Austrian Civil War

Belligerents

Commanders and leaders

Engelbert Dollfuss
Emil FeyStrength 10,000 – 20,000 rebelling 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 Estimated 110 civilians killed

The Austrian Civil War (German: Österreichischer Bürgerkrieg) of 12–15 February 1934, also known as the February Uprising (Februaraufstand) 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 350.

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 authoritarian constitution of the Federal State of Austria, with the Fatherland Front as the only legal party.