MOSCOW, Aug. 21, 1968 (UPI) - The overthrow of the Czechoslovak regime of Alexander Dubcek and its replacement by pro-Soviet leaders was a foregone conclusion, diplomatic sources said today.

Novotny asked the Soviet leader, Brezhnev, for help to crackdown on the protests, but Brezhnev refused and in early 1968, Novotny was replaced as Communist Party Secretary by Alexander Dubcek.