ABSTRACT
The German occupation of Prague on 15 March 1939 and the Italian invasion of Albania on 7 April introduced a new policy of British and French guarantees in eastern and south-eastern Europe. The guarantees were followed by protracted negotiations with the Soviet Union. The demonstration of firmness by the western democracies failed because it was essentially half-hearted. The demonstration of firmness by the western democracies failed because it was essentially half-hearted. Only a grand alliance for war could have deterred Germany in the summer of 1939. Germany’s destruction of Czechoslovakia was not a bolt from the blue. The pro-Bonnet press interpreted the liquidation of Czechoslovakia as proof of how artificial and unstable the state had been: Europe was still paying for the errors of Versailles. Paris insisted that Poland would have to sign a defensive pact with Rumania. The British reaction to Germany’s behaviour was much too bellicose for the French Minister’s liking.
