In Ernst's view, German diplomacy shouldn't be in such a state. Although Germany was the most powerful nation on the European continent at the time, it had no absolute advantage over France and Russia, at least according to the general perception among European countries.
Take France, for instance. Although its industry and population were far behind Germany's, its military strength had been rapidly growing over the years. The French army was practically tailor-made for Germany, and in both quantity and quality, it was in no way inferior to Germany.
Before the outbreak of World War I, France claimed to have the strongest land army in Europe, and after the war broke out, the performance of the French land army was indeed impressive.
So, even by itself, France was not an easy bone for Germany to chew. If the United Kingdom and Russia were added to the mix, Germany would eventually be besieged by the Allies.
