POSSIBLE TRANSPORTATION CRISIS AT VIENNA.

Created: 9/28/1948

OCR scan of the original document, errors are possible

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^ Memorandumstates government

Director of Control SEPt

Director for.

subject: Possible transportation crisis at Vienna.

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Current SoTiet aotions raise the possibility that the USSB naythe creationBerlin" situation in the city of Vienna. Thecoarse that DS aircraft flying tha Prague-Vienna air corridor hadeighteen Violations' (since disproved after investigation by USamy be indicativeoviet intention toecord ofwhich stay later be used to Justify restrictive aotion iuor Halting Western air aeeesa to Vienna. It is appropriate, the transportation problemwhich would face the Western PowersUSSRlockade of,

2. Present quadripartite agreements provide the Western Powers with accoss to Vienna along specific rail, road, and air routes for the movement of supplies from the western soncs of Austria. The primary difference in the ease of Vienna, aa compared to Berlin, lies in the fact that all air bases allocated to the Western Powers ore located in the Soviet Zone, thus necessitating urfaoe linkage through the Soviet Zone into the city of Vienna. Should the USSR aleot to restrict Western access to Vienna, any oneombination of tbe following courses may be pursued! restriction or denial of access by road, rail, or air on the grounds that the Western Powers have abused privileges or violated agreemontsi discovery of "teohnioal" difficulties; contentionnadequacy of present "flight safety" regulations) and disagreement overof agreements.

S. By denying the use of rail rentes (now handling praotically all the shipments of civil and military supplies from the Western Zones into the Wont-iii seotors of Vienna) and closing off the highways to Vienna, theof present air bases would be negated, and the Western Powers would be forood to construct "emergency* strips within their seotors of Vienna, he DSSR decides on this step, lt will probably take concurrent notion to interrupt the present arrangements under which food is distributed in Vienna by tbe Austrian Government. While there Is no presently expressed obligation on the Western Pewera to feed the population of their Vienna seotors, the USSB occld in effect force the Western Powers to bring in food from air bases in the Western Zones. To aocomplish thiB, the OSSB would need only to subject the eontlnued movement of food from the Soviet Zone to obnoxious conditions whioh the Western Powers oannot tolerate.

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4. Tbe Kremlin probably believes that withad tad capacity of emergency facilities tbe Weetern Powers could not fully supply their Viennawhile the Berlin airlift operations are still necessary, and that lt isosition, therefore, to discredit the Western Powers in Austria and increase the ohanoes of Wsatern collapse in Berlin. ORB believes that tbe USSR unquestionably bas the oapabillty of precipitating the orisis analysed ln this memorandum and that the Kremlin has given oareful consideration to such aotion. On the other hand, ORB believes that the chances are definitely against this eventuality materialising ln the near future.

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