Sperrle was used by Hitler in his foreign policy to intimidate small neighbours with the Luftwaffe, which had earned a reputation in Spain. On 12 February 1938, Hitler invited Sperrle to a meeting at Berchtesgaden with Kurt Schuschnigg, chancellor of the Federal State of Austria. Generals Wilhelm Keitel, Walther von Reichenau were also in attendance. The meetings eventually helped pave the way for Anschluss, the Nazi seizure of Austria. The first meeting secured Austrian Nazi Dr Arthur Seyss-Inquart as Interior Minister. When Schuschnig announced a plebiscite on Austrian independence, Hitler ordered Sperrle's Luftkreis V to mobilise for an invasion on 10 March. On 12 March Sperrle's airmen dropped leaflets over Vienna. All three of Sperrle's combat units, KG 155, KG 255 and JG 153, moved into airfields around Linz and Vienna during the invasion.