Vienna, 1934: The Murderers are among us!

This is my first attempt at alternate history, so please be nice to the noob...

As a preface, while I probably know more about Austrian history than my average countryman, my knowledge is by no means detailed. Any suggestions about improving the historical accuracy, and especially about possible further developments is welcome.

But now... my story.

Chapter 1: Jump for your Life!

July 25, 1934

Engelbert Dollfuß, Federal Chancellor of Austria, knew something was amiss the moment the door flew open and a large group of men burst into the room. Going by their uniforms, they were policemen and soldiers, but he was not fooled for a moment: Nazis!

Before he could even finish thinking the word, he had reflexively jumped from his chair and overturned his table to take cover behind it. And not a second too early: The intruders immediately opened fire, riddling the wall and punching some holes through the desk uncomfortably close to the small, cowering man.

He had to risk it! With one giant leap, he was on the windowsill. Another leap, and he was out of the window, bullets whistling through the air just above his head. He hit the ground hard and grunted in pain; a twisted ankle, probably. No matter. He had to get out of there.

Luckily for him, two cars full of actual policemen came hurtling down the street just at that moment. Noticing their chancellor, the drivers came to a screeching halt. The men inside jumped out and pulled Dollfuß to safety.

He thanked his rescuers, then took a seat in one of the police cars and ordered the driver to take him to the nearby Stiftskaserne barracks, where he knew he would be safe for the moment.

An assassination attempt! That foul swine Hitler had actually tried to murder him! He was beside himself with rage, and he knew only one man could help him now.
 
July 26, 1934

Near Kollerschlag, Upper Austria


Leopold Reisetbauer yawned as he looked over the dark, peaceful meadows in front of him. The Patriotic Front had called on him, like so many other volunteers, to help reinforce the border guards and be on the look-out for anything suspicious. Well, it looked like he would be on the look-out for nothing. The edge of the woods over on the German side of the border still looked as dark and calm as ever, and so did the field he was standing in.

Suddenly, he heard a rustling noise near the woods; at first, he thought it was an animal, a deer perhaps, but no...it was a man! He gestured for the customs officer standing watch at the edge of the town to come over, then readied his shotgun and went to investigate. At first, the figure in the forest continued to sneak away, but then he spotted the guard and began to run, only to stop dead in his tracks when the militiaman fired a warning shot. Still training his shotgun on the mysterious stranger, Reisetbauer and the customs officer slowly made their way towards the forest. Illuminated by the light of the officer's torch, the man standing at the edge of the woods calmly lifted his hands and surrendered.

Munich, that same morning

It had been a long night for Hans Kirchbach, head of the illegal Austrian branch of the SA. He had finally received green light for the long-awaited takeover, to bring millions of Germans back into their homeland. He was proud of his plans: If everything went correctly, it would look like a spontaneous uprising of Austrian nazis, demanding to finally allow the reunification with their German brothers. Another injustice visited upon the Germans after the Great War would be corrected, another part of the shameful rag of Versailles torn up...

Lost in his thoughts, he was startled by the approaching noise of a motorcycle. A courier! Finally, he would have news about the course of the putsch! This could make or break the Führer's plans to reunite all the Germans! Still clad in his motorcycle leathers, the courier walked in briskly and wordlessly handed the SA leader a telegram. When he read it, his face fell:

"Alte Besteckmuster nicht eingetroffen" - "Old silverware samples have not arrived"

He knew what this code meant - Dollfuß was alive, and probably furiously plotting revenge right now. He turned to the messenger and, in a flat tone, asked "Is that all?" The courier hesitated before answering. "No...they have caught one of our men. They know it was not spontaneous."
 
July 27, 1934

Vienna

Every time chancellor Dollfuß looked at the holes in his desk, he involuntarily shuddered. The Lord had really held his hand over him when he had cowered behind it. Shot clean through! What an incredible escape... yet here he was, alive and at the helm of what had turned out to be a triumph for his forces. Except for some fighting in the south, the rebellion had failed with surprising speed, the leaders shot or imprisoned, the followers surrendered.

Now he had to make sure this would never happen again. He was back in control, but he knew the Nazis would not let this humiliation go unavenged. Maybe next time, the "spontaneous" calls for reunification would be answered by the Reichswehr, and he knew that he would be forced to surrender to them if he did not find any allies.

If. The Italian ambassador had agreed to meet him the following day, and he knew that Mussolini did not particularly like Hitler. More importantly, he had now seen a demonstration of the destabilisation caused by having Nazis right at your border. Italy also had Germans within its borders - his resentment over that had not shrunk a bit since those shameful days of Saint Germain - and he could play on the Duce's fears of the next "spontaneous" uprising after an annexation being right within his own borders. It pained him to have to use the people of South Tyrol, who were by all rights Austrians, in such a political manner, but he had to take care of the immediate threat first.
 
Maybe a secret visti to Budapest and even Prag might do wonders stabilizing the situation...

Prague would be interesting, given that it's the safe haven of exiled social democrats :) Diplomacy with Hungary might be fruitful, but only to a certain degree. While Hungary is deeply embedded in the Italian sphere of influence, and quite friendly with Austria, Germany was a major trade partner. Hungarian wheat was sold to Germany with the help of trade agreements of 1932 and 1934 (I don't know the date so I don't know whether it has happened yet). Germany can pressure Hungary fairly much with these treaties given Hungary's sad situation during the depression.
 
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