who had been forced to withdraw from China because of pressures from Japan, told Hitler that Germany "has been backing the wrong horse" in Asia. Koehler observed that a militant Italy was a lesser threat than Germany with its greater population and resources. He considered life under bolshevism to be worse than life under fascism. Concerning the immediate problem of Hitler's annexation of the Sudetenland, Koehler reasoned that Czechoslovakia would get little support from the other nations of the Little Entente for fear of exposing themselves to attack from Germany. Britain, however, would not fail to be on the side of France if war broke out. He believed that under advisement of his high command, Hitler would "continue to capitalize on the fear of war and keep Europe in turmoil for some time to come and up to this day he has gained as much by bluff as he could get by war and without the disastrous cost of war." Koehler's closing remark was half-accurate as history has bore out, "He will not resort to war. War would be the end of Hitler." Speaking before the Fleet Reserve Association in February 1939, Koehler claimed that following the Munich Pact, Britain was actually in a better position since Neville Chamberlain had succeeded in garnering the support of the British people, including the Labourites. He stated that Adolf Hitler was "bluffing" in September 1938, and would not have forced a war without Italy's support. Overly optimistic, Koehler believed that France had the "strongest army" in Europe and was allied with Britain, but did not want to provoke a war. In an April, 1939 address to the Men's Club of the United Congregational Church (Newport, Rhode Island), Koehler predicted that if war were to break out, the United States would be drawn into it. "Mussolini is afraid of war and Hitler doesn't want it," he said. Taking questions from the audience, Koehler at that time believed that the dictator nations would achieve their goals without engaging other nations in war. Koehler delivered an address to the Newport Electric Corporation's Men's Club on October 14, 1939, and warned that if the current arms embargo by the United States were not lifted, the war in Europe would be over within a month. Great Britain and France could not continue without U.S. assistance in munitions and supplies. On the other hand, Koehler observed, Hitler "is in