Forum:Munich Crisis 1938

Hi everyone:

I posted the following message on the Fall Grun talk page:

"What if ...

I have been looking at Czechoslovakia's impressive military preparations - fortifications and armaments - and my "what if?" query is:

What if the western allies (France and the UK) plus Belgium,  Holland and Poland (the latter having satisfactorily clarified its border claims) had said "no" to Hitler in 1938 and had pledged to go to war in case of a German attack on Czechoslovakia.

I am also assuming that Italy, while supporting Germany diplomatically, would stay out of the war because of its existing commitments in Spain, Africa and (later) Albania, while the western allies would possibly support what was left of the Spanish Republic, against the Nationalists supported by Italy and Germany.

Have you considered this scenario?

It entails of course a change in leadership in both France and England (Churchill, of course). " [end of quote]

I am double posting to this section, as the subject may be of interest to others, not specifically interested in the Czech crisis.

Other related what ifs for anyone interested to work on?

What if France had intervened in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Republic in early 1938?

What if France and the UK had intervened massively in Belgium and Holland, preferably with their consent, within days of the German invasion of Poland in 1939, thus bolstering their defences and covering the French weak spot at Sedan and indirectly taking the pressure off Poland?

What if the Irish Free State in 1939 had granted the Royal Navy permission to make free use the facilities at Queenstown (Cork) in exchange for the recognition of an independent Irish Federation, within the Commonwealth but with non belligerant status for the South?

Lombard Beige, formerly of Cork Ireland, now in Milan, Italy

Lombard Beige 08:32, February 6, 2012 (UTC)