at ALEX ).
9. ↑ Comrades! - The front militia. Austrian National Library , 1937, accessed on July 15, 2018 (advertisement for the Militia newspaper). 
10. ^ From: Memorandum of the General Command of the Front Militia, March 1938 . In: Documentation archive of the Austrian resistance (ed.): "Anschluss" 1938. A documentation . Österreichischer Bundesverlag, Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-215-06898-2 , p. 627 .
11. ^ The organization of the German army in Austria in force. In:  Oedenburger Zeitung. Independent political daily paper for all estates , June 22, 1938, p. 4 (online at ANNO ). .
12. ^ District authority Bludenz. Attention! Gun delivery !. In:  Anzeiger for the districts of Bludenz and Montafon , March 19, 1938, p. 3 (online at ANNO ). .
13. ↑ Use of uniforms of the front militia. In:  Official Linzer Zeitung. Official Journal for Upper Austria , May 3, 1938, p. 5 (online at ANNO ). .