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From: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Newsgroups: net.followup,net.politics
Subject: Re: Air raid on Libya
Message-ID: <1390@mmintl.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 3-May-86 05:25:04 EDT
Article-I.D.: mmintl.1390
Posted: Sat May  3 05:25:04 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 8-May-86 02:59:24 EDT
References: <157@unido.UUCP> <141@drutx.UUCP> <7554@cca.UUCP>
Reply-To: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Organization: Multimate International, E. Hartford, CT
Lines: 22
Xref: linus net.followup:5188 net.politics:14787

In article <7554@cca.UUCP> g-rh@cca.UUCP (Richard Harter) writes:
>(c) The occupation of the Sudetenland was forced by the Allies (peace
>in our time, you know.)  At that time the Czech's were the military 
>equal of Germany; however the major Czech fortifications were in the
>Sudetenland.  The effect of the surrender of the Sudetenland was to
>drastically alter the balance of power between Germany and Czechoslovakia.

A quibble - the Czech's were not really the equal of Germany at that point.
However, they could very likely have held them off for a long time.  If
either Britain or France had been willing to support them, the Czech's were
willing to defend themselves; and Germany would certainly have backed down
at that point.  As you note, Britain and France instead pressured
Czechoslovakia to accept the German terms, after which Germany was much
stronger than Czechoslovakia.

An interesting side note: in 1939, Poland thought it was a great power,
able to meet Germany on close to even terms.  If the Polish leaders had
realized what the real power relationship between the two countries was,
things might have gone very differently.

Frank Adams                           ihnp4!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka
Multimate International    52 Oakland Ave North    E. Hartford, CT 06108