Why is Czechoslovakia the seventh largest country in the world but a second-rate country?

First, France and Czechoslovakia formed a military alliance.

19 18, sailors and workers revolted in Berlin, Germany, and the German emperor William II was forced to flee to the Netherlands. Beatrix wilhelmina armgard Wilhelmina is his hardcore relative, and his safety is absolutely guaranteed. The new German regime declared its unconditional surrender to the Allies, but the German soldiers at the front thought that they had not failed, but that incompetent politicians had betrayed themselves. Of course, this war has little to do with Czechoslovakia, as long as it is a contest between Britain, France and Germany. After the surrender of Germany, Britain opposed the excessive weakening of Germany in order to prevent France from dominating the European continent. After the plan of destroying Germany failed, France adopted the method of directly attacking Germany. First of all, Poland regained its independence and contained the eastern forces of Germany. Moreover, anschluss was forbidden, and German territory was divided into two parts.

France and Germany have a centuries-old feud. In order to prevent Germany from rising again, France tried every means. First of all, France occupied the western industrial zone of Germany, but the French felt unsafe and thought of military alliance. 1924, France, Poland and Czechoslovakia signed an alliance treaty. The treaty stipulates that if Germany attacks any of these countries, the other two countries must attack Germany with all their strength. I have to say that this is a great threat to Germany. Poland is located in eastern Germany, Czechoslovakia is located in southeastern Germany, and France is located in western Germany. Once Germany makes any move, all three countries can attack Germany. At that time, Germany was in the post-war Great Depression and was unable to attack any country at all.

Second, the Polish betrayal disintegrated triple alliance.

Originally, Germany's advantage was that the three countries were under attack, so the French could sit back and relax. But everything is always afraid of accidents. 1933, Hitler became German Chancellor. Poland is a slippery country, seeing the rising momentum of Germany. I had a territorial dispute with Germany, but the situation was wrong, and Poland immediately fell to Germany. 1934, Poland announced its withdrawal from the three-nation military alliance formed by France, tearing open the iron triangle that France has worked so hard to maintain. But it doesn't matter, and Czechoslovakia. Don't underestimate Czechoslovakia at that time. At that time, it was the seventh power in the world, second only to the United States, Germany, the Soviet Union, Britain, France and Italy. Slovak immigrants. The comprehensive national strength is far above that of Japan, and Japan can run rampant in Asia for a while. In Europe, it is a quasi-second-rate country. France and Czechoslovakia can also put some pressure on Germany. At this time, the military level of Czechoslovakia was even higher than that of Germany.

Under Hitler's leadership, Germany embarked on the road of crazy external expansion. First of all, Hitler sent troops to occupy the demilitarized zone of the Rhine, which was a test of the Versailles system. At this time, the British, French and European powers have not recovered from the economic crisis, and the damage caused by World War I has not been completely alleviated. These two countries do not want war, but look forward to peace in Europe. Britain and France turned a blind eye to Germany's occupation of the demilitarized zone of the Rhine. After being stimulated, Hitler's ambition began to swell. Hitler announced anschluss shortly after the 1936 Olympic Games. This move is a flagrant violation of the Versailles system, but Britain and France do not want the war to break out easily. Hitler decided to continue his next plan, knocking out Czechoslovakia, France's right-hand man.

Third, the seventh power in the world has become a sick cat.

From 65438 to 0938, Hitler began to incite the residents of Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia to make trouble. Most of these residents are descended from Germans and speak German. Germany issued a war warning to Czechoslovakia and transferred 22 German divisions to the German-Czech border. Czechoslovakia is not a bully. Its annual military output is three times that of Britain. Czechoslovakia deployed 35 divisions across from the Germans, and didn't care about the German threat of war. According to the provisions of the military alliance with France, if Germany attacks Czechoslovakia, France will attack Germany with all its strength. European investment immigrants. If France goes to war, Britain must follow suit, so Czechoslovakia has nothing to fear.

Unfortunately, Czechoslovakia was betrayed by its allies. Britain and France did not want a direct conflict with Germany, so they agreed to cede the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. Hitler swore to heaven; "Sudetenland is the last territory Germany wants." But Hitler's promise is similar to Stalin's, and it is not reliable at all. At the end of 1938, Germany invaded Czechoslovakia together with Poland, a former ally of Czechoslovakia. Due to the loss of Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia has no capital to compete with Germany. 1939 Hitler entered Prague, the capital of Czechoslovakia. And held a military parade in Prague. Since then, Czechoslovakia has become a second-rate country in Europe.