Exactly 65 years ago, the news that there was violent unrest in Hungary caused the population in this country to panic. In order to quell the uprising, the Russian army was already in the process of advancing with tanks to the border with Austria. Our armed forces, which had only recently been founded, had its first large-scale operation.
In October 1956, Alfred Nagl was the company commander at the border post in Nickelsdorf. “The military that emerged from the ranks of the B-Gendarmerie had no trained soldiers. Military servants who had only been on duty for 14 days had to go to the border, ”says Nagl’s report.
Tense situation
The captain had to monitor a two-kilometer section: “The first refugees from Hungary warned of Russian tanks. A little later, 30 of them rolled towards us. They stopped 200 meters from the border and turned the gun barrels to one side. A stone fell from my heart. “
No escalation
During the night, the Austrian Armed Forces provided refugees with food and drinks. In the meantime, Soviet soldiers looted farmhouses near the border – and were arrested. “When they were handed over, they slapped their officers in the face,” Nagl said. Our army passed the acid test.