Some historians once believed: "A strong country should first strengthen its troops." On many historical occasions, this maxim does make a lot of sense. After the end of the War of Liberation, New China relied on itself in a situation of poverty and poverty, thus establishing a perfect military industrial system and a modern army with strong combat effectiveness, thus laying the foundation for its take-off after reform and opening up. The strong army of new China relies on its own efforts; but the strong army of some countries relies on inheriting the legacy of the former suzerainty. Before World War II, Czechoslovakia was such a country.
Before the end of World War I, Slovakia was Hungary's sphere of influence, while the Czech Republic had long been under the rule and influence of the German regime. Thanks to abundant resources, convenient transportation and excellent environment, the Czech region (Bohemia and Moravia) has been a place of emigration for Germans since ancient times, and has developed greatly. During the holy Roman Empire, Bohemia was described as a fertile land of "abundance" and "abundance". During the reign of the Austrian Empire, the Czech region rode the west wind of the Industrial Revolution and quickly became one of the most prosperous industrial regions in Europe.
After the end of World War I in 1918, the multi-ethnic Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed, and the Czech Republic and Slovakia became independent from Austrian and Hungarian rule, respectively. On October 28 of the same year, the two emerging nation-states were united to form the Czechoslovak Republic. After independence, Czechoslovakia inherited a large number of military industries of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which made it have a strong production capacity for weapons and equipment. Thus, from the end of the smoke of World War I until the upheavals in Eastern Europe in 1989, Czechoslovakia was long known as the "Great Powers of Arms".
In the 1920s and 1930s, Czechoslovakia had many of europe's top arsenals, including the huge Škoda factory and brno factory, which produced a wide range of weapons. Czech military factories can produce not only individual weapons such as rifles, pistols and machine guns, but also tanks, armored vehicles, aircraft, artillery and other large equipment. At its peak, Czech arms exports accounted for 30 to 40 percent of the world's total, ranking among the top in the world. Moreover, Czech weapons are not only numerous, but also of considerable quality. The "Czech-made" machine gun is famous overseas and is popular with soldiers of many countries.
However, when Germany invaded, the well-equipped Czech army did not put up much resistance, which led to the fall of the country. In 1938, after Germany annexed Austria, it targeted Czechoslovakia. In September of the same year, the Munich Agreement entered into force and the Czech Republic was forced to cede land to Germany. Since then, the momentum of German aggression has further increased, and Poland and Hungary have also taken advantage of the looting. Under the combined blows of several neighboring countries, Czechoslovakia was finally divided in early 1939. In a sense, the czech republic's failure to die without a war is related to its neglect of the following important issues.
First, the construction of ethnic relations has been neglected, resulting in the weakening of cohesion. In a sense, Czechoslovakia was a "patchwork" country, with endless contradictions between the various ethnic groups in the country. Among them, the gap between Czechs and Germans is particularly serious. At the beginning of the founding of the Czech Republic, conflicts between the Czech and German ethnic groups occurred from time to time. During this period, although the Czech government also tried to take measures to cover up and dilute the contradictions, it ultimately failed because of improper methods and too complex roots. When the German army marched into the Sudetenland, a large number of local Germans welcomed them and acted as the "leading party" of the German army.
Second, the unity between the czech and Slovak regions was ignored, leading to a stronger separatism. For a long time, the Czech region was a developed industrial area, while the Slovak region was a backward agricultural area, and the huge gap between rich and poor weakened the mutual identity of the people of the two places. At the same time, the Czech high-level often promoted "Great Czechism", denying the existence of the Slovak community and treating the Slovak community as a branch of the Czech community, which caused dissatisfaction among many Slovaks. So, when Germany invaded, the Slovaks also declared themselves "self-reliant."
Third, the complexity of territorial issues has been ignored, leading to dissatisfaction among neighbouring countries. As we all know, there have been many wars in modern Europe, which has caused a series of complex land disputes. After the end of World War I, the territory and order of Europe underwent a "reshuffle", the independence of many nation-states, and the territorial problem was more difficult to solve. After the establishment of Czechoslovakia, there were territorial contradictions with most of its neighboring countries. The Sudetenland dispute led to tensions between the Czech Republic and Germany; the Chessin dispute led to constant friction between the Czech Republic and Poland. At the beginning of the end of the First World War, the Czech Republic relied on the support of the Allied powers to take advantage of the territorial dispute, which made it suffer from the antipathy of its neighbors.
Finally, ignoring the extent to which major powers use them has led to a more sinister geopolitical environment. At the beginning of the founding of Czechoslovakia, the Allied powers regarded it as a pawn and used it repeatedly. With the support of the Allies, the Czech Republic actively sent troops to intervene in the Hungarian revolution, curbing the expansion of Soviet influence, and tying itself to the "Anglo-French chariot". However, when Hitler coveted Czech land and the Czech Republic pinned its hopes on The help of Britain and France, Britain and France, which pursued "appeasementism", thought that the Czech Republic was of little use and was unwilling to turn against Germany for its sake. As a result, the Czech Republic, which had lost the natural dangers of the Sudeten Mountains, suffered further betrayals from Britain and France, had no will to resist, and finally perished without a fight.
In general, Czechoslovakia has a well-developed military industry, and its land area in Europe is not small, and it is also a medium-strength country in the world. Before the Munich Conference, the Czechs had also mobilized for war at home, massaging dozens of divisions on the border to prevent German aggression. However, due to internal dissent, the joint attack of the surrounding powers, and the betrayal of Britain and France, the Czech Republic eventually lost the ability to resist the invasion, and without organizing effective resistance, it was divided between Germany, Poland, and Hungary.