Apparently these generals were not, like their prime minister, devoted to Napoleon's maxim, "Frappez la masse, et le reste vient par surcroit , " which, vis-a-vis strategic or other problems, bids one to concentrateupon the essence, with assurance that all else will follow in train, even bits of string.
If, to paraphrase Carl von Clausewitz, diplomacy is war by other means, then just as armies are called upon to concentrate their efforts and resources where they can do the most good for their cause, so governments must utilize their diplomatic resources - whether plentiful or scarce - to advance their most important national interests.