Why was the invasion of the rest of Czechoslovakia important

• This was the first time Hitler invaded a country where he had no claim. There were no German speakers in Czechoslovakia outside of the Sudetenland and the country had not been German prior to the Treaty of Versailles. Britain and France could no longer hide behind the claim that Hitler was taking what was rightfully his
• Czechoslovakia was a strong country; with support it could have fought the Nazis, preventing a full-scale world war, but this opportunity was lost
• Britain and France had alienated the USSR and lost a valuable ally against Hitler
• Hitler completed his invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939. He broke the promises that he had made at the Munich Conference and to Chamberlain in the Anglo-German declaration. Chamberlain had to admit that his policy of appeasement had failed
• Chamberlain promised Poland, which looked likely to be Hitler's next target, that Britain would guarantee its independence