Britain and France Could Have Stared Hitler Down, but Blinked Instead
If the Western Allies had responded with even minimal armed force, German commanders knew that they would be forced to hastily and humiliatingly retreat. Hitler faced great pressure from his generals, who warned him of the risks involved. However, the Fuhrer gambled that while the Western Allies had the power to thwart him, they lacked the will to use that power. So on March 7th, 1936, Hitler ordered 19 German battalions to occupy the Rhineland, in direct violation of post-WWI treaties.
The Fuhrer had a weak hand, but he played it anyhow, and won the gamble. The British and French protested, but took no direct action. That whetted Hitler’s appetite for more and ever-riskier gambles. So he initiated and escalated dispute after dispute. He calculated that he could act egregiously, secure in the knowledge that the Western Allies would strongly protest and vehemently condemn, but not act. He kept escalating until he invaded Poland in 1939, and was stunned when Britain and France finally had enough and declared war.