The Deaths of Austria and Czechoslovakia - Part 2

If one looks at the map of the new Germany, incorporating Austria, it is possible to see the profile of some huge wolf-like animal, with pricked ears close to Danzig in the north, its throat over Switzerland, its snout ending near Cracow, and its chin across the river from Bratislava. In the open maw, between Cracow and Bratislawa, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia stretches westwards to a common border with Germany. All round the rim of this salient lived the Sudeten Germans, about three million of them. Although it was becoming obvious to all except the most blinkered that this monster could not be appeased, the blinkered had now become the decisive element in the fate of the world. Ironically, however, they stood their ground in May 1938 on threatening movements of the German army which later turned out to be rumours. But during the weekend Friday 20th May, up to the denial by Germany on 23rd May, it did seem that war would start, with the Czechs going so far as to start a partial moblisation. For what it is worth, it can be recorded that Prague, Britain and France literally bombarded the German authorities with demands to know what was happening and warning of the consequences; even Moscow joined in. The boot was on the other foot, for now Hitler did not know exactly what would happen if he did invade, even though he was not quite ready; in all previous crises, it had been the Allies who did not know if he was bluffing. Hitler did not like the sensation. From his fury and paranoia came a re-working of Case Green, the plan to attack Czechoslovakia. It was nearly the same as the old one, except that the first sentence there began "It is not my intention to smash Czechoslovakia in the near future" while, in the new one, the words 'not my intention' were substituted by 'my unalterable decision'. Asked to define 'near future', he stated "by 1st October 1938, at the latest."

So now it would have to be similar to the route taken in Austria, civil disturbance, intolerable demands on the Czech government, and manufacturing evidence when needed. Czechoslovakia was a mixture of nationalities and a country created after the First World War out of part of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. Against the odds, it had succeeded mainly because it had had two unique leaders, Masaryk and Benes,

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