Benedikt Sepp and Thomas Rohringer

Selling ‘Kleinkrieg’. Austrian-American military-industrial entanglements 1960–1979. Austria was among the first countries to adopt a newly designed rifle in the innovative U.S. 5.56×45mm caliber in 1977. We argue that this marked more than just a technical innovation—it reflected a profound transformation in the country’s military doctrine, geopolitical orientation, and societal imaginaries. The new caliber not only reshaped infantry combat, tactics, logistics, and conceptions of military masculinity, but also symbolized Austria’s selective appropriation of NATO standards within a framework of neutrality. During the 1960s, Austrian defense planning increasingly embraced ideas of decentralized guerrilla warfare inspired by theorists such as Lenin, Che Guevara, and Mao, envisioning a broad mobilization of the civilian population. We argue that analyzing this decision reveals the entangled dynamics of geopolitical realignment, domestic political debates, shifting social roles, technological change, and the influence of transnational arms markets and military-industrial networks.

Benedikt Sepp is currently researching the history of 20th-century violence through the lens of ammunition.

Thomas Süsler-Rohringer has studied the introduction of special forces training in the Austrian army. Both are affiliated with Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.