ABSTRACT
The invasion of Austria on 12 March 1938 by the German Wehrmacht was a great victory for Hitler and his Third Reich, one that produced consternation and fear throughout the rest of Europe. The Einmarsch reevaluated will then serve as a litmus test, that is, an invasion of Austria under the best of circumstances, those of no resistance and active help from Austria, as to how long the Austrian Bundesheer might have been able to resist Nazi Germany. The sudden and unexpected nature of the German mobilization was one that created enormous problems, some of which had the potential to threaten the entire invasion. The improvised nature of the German invasion left no time for the extensive planning that German airborne operations in Austria would have needed in order to be undertaken. The Austrian Bundesheer in March 1938 was an army with unsolved and operationally inhibiting problems, a modern armored doctrine, and a well thought out defensive plan.
