page_title: Allied-occupied Austria
section_title: French, British, and American troops
hierarchical_section_title: Allied-occupied Austria / 1945–1946: first year of occupation / French, British, and American troops
caption_attribution_description: English: Allied sectors in Vienna (1945-1955)
context_page_description: The Allied occupation of Austria started on 27 April 1945 as a result of the Vienna Offensive and ended with the Austrian State Treaty on 27 July 1955.
  Subsequent to the Anschluss, Austria had generally been recognized as constituent part of Nazi Germany. In 1943 however, the Allies agreed in the Declaration of Moscow that Austria would instead be regarded as the first victim of Nazi aggression, and treated as a liberated and independent country after the war.
  In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Austria was divided into four occupation zones and jointly occupied by the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and France. Vienna was similarly subdivided but the central district was collectively administered by the Allied Control Council.
  Whereas Germany was divided into East and West Germany in 1949, Austria remained under joint occupation of the Western Allies and the Soviet Union until 1955; its status became a controversial subject in the Cold War until the warming of relations known as the Khrushchev Thaw.
context_section_description: American troops, including the 11th Armored Division, crossed the Austrian border on 26 April, followed by French and British troops on 29 April and on 8 May, respectively. Until the end of July 1945 none of the Western allies had first-hand intelligence from Eastern Austria (likewise, Renner's cabinet knew practically nothing about conditions in the West).
  On 9 July 1945 the Allies agreed on the borders of their occupation zones. Vorarlberg and North Tyrol were assigned to the French Zone; Salzburg and Upper Austria south of the Danube to the American Zone; East Tyrol, Carinthia, and Styria to the British Zone; and Burgenland, Lower Austria, and the Mühlviertel area of Upper Austria, north of the Danube, to the Soviet Zone. The French and American zones bordered those countries' zones in Germany, and the Soviet zone bordered future Warsaw Pact states. Vienna was divided among all four Allies. The historical center of Vienna was declared an international zone, in which occupation forces changed every month. Movement of occupation troops ("zone swap") continued until the end of July.
  The first Americans arrived in Vienna in the end of July 1945, when the Soviets were pressing Renner to surrender Austrian oil fields. Americans objected and blocked the deal but ultimately the Soviets assumed control over Austrian oil in their zone. The British arrived in September. The Allied Council of four military governors convened for its first meeting in Vienna on 12 September 1945. It refused to recognize Renner's claim of a national government but did not prevent him from extending influence into the Western zones. Renner appointed vocal anti-communist Karl Gruber as Foreign Minister and tried to reduce Communist influence. On 20 October 1945, Renner's reformed cabinet was recognized by the Western allies and received a go-ahead for the first legislative election.
caption: The four sectors of occupation in Vienna
exif: {}