Repeated brinkmanship turned into war in 1939 because opposing leaders assumed the other side would retreat. Germany's invasion of Poland triggered the wider European conflict, although other flashpoints, including Japanese expansion, might have produced a later war. Hitler expected the Allied governments to back down, while those governments expected him to stop short of invasion. Once German forces entered Poland, the Allies could not yield again without sacrificing their credibility. A major war therefore began when the states involved understood their material unreadiness. Repeated political gambling had failed to control escalation.
Notable Point · 33:57-35:43
How brinkmanship produced a war no one was ready to fight
The invasion of Poland illustrates how repeated political gambles and failed expectations of retreat turned widespread unreadiness into a general European war.