Deterrence fails when an opponent keeps gambling that warnings are bluffs

The discussion separates military strength from the adversary's expectations. Britain and France could possess substantial forces while still failing to deter if Hitler believed their warnings were bluffs. Repeated concessions encouraged him to gamble that another territorial demand would be accepted without war. Deterrence therefore required not just capability but a believable decision to stop backing down, a decision the opponent might recognize only after taking the fatal gamble.