Chamberlain Government"s policies promoted Hitler's agenda and the French Govt. was just as bad. If they had stood ulp and confronted Hitler early on it would have likely been a very different story. As far as England's poor shape Chamberlain thwarted just about every rearmament program Churchill and others tried to promote. Chamberlain was a weak sister who couldn't wait to knuckle under.
(This is my friend's statement.)