Editing Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938)


{{Infobox country|name=Czechoslovak Republic|native_name=Československá republika ([[Czech language|Czech]])<br>Česko-slovenská republika ([[Slovak language|Slovak]])|image_flag=Czech flag.png|capital=[[Prague]]|largest_city=[[Prague]]|mode_of_production=Capitalism|flag_caption=The flag of Czechoslovakia, from 1920 to 1938|official_languages=[[Czechoslovak language|Czechoslovak]]|common_languages=[[Czechoslovak language|Czechoslovak]] ([[Czech language|Czech]] · [[Slovak language|Slovak]]), [[German language|German]], [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Romani language|Romani]], [[Rusyn language|Rusyn]], [[Yiddish]]}}

The '''(First) Czechoslovak Republic''' was a binational, multi-ethnic [[Bourgeois Democracy|bourgeois democratic]] state in [[Central Europe]] that existed during the [[Interwar Period]].  It was proclaimed by the [[Czechoslovak National Council]] in 1918 following the [[dissolution of Austria-Hungary]].  In 1938, with [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|Britain]] and [[French Republic (1870–1940)|France]]'s grace, much of Czechoslovakia's territory was forcibly ceded over to [[German Reich (1933–1945)|Nazi Germany]] via the [[Munich Agreement]], with [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Hungary]] and [[Republic of Poland (1918–1939)|Poland]] also occupying parcels of land.  This resulted in a major political crisis in Czechoslovakia and the resignation of then-[[President of Czechoslovakia|President]] [[Edvard Beneš]], thereby ending the First Republic.

==History ==
Throughout the 1930s, sensing that a German invasion was imminent, Czechoslovakia began to militarise, [[Czechoslovak border fortifications|sparking the construction of a line of fortifications along the German border]].  They built pillboxes, machine gun nests, and anti-tank obstacles.  They also began developing their own small arms, tanks, and artillery pieces.

During the early stages of the [[Second World War]], many of these Czechoslovak guns, tanks, artillery pieces, and anti-tank obstacles (e.g. the "[[Czech hedgehog]]") were used by Nazi Germany<ref><blockquote>''"Czech tanks are included [in the 'Axis Tanks' section], as many were subsequently taken over by the Germans during the invasion of France in 1940 and remained in production in Czechoslovakia after that country's occupation."''</blockquote>
[[Chris Bishop (historian)|Chris Bishop]] (1988).:  ''The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II: A Comprehensive Guide to Weapons Systems, Including Tanks, Small Arms, Warplanes, Artillery, Ships, and Submarines.'' p. 9.</ref> or sold to neighbouring countries such as [[Kingdom of Romania (1881–1947)|Romania]] and the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]].

=== Munich Agreement===
In May 1938, Nazi Germany concentrated its troops on the Czechoslovak border.  On 30 September, after nearly two weeks of an undeclared border war between the [[Sudeten German Freikorps]] (a terrorist organisation funded by the [[Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]]) and the Czechoslovak state, British [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Neville Chamberlain]] and French [[Prime Minister of France|Prime Minister]] [[Édouard Daladier]] met in [[Munich]] with German leader [[Adolf Hitler]].  Without any input from Czechoslovakia itself, they agreed that Germany could annex the [[Sudetenland]], a region of Czechoslovakia inhabited primarily by [[Sudeten Germans|ethnic Germans]].  The Czechoslovak leadership had no choice but to go along with this decision.

====International reaction====
In response to the German buildup along the Czechoslovak border, the Soviet Union sent 40 divisions to Czechoslovakia's western border and called up 330,000 reservists.  After the Munich Agreement was made, [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]] offered to defend the rest of Czechoslovakia in the event of a German invasion, but Czechoslovakia declined the offer.<ref name=":022332">{{Citation|author=Ludo Martens|year=1996|title=Another View of Stalin|chapter=Stalin and the anti-fascist war|isbn=9782872620814|publisher=Editions EPO|pdf=https://gateway.ipfs.io/ipfs/bafykbzaceab64vxtxpqt2cdl4zsrsftmedqidn4foq74gr25qkd35z5nwogdi?filename=Ludo%20Martens%20-%20Another%20View%20of%20Stalin-Editions%20EPO%20%281996%29.pdf|page=186}}</ref>

==References==

<references />
[[Category:Countries]]
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	{{Infobox country\|name=Czechoslovak Republic\|native_name=Československá republika ([[Czech language\|Czech]])<br>Česko-slovenská republika ([[Slovak language\|Slovak]])\|image_flag=Czech flag.png\|capital=[[Prague]]\|largest_city=[[Prague]]\|mode_of_production=Capitalism~~\|year_start=1918\|year_end=1938~~\|flag_caption=The flag of Czechoslovakia, from 1920 to 1938~~\|motto="Pravda vítězí / Pravda víťazí"<br>"Truth prevails"\|anthem=[["Kde domov můj"]] (Czech)<br>"Where my home is"<br>[["Nad Tatrou sa blýska"]] (Slovak)<br>"Lightning over the [[Tatras]]"~~\|official_languages=[[Czechoslovak language\|Czechoslovak]]\|common_languages=[[Czechoslovak language\|Czechoslovak]] ([[Czech language\|Czech]] · [[Slovak language\|Slovak]]), [[German language\|German]], [[Hungarian language\|Hungarian]], [[Polish language\|Polish]], [[Romani language\|Romani]], [[Rusyn language\|Rusyn]], [[Yiddish~~]]\|event_start=Declaration of independence from [[Austria-Hungary]]\|event2=\|date_event2=\|event_end=Occupation by [[Nazi Germany]]\|date_end=\|currency=[[Czechoslovak Koruna~~]]}}		{{Infobox country\|name=Czechoslovak Republic\|native_name=Československá republika ([[Czech language\|Czech]])<br>Česko-slovenská republika ([[Slovak language\|Slovak]])\|image_flag=Czech flag.png\|capital=[[Prague]]\|largest_city=[[Prague]]\|mode_of_production=Capitalism\|flag_caption=The flag of Czechoslovakia, from 1920 to 1938\|official_languages=[[Czechoslovak language\|Czechoslovak]]\|common_languages=[[Czechoslovak language\|Czechoslovak]] ([[Czech language\|Czech]] · [[Slovak language\|Slovak]]), [[German language\|German]], [[Hungarian language\|Hungarian]], [[Polish language\|Polish]], [[Romani language\|Romani]], [[Rusyn language\|Rusyn]], [[Yiddish]]}}

	The '''(First) Czechoslovak Republic''' was a binational, multi-ethnic [[Bourgeois Democracy\|bourgeois democratic]] state in [[Central Europe]] that existed during the [[Interwar Period]]. It was proclaimed by the [[Czechoslovak National Council]] in 1918 following the [[dissolution of Austria-Hungary]]. In 1938, with [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland\|Britain]] and [[French Republic (1870–1940)\|France]]'s grace, much of Czechoslovakia's territory was forcibly ceded over to [[German Reich (1933–1945)\|Nazi Germany]] via the [[Munich Agreement]], with [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)\|Hungary]] and [[Republic of Poland (1918–1939)\|Poland]] also occupying parcels of land. This resulted in a major political crisis in Czechoslovakia and the resignation of then-[[President of Czechoslovakia\|President]] [[Edvard Beneš]], thereby ending the First Republic.		The '''(First) Czechoslovak Republic''' was a binational, multi-ethnic [[Bourgeois Democracy\|bourgeois democratic]] state in [[Central Europe]] that existed during the [[Interwar Period]]. It was proclaimed by the [[Czechoslovak National Council]] in 1918 following the [[dissolution of Austria-Hungary]]. In 1938, with [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland\|Britain]] and [[French Republic (1870–1940)\|France]]'s grace, much of Czechoslovakia's territory was forcibly ceded over to [[German Reich (1933–1945)\|Nazi Germany]] via the [[Munich Agreement]], with [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)\|Hungary]] and [[Republic of Poland (1918–1939)\|Poland]] also occupying parcels of land. This resulted in a major political crisis in Czechoslovakia and the resignation of then-[[President of Czechoslovakia\|President]] [[Edvard Beneš]], thereby ending the First Republic.