WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -On the morning of 12 March 1938, the 8th Army of the German Wehrmacht crossed the border into Austria. The troops were greeted by cheering Austrians with Nazi salutes, Nazi flags, and flowers. For the Wehrmacht, the invasion was the first big test of its machinery.

Detailed explanation-2: -The National Socialist regime led by Hitler starts to rule by emergency decree. Around 4, 000 Communists are arrested. The Austrian parliament is dissolved and Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss begins a semi-dictatorship. Federal elections are held in Germany just days after the Reichstag fire.

Detailed explanation-3: -On March 11–13, 1938, German troops invade Austria and incorporate Austria into the German Reich in what is known as the Anschluss.

Detailed explanation-4: -From 1914 to 1918, Austria-Hungary fought in the First World War as one of the Central Powers and an ally of Germany. By May 1918, the empire was facing increasing military failure and defeat, as well as domestic unrest caused by food and fuel shortages.

Detailed explanation-5: -Anschluss, German: “Union”, political union of Austria with Germany, achieved through annexation by Adolf Hitler in 1938.