740.00119 Council/4–2248: Telegram
The High Commissioner in Austria (Keyes) to the Joint Chiefs of Staff
priority
P–1617. From USFA Sgd Keyes Action to JCS Pass to State from Keyes info to USDel London. Subject is interview between US Deputy Commissioner and Austrian General Julius Deutsch on 20 April.
At the request of General Deutsch, an interview was held with respect to the arming and training of the future Austrian Army. Deutsch explained that as a result of Soviet concessions in London, bipartite committee had been formed composed of the Minister of the Interior and himself for the Socialist Party and State Secretary Graf and Colonel Liebitzky representing the Peoples Party.
As a first step towards the establishment of an Austrian Army, he envisaged the organization of battalions within the framework of the police and gendarmerie containing 5,000 men within the police and 2,500 within the gendarmerie. These forces were to be centered in Linz or Graz or both, Linz being preferred. Deutsch explained that the main problem at the moment was the farming of these forces and he expressed the hope that the US would be able to provide the necessary rifles, pistols, machine pistols, machine guns, and light artillery weapons, as well as transportation and communications equipment. He stated that there already existed in Vienna a special student battalion of approximately 500 men enrolled in the police force, but not yet fully accredited. They have practically no arms. The most immediate problem was considered to be the provision of weapons for training purposes, and the required quantity was estimated to be 200 rifles, 200 [Page 1366] pistols, 20 machine pistols, 20 machine guns, and such small infantry support weapons that the US might be able to provide.
Deutsch was asked whether they visualized the use of German or American armament. He suggested that German armament would be less likely to encounter Soviet objection. However, if German arms were not available, US would be acceptable. He understood that the Soviets favored the use of Swiss arms, but the Austrians objected to this inasmuch as they would have to be paid for in hard currency. Deutsch stated that he thought it would be inadvisable to propose authorization for preliminary planning for the Austrian Army in the Allied Council due to almost certain Soviet opposition. For this reason, the present planning was confined to a bipartite commission instead of on a governmental basis. Deutsch explained that the interview was simply for exploratory purposes and on subsequent visit he would bring the State Secretary Graf with him.