Compared with Germany and Japan, East Africa had indeed failed to live up to its imperialist reputation on the diplomatic front, but this also showed that East African politics was steadily maturing.
Germany and Japan were typical militarist states, and East Africa had initially been one as well. To deal with the natives of the African continent and other colonizers, it had passively adopted a system in which every citizen was a soldier. However, after East Africa was founded and national security was initially assured, the nation's politics underwent major changes as well.
Of course, every European country was currently expanding its armaments. Germany's military buildup was nothing unusual in Europe, since neighboring Russia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and France were no less vigorous. Britain and Japan, meanwhile, were draining their national strength to build enormous navies. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a country that did not develop a powerful military was the truly rare sight.
Thus, against the backdrop of the era, Germany's military buildup appeared especially normal. But Germany's aggressiveness was what truly frightened Ernst. From the very beginning, Germany's military plans had been designed around fighting many enemies alone. That was hardly wise.
Therefore, Ernst advised Kamon, "Germany faces an exceptionally grim situation in Europe. Your enemies are not merely France; you must also take Russia and Britain into account. Even if you defeat France, it will be difficult to digest the fruits of victory under Russian and British intervention. The lesson of Napoleon's regime collapsing must be learned. Sometimes, when you make too many enemies, their deep reserves alone can wear away all your advantages."
In Ernst's view, France during the Napoleonic Era had been even more outrageous than Germany was now. At the very least, Ernst did not believe Germany could march its armies