Indeed, even with additionnal starting resources, it's good to have between 24 or 48 hours of peace, in order for people to actually move between country, reposition, planning, or more simply, to actually produce military units without being steamrolled without the slightest possibility of reacting.
Running an online alliance is pretty much like running a small company, except you need to find other way than money to keep your employees productive. May they play or work, they are humans.