Military History of the First World War
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The Central Powers and the Entente
By 1914 Europe had divided into two power blocks knitted together by a system of alliances or understandings. The Central Powers were Germany and Austria-Hungary who had first formed the Dual Alliance in October 1879. In May 1882 Italy joined them to form the Triple Alliance. However, Italy did not join the First World War as Germany's ally - the Triple Alliance was a defensive treaty that obliged Italy to join the war on the Central Power's side if any other member was attacked by France. However, the First World War began when Austria invaded Serbia on the 28th July, 1914 and subsequently Germany declared war on Russia (July 31st) and Germany invaded Belgium (August 3rd). Thus, Italy was not obligated by the terms of the treaty to fight on the Central Powers side. Later, Italy joined the Allies in 1915. The rising power of Germany both industrially and militarily was perceived as a threat by the other Powers in Europe. France had been defeated by Germany in the Franco-Prussian war of 1871 and was Germany's traditional enemy. In 1891 Russia and France formed an Entente - another defensive alliance that required one country to fight if the other was invaded. The expansion of the German navy following the invention of the dreadnought (battleship) in 1906 brought about an arms race for naval supremacy between Germany and England, and Britain progressive moved towards support for France and Russia, especially in the wake of the First (1905-6) and Second (1911) Moroccan crises. IN 1912 Britain and France formed an understanding that lead to detailed joint military planning of what to do in the event of war with Germany. In the run up to the war (see below) Austria issued Serbia with an ultimatum, and the Serbians responded by appealing to the Russians for aid - so the Serbians were also a member of the Allies (the Entente).
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Contents of
Military History of the First World War
1 The Central Powers and the Entente
2 The run-up to the war: The July Crisis, 1914
3 Military Planning in Advance of the War
4 Serbia and the Eastern Front, 1914
5 The Battle for the Marne
6 The Race to the Sea and the First Battle of Ypres
7 First Battle of Ypres
8 The Pacific
9 Africa
10 The Eastern Front during 1915
11 Italy enters the war
12 The Balkans
13 The Western Front
14 Gallipoli
15 The Western Front, 1916
16 Verdun
17 The Battle of the Somme
18 The Trentino Offensive
19 The Brusilov Offensive
20 Romania
21 The Russian Front in 1917
22 Mesopotamia
23 The Nivelle Offensive
24 The Third Battle of Ypres (The Battle of Passendaele)
25 Cambrai
26 Caporetto
27 German offensive in Russia, 1918
28 Ludendorff's offensive in the West
29 Allied counter-offensive
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