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"While the Viennese populace could summon little enthusiasm for the events in upper Italy (war with Sardinia-Piedmont and its French allies), there was general recognition that the fate of the Austrian monarchy in Italy would impinge upon the lives of everyone. As a result, expressions of solidarity with the Imperial army were voiced by means of numerous demonstrations and patriotic events throughout Vienna: the Strauss Orchestra, naturally, was ready enough to play its part in these activities. Although Johann Strauss had intended to leave Vienna towards the close of April 1859 for his fourth season of concerts at Pavlovsk, in Russia, he delayed his departure for a few days and, together with his brother Josef (1827-70), hurriedly wrote a fervently nationalistic "Vaterländischer Marsch". On 8 May 1859, readers of the "Wiener Zeitung" and "Fremden-Blatt" newspapers were greeted by the announcement of a festivity taking place at the 'Sperl' dance hall in the suburb of Leopoldstadt the following day, 9 May: "Gathering of all Friends of the Fatherland! In aid of the Fund to support the Vienna Volunteers, Johann and Josef Strauss present an Extraordinary Patriots' Festival Concert with the motto 'Long live the Austrian Eagle'. At approximately 10.00pm, for the first time: 'Vaterländischer Marsch' by Johann and Josef Strauss, with the motto 'They shall not have it"'.
The press carried no review of this first performance of the Fatherland-March, nor of those which followed a few days later under Josef Strauss's direction. However, when the march was published by Carl Haslinger on 20 May 1859, the Wiener Allgemeine Theaterzeitung commented that it had met with "the greatest applause". The paper continued: "This march offers a real treasury of national melodies, most cleverly compiled, and ought to achieve the popularity of the celebrated 'Radetzky Marsch'". This last prophesy was to prove sadly wide of the mark, for not only did the Vaterländischer Marsch fail to match the popularity of Johann Strauss Father's Radetzky Marsch (1848), but as many a composition dashed off to meet the needs of a specific occasion, the work was swiftly forgotten. However, the Wiener Allgemeine Theaterzeitung was correct in identifying the Vaterländischer Marsch as "a real treasury of national melodies, most cleverly compiled". The piece commences with four introductory bars from the Radetzky-Marsch, and also features in its main section a quotation from that other rousing patriotic work, the Rákóczi Marsch. The Trio section combines a further extract from the Radetzky-Marsch with material from the Austrian national anthem, Joseph Haydn's 'Kaiserlied' ("Gott erhalte"). In view of the comment by the reporter for the Wiener Allgemeine Theaterzeitung, both main and Trio sections may also comprise quotations from other, now forgotten, national melodies."