Germans march into Czechoslovakia

Although he assured the world public that he had no further territorial claims to pursue after the „annexation“ of the Sudetenland to the German Reich in October 1938 (Munich Accord), Adolf Hitler orders the Wehrmacht on 15 March 1939 to march into what he contemptuously calls the „Resttschechei (the remainder of Czechia)“. On the previous day the Slovaks – under pressure from Hitler – founded a state of their own, placing „Slovakia“ under the protection of the German Reich. Inside the „Resttschechei“, Hitler’s troops encounter no resistance.

© AdsD German troops on the Charles Bridge in Prague

Hitler extorts the consent of the government in Prague. As a result, the Czech portion of the now definitively shattered Czechoslovakia is incorporated into the German Reich’s sphere of control as the „Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia“.

All hopes of being able to prevent an outbreak of war in Europe through concessions to Hitler are effectively dashed. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain declares an end to his policy of appeasement and gives Poland assurances of military support. A German attack against that country now seems more probable than ever.