Why did Czechoslovakia cave in 1938?

[asnrobert]

The discussion in the "War in 1937?" thread got me to thinking. Why did Czechoslovakia give in to Hitler's demands to hand over the Sudetenland? I understand Czechoslovakia had good defenses in that region. Plus they had a modern army, plus the Skoda Arms Works (as a matter of fact, a good number of tanks in the German army for the first couple years of WW2 were the Czech Pzw 35t and Pzw 38t, which made chassis for SPA and tank destroyers after they were taken from front line service). Why did Czech leadership cave in to the demands of Hitler, Chamberlain and Daladier?

And another question, what would have happened if Czechoslovakia stood firm? I suppose Hitler would have backed down, but I wonder what would have happened if Germany and Czechoslovakia came blows.

[Ed Rotondaro]

The discussion in the "War in 1937?" thread got me to thinking. Why did Czechoslovakia give in to Hitler's demands to hand over the Sudetenland? I understand Czechoslovakia had good defenses in that region. Plus they had a modern army, plus the Skoda Arms Works (as a matter of fact, a good number of tanks in the German army for the first couple years of WW2 were the Czech Pzw 35t and Pzw 38t, which made chassis for SPA and tank destroyers after they were taken from front line service). Why did Czech leadership cave in to the demands of Hitler, Chamberlain and Daladier?

And another question, what would have happened if Czechoslovakia stood firm? I suppose Hitler would have backed down, but I wonder what would have happened if Germany and Czechoslovakia came blows.

Robert:

I think the problem was the Czechs saw themselves on their own. It was obvious that Britain and France were not going to go to war for them. And in a long war of attrition they knew they would lose. There are persons who feel that the Czechs could have given a very good account of themselves. They were certainly better equipped than the Poles and as you mention had far better tanks. The terrain favored them and the Blitzkrieg had not been perfected at that time. Their biggest weakness would have been in aircraft and skilled pilots. The Spanish Civil War which was still raging provided the new Luftwaffe with valuable combat and operational experience. This points me to a new thread that I may start, namely the world situation from 1936 to the outbreak of WWII. So many hot spots and ways for war to break out.

But on a deeper level we have to realize that while the Czech people had a long history, their nation didn't. Czechoslovakia as nation was a creation of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of WWI as was Yugoslavia. There were areas in Bohemia especially that were far more closely tied to Germany by language and heritage than to this new nation. So the Czechs have to make a tough call. Do they fight a larger nation in order to preserve a portion of their territory that is full of people who probably consider themselves German? Or in the interests of peace and with the pressures from France and England to comply do they surrender the Sudetenland? It's similar to the Danzig corridor in Poland. Poland chose to fight. I think the experience of what happened in Czechoslovakia hardened the Allies determination to stand up to Germany, but still they lacked a coherent plan and enough of a military build up to do so. And Poland who was depending on the promises of France and England falls as a result.

[old_pop2000]

Robert:

I think the problem was the Czechs saw themselves on their own. It was obvious that Britain and France were not going to go to war for them. And in a long war of attrition they knew they would lose. There are persons who feel that the Czechs could have given a very good account of themselves. They were certainly better equipped than the Poles and as you mention had far better tanks. The terrain favored them and the Blitzkrieg had not been perfected at that time. Their biggest weakness would have been in aircraft and skilled pilots. The Spanish Civil War which was still raging provided the new Luftwaffe with valuable combat and operational experience. This points me to a new thread that I may start, namely the world situation from 1936 to the outbreak of WWII. So many hot spots and ways for war to break out.

But on a deeper level we have to realize that while the Czech people had a long history, their nation didn't. Czechoslovakia as nation was a creation of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of WWI as was Yugoslavia. There were areas in Bohemia especially that were far more closely tied to Germany by language and heritage than to this new nation. So the Czechs have to make a tough call. Do they fight a larger nation in order to preserve a portion of their territory that is full of people who probably consider themselves German? Or in the interests of peace and with the pressures from France and England to comply do they surrender the Sudetenland? It's similar to the Danzig corridor in Poland. Poland chose to fight. I think the experience of what happened in Czechoslovakia hardened the Allies determination to stand up to Germany, but still they lacked a coherent plan and enough of a military build up to do so. And Poland who was depending on the promises of France and England falls as a result.

Some interesting stats to ponder:

22.32 % of the Czechoslovak population was German. The National Socialist Party captured 9.2% of the popular vote in the 1935 election. The National Socialist party under Henlein quit the government and actually precipitated the crisis.

So, why didn't the Czech's stand firm? How? With what? They had an internal political crises in their government. They were a polyglot of nationalities, struggling to keep the government moving. Strategically, what could the French and British do to bolster the government to reinforce its position. The key to Munich was the immediate threat of France, which did nothing. The British could only supply rhetoric with no troops on the continent. The Russian's were a non-player. So, what is the support structure for the Czechoslovak government?

[Ed Rotondaro]

Some interesting stats to ponder:

22.32 % of the Czechoslovak population was German. The National Socialist Party captured 9.2% of the popular vote in the 1935 election. The National Socialist party under Henlein quit the government and actually precipitated the crisis.

So, why didn't the Czech's stand firm? How? With what? They had an internal political crises in their government. They were a polyglot of nationalities, struggling to keep the government moving. Strategically, what could the French and British do to bolster the government to reinforce its position. The key to Munich was the immediate threat of France, which did nothing. The British could only supply rhetoric with no troops on the continent. The Russian's were a non-player. So, what is the support structure for the Czechoslovak government?

Dennis:

A fragile nation state.

[asnrobert]

Thanks for the input. I didn't realize the Czech gov't was that weak.