The
Dual Alliance was a defensive alliance between
GermanyThe German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
and
Austria-HungaryAustria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, which was created by treaty on October 7, 1879 as part of Bismarck's system of alliances to prevent/limit war. In it, Germany and Austria-Hungary pledged to aid one another in case of an attack by
RussiaThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. Also, each state promised benevolent neutrality to the other if one of them was attacked by another European power (generally taken to be
FranceThe French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
, especially after the
Franco-Russian AllianceThe Franco-Russian Alliance was a military alliance between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire that ran from 1892 to 1917. The alliance ended the diplomatic isolation of France and undermined the supremacy of the German Empire in Europe...
of 1894).
When Austria-Hungary and Germany formed an alliance in 1879, it was one of the more surprising alliances of its time and maybe even history. Though the both spoke German, sharing the same culture and language more than likely pushed Austria-Hungary and Germany further apart. The Habsburg rulers of Austria believed that any type of promotion of the idea of nationality would destroy the states and would eventually doom their empire to known extinction. Besides their apparent differences there common dislike for Russia brought the two nations together for a common cause.
After the formation of the German Empire in 1871, German chancellor
Otto von BismarckOtto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
wanted to portray his nation as a peacemaker and preserver of the European status quo, as well as gain more power for the German Empire and unify Germany. In 1878,
RussiaThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
defeated the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in the Russo-Turkish War; the resulting
Treaty of San StefanoThe Preliminary Treaty of San Stefano was a treaty between Russia and the Ottoman Empire signed at the end of the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–78...
gave Russia considerable influence in the
BalkansThe Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. This development outraged Austria-Hungary, who was Russia's chief competitor for influence in the Balkan region (despite being an ally of the Russians and the Germans in the Three Emperors' League). Hence, in 1878, Bismarck called an international conference (the
Congress of BerlinThe Congress of Berlin was a meeting of the European Great Powers' and the Ottoman Empire's leading statesmen in Berlin in 1878. In the wake of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, the meeting's aim was to reorganize the countries of the Balkans...
) in order to sort out the problem. The
Treaty of BerlinThe Treaty of Berlin was the final act of the Congress of Berlin , by which the United Kingdom, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Abdul Hamid II revised the Treaty of San Stefano signed on March 3 of the same year...
that resulted from the conference reversed Russia's gains from the Treaty of San Stefano and provided the Austrians with compensation for lost territory. Despite Bismarck's attempts to play the role of an "honest broker" at the Congress of Berlin, Russo-German relations deteriorated following the conference. The Three Emperors' League was discontinued, and Germany and Austria-Hungary were free to ally with one another against Russia.
In 1881,
ItalyThe Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
lost in the competition with France to establish a colony in
Tunis (present-day
TunisiaTunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
). To enlist diplomatic support, Italy joined Germany and Austria-Hungary to form the
Triple AllianceThe Triple Alliance was the military alliance between Germany, Austria–Hungary, and Italy, , that lasted from 1882 until the start of World War I in 1914...
in 1882, which was the first formal war-camp in Europe, the second being the
Triple EntenteThe Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
formed in 1907.
During
World War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, however, Italy did not go to war immediately with her allies but stayed neutral. In 1915, she joined the Entente powers and declared war on Austria-Hungary, and later Germany in the subsequent year. The Dual Alliance persisted throughout the war and ended with their defeats in 1918.