According to the latter there was much territory to be given up to Italy, Serbia and Roumania.

But in exchange we might reckon on a sort of annexation of newly made states like Poland.
This information left no doubt that England was not then thinking of making advances to Germany; the fear of Prussian militarism was at the bottom of her reasons for refusing.

My impression was that, through a more favourable continuous development, a settlement and understanding might be feasible on the territorial but not on the military questions.

On the contrary, the stronger Germany's military power proved itself to be, the more did the Entente fear that their enemy's power of defence would be invincible unless it was broken then.
Not only the period preceding war and the outbreak of war, but the actual course of the war has been full of many and disturbing misunderstandings.

For long it was not understood here what England meant by the term militarism.