On March 6, Schuschnigg decided to hold a plebescite on Austrian independence on March 13, Hitler was furious; he summoned his generals to prepare for an invasion on March 12. Schuschnigg was again cowed and called off his plebescite. He asked the British government what to do. Ribbentrop, the German ambassador in London, invited Halifax, the foreign secretary, to tea, and explained that Hitler was only following a policy similar to that of Britain in regard to Ireland. Halifax adviced Schushcnigg that he could expect no help.

There was no official objection in Britain or France to Hitler's takeover of Austria. On March 12, Cordell Hull, the American Secretary of State, published a calm statement, approving an Anschluss. Two days later, however, Roosevelt intervened, and a denunciation of the German action was issued from Washington. Litvinov, the Soviet foreign minister, urged the common action against fascists by the League of Nations, but there was no response.