The situation in Europe in 1938 can only be seen, in the historical light of the war that was to come a year later, for what did actually come to pass. However, there exists a single, great counter-factual question that makes for a really interesting analysis of the time, the politics, and the military abilities of all the states involved. The question is what if the United Kingdom and France had decided—or felt themselves forced—to go to war with Hitler's Germany at some point in 1938, as opposed to a full year later? The numerous crises and the changing nature of alliances in that year make the question more tenable than fantastical, but the outcome would have been, very likely, equally disastrous for the Third Reich.