I think it might be the cutting back on military spending because of the economy.
In September 1931, they claimed Chinese soldiers had sabotaged the railway, and attacked the Chinese army (which had just executed a Japanese spy) The Chinese army did not fight back because it knew that the Japanese were just wanted an excuse to invade Manchuria
No, it is false that one immediate outcome of the Battle of Thermopylae was that Athens and Sparta finally united, since this battle resulted in a Persian Victory.
