Considerazioni

The Sudeten are the mounts after which the north west region of today's Czech Republic got his name.
Formerly part of the Austro Hungarian Empire, and assigned after the Versailles peace to the newborn Czechoslovakian Republic, Sudetenland was at the same time a top strategical piece for the Allied and an important economical and minerary resort, well equipped with infrastructures.

Those were the reasons which made Sudetenland one of the task pursued by Nazi policy, and why since 1933 they promoted, through the Sudeten's Germans Party (SDP), independentist activities.

Since the birth of SDP, The Wilhelmstrasse - Foreign Affairs Ministery in Berlin - constantly financed and controlled it, whose real tasks were to bias international attention and drive Czech situation to an crisis not solvable by the inside, and requiring therefore an international intervention.

In 1937/38 the time was right for that and Nazi Germany proposed himself as the natural tutor for freedom and rights of the Sudeten. Of course Hitler was ready for a military strike too, if needed.

During the first months of 1938 the crisis entered his acute phase: Hitler declared many times as his only wish justice and peace for the Sudeten people, but stressed also his determination to use any mean to carry it out; UK and France governments also, ignoring german manouvers or pretending to do, showed intentions to accomplish the nazi dictator's claims and exerted pressures over Prague.

The situationn collapsed around middle may 1938, when news about a german invasion reached embassies of Prague and London in Berlin. The front of Society of Nations showed solid while cabinets of London, Paris and Moscow summoned Berlin that any recourse armoured intervention would have unleashed an equal reaction.

Hitler, having cheked his Army's chances beeing very small, corrected his position but never gave up his purposals.

Within german army many were puzzled abut outcomes of a war agains Czechoslovakia.
Most of Wehrmacht power, indeed, should have been disposed along Czech front, leaving only few divisions for the west one, where attack of English and French was probable.

During all the summer Hitler kept on his action, enhancing in secret military preparations.
When the 15th of September Chamberlain went to Godesberg, to meet Hitler and find out a mediation, the Nazi Dictator submitted instead what seemed to be a true ultimatum, whose conditions were fairly not acceptable.

As the same Chamberlain foreshow, Prague refused german proposals, nevertheless the British Premier intesified his efforts to avert the war.

Despite the situation London and Paris governments were determined to avoid war and to this aim even to abandon Prague to his fate. So, when Mussolini proposed a meeting, to expose his 'defined written proposals', the destiny of Czechoslovakia was already signed.

Hitler had already assured tha Sudetenland was the very last of his territorial claims, and to have no further interest about Czechoslovakia and his people, which not beeing germans could not be part of the Reich.
In the reality his invasion was already planned and prepared. Despite the german dictator was not new to this kind of lie, Chamberlain believed him and did also anything in his possibilities to go along with his wishes.

About Mussolini's proposals, in the reality - following Fest and Shirer - were written by Goering in total conformity with Goedesberg's demands. The fascist dictator was simply a spokesman, but gained also a good endowement of international prestige, and internal approval.

The conference was completely informal, Czech delegates were not admitted and Hitler showed no intention
to discuss about any guarantee or compensation for Sudetenland inhabitants compelled to leave the area.

Beyond the 11000 sqm of territory and his fortified line, Czechoslovakia lost most of his resorts and a fair deal of his infrastructures. On the Polish border lost the coal area of Teschen. Shortly: great part of what made up and allowed his life as a modern nation.

Hitler's prestige raised highly, silencing the already sporadic and weak voices of dissent against him in Germany. Overseas the Reich seemed solid as in imperial era, substituting with his influence in Europe's East the one of France and England.

That became evident few months later, when internal disorders in what was left of Czechoslovakia were the pretext for the invasion, which the F�hrer aspired to since a long time. Boemia and Moravia bacame a german protectorate. While Paris and London governments remained inert, a strong internal opposition signed a turning point in the attitude of those countries, and the same Chamberlain acknowledged of having been cheated by Hitler. Peace's illusion was over. If Germany was to undertake new actions towards any other nation, that would have resulted in a war.

In facts Hitler, had already started the steps towards Poland which would have led to II WW.

Europe came out the conference weakened and divided. The conference postponed the beginning of the war to exclusive advantage of Germany which sped up his rearmament more than his future opponents.