Home > History Fact Finder > War and Conflict: Twentieth Century - What Alliances Were Formed During World War I?

1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page

What alliances were formed during World War I?

After starting World War I (1914–18) by declaring war against Serbia in July 1914, Austria-Hungary was joined in August by its ally Germany. Together they formed the Central Powers. In October 1914, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire also became part of the Central Powers.

When the fighting began, France, Great Britain, and Russia supported Serbia, and together they were known as the Allies. The Allies declared war on the Ottoman Empire in November 1914, after Turkish ships bombarded Russian ports on the Black Sea and Turkish troops invaded Russia. Eventually, twenty more nations joined the Allies, but not all of them sent troops to the front. Belgium, Montenegro, and Japan joined the Allies in August 1914, declaring war on Germany and invading several Pacific islands to drive out the Germans. In 1915 Italy and San Marino joined; as fighting continued...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

1. European Conflicts
   1. What was Bloody Sunday?
   2. Who was Rasputin?
   3. What was the Bolshevik Revolution?
   4. What was the Red Terror?
   5. What was the Spanish Civil War about?
   6. Who was Generalissimo Francisco Franco?
   7. What was the fighting in Bosnia about?
   8. What was the origin of the term "genocide"?
   9. What is the fighting in Kosovo about?
   10. What is the "Irish Question"?
2. American Conflicts
   1. What does "¡Viva Zapata!" mean?
   2. Who was Che Guevara?
   3. Why did the U.S. government send troops in pursuit of Pancho Villa?
3. Asian And African Conflicts
   1. What was the Russo-Japanese War?
   2. What was the Long March?
   3. What was the Boxer Rebellion?
   4. What was the Second Sino-Japanese War?
   5. Who were the Khmer Rouge?
   6. What were the killing fields?
   7. Why was the United States involved in the Korean War?
   8. Why was the Vietnam War fought?
   9. Why did many Americans protest U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War?
   10. What was the issue in the conflict in Rwanda?
4. Worldwide Conflicts
   1. How did World War I begin?
   2. What alliances were formed during World War I?
   3. How did the United States become involved in World War I?
   4. How did World War I end?
   5. What did the Lusitania have to do with World War I?
   6. Who were the Big Four?
   7. How were European boundaries redrawn as the result of World War I?
   8. How did the Treaty of Versailles lead to World War II?
   9. What was Nazism?
   10. How did World War II begin?
   11. What countries were called the Allies in World War II?
   12. What was the Atlantic Charter?
   13. What happened at Pearl Harbor?
   14. What is D day?
   15. Why was the invasion of Normandy a decisive battle?
   16. What was the Battle of the Bulge?
   17. What are V-E Day and V-J Day?
   18. Were any countries besides Switzerland neutral during World War II?
   19. How did Anne Frank's diaries survive World War II?
   20. What was the Berlin airlift?
   21. What is NATO?
   22. What was the Warsaw Pact?
   23. What was the arms race?
   24. What was the Bay of Pigs?
   25. What was the Cuban Missile Crisis?
   26. What happened in Grenada?
5. Eastern Conflicts
   1. When was Israel formed?
   2. What is the basis of the conflict over the Gaza Strip and the West Bank?
   3. What were the Camp David accords?
   4. What is the Wye accord?
   5. What did U.S. President George Bush mean when he said the United States had to "draw a line in the sand"?
   6. Why was the Persian Gulf War important?

1. D-Day