Just as the British Government decided to shove all its chips onto the table and go all in, the outcome of the Battle of the English Channel was also spread far and wide by the Vienna Government.
The Continental Alliance's morale soared. The fence-sitters who had once wavered now flocked to the Vienna Government's side.
If not for the sheer number of countries involved and the enormous interests at stake, making an agreement difficult in the short term, the Continental Alliance would already have swollen by another round.
The Oceanic Alliance, by contrast, was shrouded in gloom. The higher everyone's hopes for the Royal Navy had been, the deeper their disappointment now was.
When the big brother failed to deliver, the little brothers were in an awkward spot as well. If the current situation had not left them no room to retreat, they would likely all have voted with their feet.
Misfortunes never came singly.
On May 27, 1905, the Continental Allied Army led by the Holy Roman Empire linked up with the southbound Russian Army in Khorasan. On the same day, the Tehran garrison, heavily encircled by the Continental Allied Army, laid down its weapons and surrendered. The Persian Empire officially fell.
Persia's defeat had been only natural to begin with. Facing the assault of the European powers, the Persian Empire had already exceeded all expectations by holding out for five months.
Even with its allies' support, that was an extraordinary achievement. If the British Isles were connected to the European Continent, whether Britain could have held out for five months would itself have been an open question.
But coming at this particular moment, it was impossible not to read more into it. A mood of shared grief at the death of the hare spread through the Oceanic Alliance.