Interwar leaders feared another war, worried about military political power, and faced direct land borders with Italy and Germany. The Belgian frontier created a hard choice: fortify it and effectively concede Belgium, or depend on a smaller ally's defenses and strategic consistency. The latter course required Belgium to fund compatible fortifications and maintain a strategy aligned with France. Repeatedly postponing that decision consumed strategic attention while the navy remained desirable rather than essential.
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Land-front dilemmas kept the navy a secondary priority
Political distrust of the military and unresolved defenses through Belgium diverted attention and money from a coherent long-term naval program.