U.S. At War: Dream’s End

Otto of Habsburg’s dream of marching into conquered Vienna at the head of an Austrian battalion in the U.S. Army has come to an end.

The War Department had encouraged the youthful pretender to the Austrian throne to recruit such an Army unit. Last week, tacitly admitting its mistake, the Army quietly announced the disbanding of the battalion.

The original announcement had stirred Serbs, Czechs, Austrians themselves and many an outraged U.S. citizen to demand: Was the U.S. abetting Otto’s monarchist ambitions?

Otto’s recruiting was a fizzle. He signed up his three younger brothers, almost no one else. For a time the Army went doggedly ahead, assigned drafted Austrian, Slav, Czech, Hungarian and some German aliens to the unit. Training even began at Indiana’s Camp Atterbury.

Official reason for the disbanding: quarrels between the unit’s nationals. Real reason: both the Army and State Department were sick of the political ruckus. As of last week, Otto of Habsburg, 30, unmarried, resident of the U.S. since 1940, registered with his Manhattan draft board by the imperial title, “Otto of Austria,” was still awaiting induction.