i would argue that nothing loosened our grip on the empire more than the fact that we had exhausted ourselves in the fields of flanders, mareqet point oview. In 19 o five, the foreign officers legal team reported to the gover the britons did not, in fact, have an obligation to defend belgium if it were attacked by a foreign power. So much for our treaty obligations as for the empire, i think that's absolutely a crucial point. As far as the empire is concerned, we didn't say that britain was fighting to defend the empire. Let us not forget the australians, the canadians, the new zealanders