Civil Affairs and Military Government

Abstract

The occupation marked the start of the first phase of military operations by British forces in 1945, which effectively ran until the Eighth Army responsibilities were handed over to British Troops in Austria (BTA) in August. The second phase centred on the restoration of a degree of civil government, while the third was signalled by the transfer of the military’s responsibilities to the Allied Commission in the autumn. The means by which immediate objectives were to be achieved was through military government and civil affairs – which are now considered in detail. The headquarters of BTA was not relieved of this responsibility until 15 October, when the military government staff was dissolved and the British Element of the Allied Commission took over. It had been intended that there should be no overlapping between these phases, but manpower problems meant that Allied Commission personnel were, in fact, in command from August onwards. It was not until October, though, that BTA was able to concentrate on its main military tasks of frontier control, guarding duties, internal security and the restoration of communications.