Waltzing into the Cold War: The Struggle for Occupied Austria (review)

With U.S. military forces increasingly engaged in rebuilding Afghanistan and pundits predicting a decade or more of occupation duty should the United States fight a war with Iraq, James Jay Carafano's Waltzing into the Cold War is timely and exceedingly relevant. Carafano argues persuasively that the United States military was unprepared for occupation duties at the same time that soldiers played an important role in shaping Europe's destiny following the Second World War.

Carafano begins his story during the war by highlighting the lack of planning for occupation prior to the end of hostilities. He demonstrates how this was indicative of a military void of any doctrine covering occupation duties and bereft of adequate institutional mechanisms to harmonize operations with nonmilitary organizations. Consequently, military leaders fell back on what they knew best—clearly identifying an enemy and taking appropriate military action. Carafano deftly explores how U.S. Forces Austria struggled with numerous challenges. Debates over occupation zones, transportation facilities, and transit rights were superseded by problems involving the behavior of American troops and an increasingly resentful Austrian populace. But it was American and Austrian apprehension over the limits of Soviet ambition and the precautions they took in the face of that fear that became the real centerpiece of the occupation story. Carafano argues that this preoccupation—interpreted and expressed by professional military officers—inevitably led to a militarization of U.S. policy and a shift in the role of the occupation force from "rehabilitating and reconstructing Austria to enlisting the state as a partner in NATO's defense" (p. 8). This policy shift brought mixed results, complicating and prolonging occupation while also generating vital diplomatic and economic support for rebuilding Austria.

Waltzing into the Cold War fills a significant void in a historical literature that heretofore has focused almost exclusively on the 1955 Austrian state treaty. This candid study reveals the American occupation with all its warts and blemishes, correctly concluding that the occupation was a "Flawed Triumph" (p. 193). Carafano's book exemplifies a growing number of military histories that chronicle the American military's role in struggles—often political—beyond the battlefield. Indeed, Waltzing into the Cold War should appeal to multiple audiences, including those interested in Cold War intelligence operations, East-West tensions, and military-State Department relations. Carafano is least convincing when touching on issues beyond Austria's borders. His discussion of American policy toward Eastern Europe is far too brief and he overstates the purported negative role the American military played in affecting overall U.S.-Soviet relations during the early Cold War. Nonetheless, Waltzing into the Cold War is well researched and engaging, marred only by sloppy editing. It is an easy read with multiple photographs that complement the text in helping readers to understand the environment in which the American military operated. Waltzing into the Cold War should be required reading at our war colleges as well as a welcome addition to any historian's library.