Higher History
To what extent can the Munich agreement be seen as a triumph for British foreign policy?
The result of the Munich agreements success in 1938 is very controversial, it undoubtedly failed its desired purpose for European peace however this seemed unavoidable. Its considered that Chamberlains meetings leading up to the agreement were successful in delaying war at the very start, its debated whether or not this was for the best or if they could have nipped the issue in the bud from the beginning and stopped such a large catastrophe. There were other successes such as doing as the British public wanted who remained strongly against war since the loss of life in the first war, British defences in 1938 were not prepared for another war, another war would bring unimaginable chaos and damage. However the Munich agreement betrayed Czechoslovakia who were strongly defended and allied both Britain and France, if all of them came together its likely war could have been avoided.
There was a large lack of confidence in British defences in 1938, they were poorly equipped and what they did have were nothing compared to new modern warfare equipment other countries possessed. It’s strongly arguable that by September 1939 Britain were far more prepared for a war with Germany and if they had rushed into it a year before, they would have gotten destroyed. At the end of the war Hitler claims that if he’d got war when he wanted it in 1938 he would have won. In comparison many believe that Czechoslovakia was the most well defended country in Europe at the time, they had a strong army and their borders would be difficult to pass through. Without British and French support they would not react however, if all three parties had come together it is possible they would most likely to have been powerful enough to overthrow Hitler from the very start. Opinions considering this situation are very much split for the overall success of the Munich agreements.
It was only twenty four years
The result of the Munich agreements success in 1938 is very controversial, it undoubtedly failed its desired purpose for European peace however this seemed unavoidable. Its considered that Chamberlains meetings leading up to the agreement were successful in delaying war at the very start, its debated whether or not this was for the best or if they could have nipped the issue in the bud from the beginning and stopped such a large catastrophe. There were other successes such as doing as the British public wanted who remained strongly against war since the loss of life in the first war, British defences in 1938 were not prepared for another war, another war would bring unimaginable chaos and damage. However the Munich agreement betrayed Czechoslovakia who were strongly defended and allied both Britain and France, if all of them came together its likely war could have been avoided.
There was a large lack of confidence in British defences in 1938, they were poorly equipped and what they did have were nothing compared to new modern warfare equipment other countries possessed. It’s strongly arguable that by September 1939 Britain were far more prepared for a war with Germany and if they had rushed into it a year before, they would have gotten destroyed. At the end of the war Hitler claims that if he’d got war when he wanted it in 1938 he would have won. In comparison many believe that Czechoslovakia was the most well defended country in Europe at the time, they had a strong army and their borders would be difficult to pass through. Without British and French support they would not react however, if all three parties had come together it is possible they would most likely to have been powerful enough to overthrow Hitler from the very start. Opinions considering this situation are very much split for the overall success of the Munich agreements.
It was only twenty four years