Triple Alliance (1882)

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Triple Alliance (1882)

The Triple Alliance was a military alliance among Germany

German Empire

The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of William I, German Emperor as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became Weimar republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of William II, German Emperor ....
, Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Kaiserlich und k?niglich Monarchy was a state in Central Europe ruled by the House of Habsburg, constitutionally a personal union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary....
, and Italy

Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)

World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
in 1914. Each member promised mutual support in the event of an attack by any two other great power

Great power

A great power is a nation or state that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess economics, military, diplomacy, and soft power strength, which may cause other, smaller nations to consider the opinions of great powers before taking actions of their own....
s, or for Germany and Italy, an attack by France

French Third Republic

The French Third Republic was the political regime of France between the Second French Empire and the Vichy France. It was a republican parliamentary democracy that was created on 4 September 1870 following the collapse of the Empire of Napoleon III of France in the Franco-Prussian War....
alone. In a supplementary declaration, Italy specified that her undertakings could not be regarded as being directed against the United Kingdom

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name and the state form of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927....
. Shortly after renewing the Alliance in June 1902, Italy secretly extended a similar guarantee to France.

When Germany

German Empire

Austria-Hungary

Triple Entente

File:Map Europe alliances 1914-en.svgThe Triple Entente was the name given to the loose alignment of the British Empire, French Third Republic, and Russian Empire after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
of Britain

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name and the state form of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927....
, France

French Third Republic

Russian Empire

File:Russian Emperor Flag.jpgFile:Romanov Flag.svgThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917....
.

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Austria-Hungary

In the north the Czech people wanted to rule themselves. The Slav peoples in the south-west (especially the Croats

Croats

Croats are a South Slavs nation mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 5 million Croats living in the southern Central Europe region, along the east bank of the Adriatic Sea and an estimated 9 million throughout the world....
) wanted their own state. The Serbs

Serbs

Serbs are a South Slavs people living in the Balkans and Central Europe, mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia....
living in the south wanted to be joined to the neighbouring state of Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country in Central Europe and Balkans Europe, covering the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central part of the Balkans....
. By 1914 the main concern of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary was how to keep this fragmented empire together. Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

Balkans

The Balkans is the historical name of a geographic subregion of southeastern Europe. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains, which run through the centre of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia....
. Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

Russian Empire

File:Russian Emperor Flag.jpgFile:Romanov Flag.svgThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917....
supported the Serbs

Serbs

Serbs are a South Slavs people living in the Balkans and Central Europe, mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia....
, and had a very strong army. In the Bosnian Crisis

Bosnian crisis

The Bosnian Crisis of 1908-1909, also known as the Annexation crisis, erupted into public view when on October 5, 1908, Bulgaria declared its independence and on October 6, 1908, Austria-Hungary announced the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina....
of 1908–1909, both Serbia and Austria-Hungary wanted to take Bosnia

Bosnia (region)

Historically and geographically, the region known as Bosnia lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders....
. Serbia knew that it couldn't take on the entire Austro-Hungarian empire alone so it looked to Russia for support. Russia helped Serbia at first but retreated in 1909 after Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
supported Austria-Hungary. Germany and Austria-Hungary were rivals with Britain.

Italy

Like Germany

German Empire

Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)

The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the Italian unification under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia; it existed until 1946 when the Italians opted for a republican constitution....
had been formed from a collection of former states. At first, its main concerns were to get its government established, but by 1914 Italy was settled and was looking to 'flex its muscles'. Like some of the other European powers, it wanted to set up colonies and build up an overseas empire. With this aim in mind, Italy joined the German-Austrian Alliance

Dual Alliance, 1879

The Dual Alliance between German Empire and Austria-Hungary was created by treaty on October 7, 1879. In it, Germany and Austria-Hungary pledged to aid one another in case of an attack by Russian Empire....
to form the Triple Alliance, partly in anger at the French seizure of Tunisia

Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian Republic , is a country located in North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the southeast....
in 1881, which many Italians had seen as a potential colony.

However, Italian public opinion remained unenthusiastic about their country's alignment with Austria-Hungary, a past enemy of Italian unification

Italian unification

Italian Unification was the political and social movement that annexed different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century....
, and whose Italian

Italian people

The Italian people are a Southern European ethnic group located primarily in Italy and, by virtue of a wide-ranging Italian diaspora, throughout Western Europe, the Americas and Australia....
-majority districts in the Trentino and Istria

Istria

File:Istria Croatian Adriatic.pngIstria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner....
were seen as Italia irredenta
Italia irredenta

Italian irredentism was an Italy nationalist Irredentism movement that aimed to complete the Italian unification of all ethnically Italian peoples....
("unredeemed Italy"). In the years before World War I

World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
, many distinguished military analysts predicted that Italy would change sides. This prediction was strengthened by Italy's invasion and annexation

Italo-Turkish War

The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War was fought between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy from September 29, 1911 to October 18, 1912....
of Tripoli

Tripoli

Tripoli is the largest and Capital city of Libya.Tripoli has a population of 1.69 million. The city is located in the northwest of the country on the edge of the desert, on a point of rocky land projecting into the Mediterranean Sea and forming a bay....
, bringing it into conflict with the German-backed Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
. There is some evidence that Germany and Austria-Hungary did not entirely trust their ally. In any case, Italy was not a strong individual or military power.

Italy's ideas for maintaining the balance of power in Europe

Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
clearly gravitated towards major alliances, even if they were a passive member. Italy's reasoning for not siding with the Central Powers was that the Triple Alliance was a defensive alliance, but Germany and Austria-Hungary had taken the offensive. It is also thought that Britain and Italy had an agreement about the Mediterranean. Britain needed access to the Mediterranean, so that she could access her Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
n and India

British Raj

British Raj primarily refers to the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule....
n colonies easily. Because Italy is surrounded by the Mediterranean, it could not afford to fall out with Britain. This is thought to be another reason that Italy changed sides.

External links

The World War I Document Archive, Brigham Young University Library, accessed 2008-04-21
Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, accessed 2008-04-21