With the formation of the two great camps, the international situation had also become increasingly clear. One side was the anti-British alliance centered on the Holy Roman Empire—the Continental Bloc; the other was the anti-Holy Roman alliance assembled by Britain—the Pan-Ocean Front.
The attack on the Suez Canal tore away the last layer of pretense, laying the conflict between the two camps bare on the table.
As armed clashes continued to escalate across the world, apart from a formal declaration of war, the Holy Roman Empire and Britain had already entered a war in all but name.
Most of the Continental Alliance's principal member states were concentrated in Europe. With the existing organizational framework of the Continental Alliance in place, only a slight functional adjustment was needed. The British-led Pan-Ocean Front, however, was far more troublesome.
When the various countries had first joined the Pan-Ocean Front, the situation had not been what it was now. The British had merely told everyone to band together and contain the Holy Roman Empire; they had never said that their enemy would be the entire European Continent.
As the scope of the enemy expanded, disputes arose within the Pan-Ocean Front as well. Although everyone had full confidence in the Royal Navy, they had no real confidence in this war.
"Distant kin are no match for close neighbors"—that saying did not apply between nations. For historical reasons, most countries had conflicts of interest with their neighboring states, even long-standing enmities.
The enemy of one's enemy was not necessarily a friend, but most of the time, they could become an ally. For instance, if Chile joined the Pan-Ocean Front, then its hostile neighbors Peru and Bolivia would naturally lean toward the Continental Alliance.
The only reason they had not openly chosen sides was the Royal Navy's