Originally posted by ThomasG
That is no exaggeration, everyone involved in the Munich Talks knew it was going to happen, thats why Chamberlain gave in so easily.
Czechs had no one but themselves to blame.
The reason Hitler wanted to come to war was that he thought Stalin would jump in, which would had forced the Poles to call for his help and then he could have manipulated it to where he came on top. Neither the French or British were prepared to fight and were just beginning to rearm.
Mussolini trashed that plan through his diplomatic efforts. The first time he cost Hitler a carefully laid plan. "Shrugs"
Ehem... the main reason of why Chamberlain gave in so easily was not those "facts" about the czechs, simplily as showed by any historian Chamberlain feared a lot the force of Luftwaffe (as we know the germans had had a great success in made believe the western potences that the Luftwaffe was far large that in the reality was, a prove of this politic was the visit of Lindberg to Germany in 1938 prior to the Czech crisis, in part a visit to know how much big the Luftwaffe was, the germans intentionaly made a great trip of aircraf factories prepared specially to get the right effect: and effectively Lindbergh reported that it was clear that the capacity of building aircraft and the military potence of the Luftwaffe was enormous, he advised strongly to western potences to not go to war with Germany or the Luftwaffe will destroy London or Paris quickly), in fact this is clear because the initial fears and prospects of a war in 1938 was a sudden attack of the Luftwaffe against England, confronted with this and with the fact that it seems that in England and France had not too much gains to suffer another world war (remember all that young generation sacrified in the Somme or in Verdun..etc, the french and british like the US after the Vietnam War had a "World War I" psichosys with fear as how the public opinion will react to another World War II) it is clear why Chamberlain and a more reluctant Daladier decided to make the Munich Agreement.
Respect to involve Stalin in a fight, I am not sure what are your sources but it was clear as the Spanish civil war had showed (when Stalin give direct orders that not made confrontantions with germans to defend the soviets merchants in route to Republican Spain) that Stalin not wanted a war against Germany unless that the western potences also intervened, and this was a thing a lot of clear in those moments, plus massive purges in the military in the Soviet Union had showed that the Soviet Union was in not a way in intervening in a war against Germany without the help of Britain and France.
Psichologically Hitler wanted a war to show himself, to Germany and the world the mighty of the new Whermacht, he expected that the czechs refused the ultimatum, he expected a hard fight but could be quick fight agains the czechs (with probably an uprising in Slovakia and surely in Sudetenland), he expected as he knew clearly as showed in Rhineland in 1936 and the little direct reactions against the Anschluss of 1938 that the western potences had little will to go to a war and even if this happened the french would need time to mobilize and surely the british seemed that not go to send an army to Europe, he expected that when Czechoslovakia had fallen in a relatively quick although hard campaign the western potences had gone to a table of negotiations to merely recognised the fait accompli (in 1939 the western potences showed how little will had to go in help of an ally when the french only made an almost token offensive in the Sarre to help the poles, in fact the poles were sacrificed while the french after a cautious movement in Sarre begin with the british the named phase of the Phony war or the Drole du la Guerre, so if they made this in september 1939 imagine how little help had they given to the czechs in 1938).
And respect to Czechoslovakia certainly it could not be a paradise for some minorities but it is also true and this fact is clear that Czechoslovakia was at those moments the only more or less real democratic regime in Eastern Europe, so one thing is say that effectively the czechs had could be defeated in a war against Germany and the western potences had little will to go to help Czechoslovakia, another thing is saying that the only guilt of all this situation was in the side of the czechs, surely they had could have the things better, but having account of the political situation in Europe in general and in concrete in Eastern Europe Czechoslovakia was the best country to live in those moments in Eastern Europe.
So if exists a guilt in all these chain of events is 1)Hitler and 2)the Western Potences, in fact to say simplily France and Britain abandoned the czechs and practically made the same with the poles in the military terrain in 1939.
