Creation of the Entente year. Triple Alliance

A well-known example of confrontation between political blocs on international arena is the clash of major countries during the 1900s.

During the period of tension before the events of the First World War, powerful players on the world stage banded together to dictate their policies and have an advantage in deciding foreign policy issues. In response, an alliance was created, which was supposed to become a counterweight in these events.

Thus begins the history of confrontation, the basis of which was the Entente and the Triple Alliance. Another name is Antanta or Entente (translated as “heartfelt agreement”).

Countries participating in the Triple Alliance

The international military bloc, which was initially formed to strengthen hegemony, included the following list of countries (see table):

1. Germany- played a key role in the formation of the alliance, concluding the first military agreement.
2. Austria-Hungary- the second participant to join the German Empire.
3. Italy– joined the union last.

A little later, after the events of World War I, Italy was withdrawn from the bloc, but nevertheless the coalition did not disintegrate, but on the contrary, it additionally included the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.

Creation of the Triple Alliance

The history of the Triple Alliance begins with an allied agreement between the German Empire and Austria-Hungary - these events took place in the Austrian city of Vienna in 1879.

The main point of the agreement was the obligation to enter into hostilities on the side of an ally if aggression was carried out by the Russian Empire.

In addition, the pact stipulated the requirement that a neutral party be observed if the allies were attacked by someone other than Russia.

At the same time, Germany was worried about the growing position of France in the international arena. Therefore, Otto von Bismarck was looking for ways that would push France into isolation.

Favorable conditions arose in 1882, when the Austrian Habsburgs were involved in negotiations, which played a decisive role in Italy's decision.

The secret alliance between Italy and the Germany-Austria-Hungary bloc consisted of providing military support in the event of military aggression by France, as well as maintaining neutrality in the event of an attack on one of the countries participating in the coalition.

Goals of the Triple Alliance in World War I

The main goal of the Triple Alliance on the eve of the war was the creation of a military-political coalition that, in its power, would oppose the alliance of the Russian Empire, Great Britain and France (opponents).

However, the participating countries also pursued their own goals:

1. The German Empire, due to its rapidly growing economy, needed as many resources as possible and, as a result, more colonies. The Germans also had claims to redistribute spheres of influence in the world, aimed at creating German hegemony.
2. The goals of Austria-Hungary were to establish control over the Balkan Peninsula. For the most part, the matter was carried out for the sake of capturing Serbia and some other Slavic countries.
3. The Italian side had territorial claims on Tunisia, and also sought to secure its access to the Mediterranean Sea, bringing it under its absolute control.

Entente - who was part of it and how it was formed

After the formation of the Triple Alliance, the distribution of forces in the international arena changed dramatically and led to a clash of colonial interests between England and the German Empire.

Expansion in the Middle East and Africa prompted Britain to become more active, and they began negotiations for a military agreement with the Russian Empire and France.

The definition of the Entente began in 1904, when France and Great Britain entered into a pact, according to which all colonial claims on the African issue were transferred under its protectorate.

At the same time, obligations for military support were confirmed only between France and the Russian Empire, while England in every possible way avoided such confirmation.

The emergence of this military-political bloc made it possible to level out differences between the major powers and make them more capable of resisting the aggression of the Triple Alliance.

Russia's accession to the Entente

The events that marked the beginning of the Russian Empire's involvement in the Entente bloc occurred in 1892.

It was then that a powerful military agreement was concluded with France, according to which, in the event of any aggression, the ally country would withdraw all available armed forces for mutual assistance.

At the same time, by 1906, tensions between Russia and Japan were growing, caused by negotiations on the Portsmouth Treaty. This could provoke Russia's loss of some Far Eastern territories.

Understanding these facts, Foreign Minister Izvolsky set a course for rapprochement with Great Britain. This was a favorable move in history, since England and Japan were allies, and the agreement could resolve mutual claims.

The success of Russian diplomacy was the signing of the Russo-Japanese Agreement in 1907, according to which all territorial issues were settled. This significantly influenced the acceleration of negotiations with England - the date August 31, 1907 marked the conclusion of the Russian-English agreement.

This fact was the final one, after which Russia finally joined the Entente.

The final formation of the Entente

The final events that completed the formation of the Entente bloc were the signing of mutual agreements between England and France to resolve colonial issues in Africa.

This included the following documents:

1. The territories of Egypt and Morocco were divided.
2. The borders of England and France in Africa were clearly separated. Newfoundland completely went to Britain, France received part of the new territories in Africa.
3. Settlement of the Madagascar issue.

These documents formed a bloc of alliances between the Russian Empire, Great Britain and France.

Entente plans in the First World War

The main goal of the Entente on the eve of the First World War (1915) was to suppress Germany's military superiority, which was planned to be implemented from several sides. This is, first of all, a war on two fronts with Russia and France, as well as a complete naval blockade by England.

At the same time, the members of the agreement had a personal interest:

1. England had claims to the rapidly and confidently growing German economy, the rate of production of which had a suppressive effect on the English economy. In addition, Britain saw the German Empire as a military threat to its sovereignty.
2. France sought to regain the territories of Alsace and Lorraine lost during the Franco-Prussian conflict. These lands were also important for the economy due to large quantity resources.
3. Tsarist Russia pursued its goals of spreading influence over the important economic zone of the Mediterranean and settling territorial claims on a number of Polish lands and territories in the Balkans.

The results of the confrontation between the Entente and the Triple Alliance

The results of the confrontation following the First World War were the complete defeat of the Triple Alliance- Italy was lost, and the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires, which were part of the union, disintegrated. The system was destroyed in Germany, where a republic reigned.

For the Russian Empire, participation in the Entente and the First World War ended in civil clashes and revolution, which led to the collapse of the empire.

The Franco-Prussian War and its consequences brought profound changes to the system of international relations in Europe. Firstly, the contradictions between France and Germany not only were not overcome, but, on the contrary, became even more acute. Each article of the Frankfurt Peace of 1871 concealed the danger of a new war, giving rise to revanchist sentiments in France and, at the same time, Germany’s desire to get rid of this danger by the final defeat of its western neighbor.

On the other hand, the consequences of the war and Franco-German contradictions had a fairly noticeable impact on the relationships of other European states. Intensifying its foreign policy expansion, Bismarck's Germany took into account that in the event of a conflict with any European state, France would certainly take advantage of the opportunity for revenge, and therefore sought to leave it in international isolation. France, weakened after the war, sought to gain time to restore its military potential and was actively looking for allies on the continent.

From 1871 until his resignation (March 17, 1890), the de facto ruler of the German Empire was Chancellor Prince Otto von Bismarck. The Chancellor understood that Germany, with all its strength, was surrounded by terrible dangers from the outside, that for it it would be a loss great war due to geographical and economic conditions, it is always more dangerous than for any other power and that defeat for it can be tantamount to the destruction of a great power.

His entire policy was aimed at preserving what he had extracted, and not at acquiring new things. Even when he intended to attack France in 1875, it was due to Otto von Bismarck's fear of a certain future war. He deliberately tried to discount everything that in any way increased the likelihood of war between Germany and any great power or a coalition of powers. “The nightmare of coalitions” - this is how Otto von Bismarck’s state of mind was defined.

After 1871, a new balance of power emerged in Europe. During the Franco-German War, the unification of the country of Germany was completed, the German Empire arose, the regime of the Second Empire collapsed in France and the Third Republic emerged.

The peace treaty was signed on February 26, 1871 in Versailles. The French provinces of Alsace and Eastern Lorraine were transferred to Germany. In addition, a huge indemnity of 5 billion francs was imposed on France. Then negotiations between Germany and France in Frankfurt am Main led to the signing of a final peace on 10 May.

The Frankfurt Peace Treaty confirmed the annexation of Alsace and Eastern Lorraine to Germany. In addition, Germany additionally annexed the iron ore region west of Thionville, returning the minor fortress of Belfort to France. Thus, the treaty established a new Franco-German border. He also determined the procedure for paying the 5 billion indemnity. France assumed the costs of maintaining the German occupation forces, which remained on its territory until the final payment of the indemnity.

Russia viewed France as a counterweight to a united Germany, but had deep contradictions with England in Central Asia, in the Near and Middle East, she valued Germany's favorable position on the Eastern Question. Austria-Hungary also counted on German support in Southeastern Europe. Otto von Bismarck sought to play the role of mediator in resolving controversial issues between Russia and Austria-Hungary in the Balkans.

Thus, after the Franco-German war, the diplomatic and military-strategic situation changes dramatically: France loses its leadership role in European affairs, Italy is unified, Russia strengthens its position, and most importantly, another new state is created - the German Empire, which very quickly begins to strengthen their positions and claim hegemony in Europe.

The foreign policy line of Otto von Bismarck, which most contributed to the formation of the Triple Alliance, is a very interesting question. Otto von Bismarck himself believed that his main task as Imperial Chancellor was to constantly protect the German Empire from outside danger. Accordingly, he assessed internal political conflicts mainly in relation to the sphere of foreign policy, that is, to a possible threat to the empire from international revolutionary movements. The uprising of the Paris Commune in the spring of 1871, which was perceived throughout Europe as the dawning of social revolutions, helped Otto von Bismarck to convince Europe of the danger, not for the first time since 1789, emanating from France, and of the need to unite all conservative forces in the face of the coming revolutionary upheavals.

The implementation of policies according to the logic of Otto von Bismarck is closely linked to the existence of a strategic alliance of Germany, Austria and Russia. Moreover, Otto von Bismarck emphasizes its significance precisely as an alliance based on the objective awareness of each of the participating powers of its necessity, and not on the thesis of monarchical and dynastic solidarity (on the contrary, in a number of places Otto von Bismarck complains about the too strong dependence of the foreign policy of monarchical countries on the personal will of the emperors and the presence of certain dynastic interests).

After the Russian-Turkish War, England for a time actually became the master of the Black Sea straits. She received the island of Cyprus, and her squadron was stationed in the Sea of ​​Marmara. British warships could easily enter the Black Sea and threaten the southern shores of Russia, which did not yet have a fleet there. Despite the contradictions, Russia and Germany were connected by economic interests, the kinship of the Romanovs with the Hohenzollerns, monarchical solidarity and fear of revolution. Petersburg hoped, with the support of Berlin, to neutralize Vienna in the Balkans and prevent the British occupation of the Black Sea Straits.

Even when the immediate "alliance of the three emperors" collapsed, Otto von Bismarck made a lot of effort to ensure Germany's bilateral relations with Austria and Russia. Otto von Bismarck considers wars between these three powers to be contrary to any logic and to their own interests. Moreover, by maintaining good relations with both Austria and Russia, Germany is able to overcome the danger of isolation on the continent, as well as the equally formidable danger of the “Kaunitz coalition” between Austria, France and Russia. And the fact that in 1879 Otto von Bismarck was inclined to conclude a separate treaty with Austria directed against Russia does not mean, according to Otto von Bismarck, a rejection of the strategy of “wire to Russia.”

On the contrary, it is the alliance with Russia (and not with Austria, the progressive decline, the inconsistency of the internal political system and the growing social contradictions within which Otto von Bismarck was well aware of) that he pays the main attention within the framework of his foreign policy doctrine, and if an anti-Russian agreement was signed, then, as Otto von Bismarck emphasizes, it was determined, first of all, by the aggressively pan-Slavic foreign policy Russia, which does not correspond to genuine Russian interests, and was of an emphatically temporary, rather than durable nature. Otto von Bismarck repeatedly emphasizes that “between Russia and Prussia-Germany there are no such strong contradictions that they could give rise to a rupture and war.”

But after the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. Relations between Russia and Germany deteriorated. Berlin supported Vienna in European commissions to establish new borders for the Balkan states, and in connection with the global agrarian crisis began to pursue protectionist policies. It consisted, in particular, in an almost complete ban on the import of livestock and the establishment of high duties on bread from Russia. Germany also protested against the return of Russian cavalry to the Baltic provinces after the war with Turkey. To the “customs war” a “newspaper war” was added. Throughout 1879, Slavophiles accused Germany of “black ingratitude” for Russia’s benevolent neutrality during the Franco-German War, and Berlin recalled its role in the partial preservation of the Treaty of San Stefano.

In St. Petersburg, sentiment in favor of rapprochement with France intensified, but in the late 1870s and early 1880s. there were no conditions for the implementation of this course. Russia, which was on the brink of war with England in Central Asia, was interested in the security of its western borders, and France, which was conducting an active colonial policy in Africa and Southeast Asia, in turn, did not want complications with London and Berlin.

Otto von Bismarck, in conditions of cool relations with Russia, prepared the conclusion of the Austro-German alliance, the treaty of which was signed on October 7, 1879 (Appendix 1)

Initially, Otto von Bismarck sought from D. Andrassy an agreement that would be directed both against Russia and France, but failed. According to the agreement, in the event of an attack by Russia on one of the parties, the other was obliged to come to its aid, and in the event of an attack by another power, the other party had to maintain benevolent neutrality if Russia did not join the attacker.

Otto von Bismarck, who was familiar with the terms of the treaty, made it clear to Alexander II that Russia should not count on German support in the event of an Austro-Russian conflict. The Chancellor insisted on a tripartite alliance between Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary.

The Austro-German Treaty of 1879 continued to exist independently of the Alliance of the Three Emperors. The Austro-German Treaty of 1879 is an event that is called a milestone in the foreign policy of the German Empire. The Austro-German Treaty turned out to be the most durable of all the treaties and agreements concluded by Otto von Bismarck. He marked the beginning of a “dual alliance” that lasted until the First World War. So, the initial link in the system of imperialist coalitions that strangled each other in the world battle was created by Otto von Bismarck 35 years before it began.

In 1882, Italy joined him, dissatisfied with the transformation of Tunisia into a French protectorate.

Here the best diplomatic skills of Otto von Bismarck showed themselves. By encouraging the French government to seize Tunisia, Otto von Bismarck performed a clever diplomatic maneuver. He drew Italy and France into a bitter fight over this piece of North Africa. As paradoxical as it may sound, by providing France with diplomatic support against Italy, Otto von Bismarck made the Italians his allies. He, one might say, drove the small Italian predator into his political camp. At the time of the capture of Tunisia by the French, the ministry of B. Cairoli was in power in Italy. B. Cairoli was an ardent advocate of the annexation of Trieste and Tretino, which remained under Habsburg rule.

Shortly before the invasion of French troops in Tunisia, Cairoli publicly assured the alarmed Parliament that France would never commit such a treacherous act, but when this step was finally taken, B. Cairoli resigned. As he left, he declared that in his person the last Francophile ministry in Italy was leaving the stage. The conflict with France prompted Italy to seek rapprochement with the Austro-German bloc. The severely rugged coastline of Italy made it especially vulnerable to the English fleet, so allies were needed, especially in view of the possible deterioration of relations with England, with the beginning of Italy's African colonial policy. Italy could only make up elsewhere for what it had lost in Tunisia by relying on a strong military power. Otto von Bismarck dismissively but aptly called the Italians jackals who stalk larger predators.

In January 1882, the Italian ambassador Beauvais approached Otto von Bismarck with a wish on behalf of his government to strengthen Italy's ties with Germany and Austria-Hungary. For Germany, Italy was in the past an ally, but for Austria an enemy. This circumstance was taken into account by Otto von Bismarck when he formulated his response to the ambassador. Bismarck expressed doubts about the possibility of formalizing friendly relations between the three countries in the form of a written treaty and rejected the ambassador's request to draft one, but he did not completely reject the idea. They especially persistently sought an alliance with the Italian king Humbert I and the industrial bourgeoisie of Italy, who sought to protect themselves from French competition, advocated an alliance with Germany, but Otto von Bismarck let them know that “Italy can only find the keys to the German doors in Vienna.” Russia Germany Emperor Entente

No matter how difficult it was for him, the Italian government decided to make an attempt to get closer to Austria. In January 1881, an Italian secret agent also came to Vienna. The preference for secret agents instead of the usual methods of diplomatic relations was not an accident. It testified to the weakness of Italy; From this weakness arose the Italian government's self-doubt and fear of embarrassment if its advances were rejected. In view of this, it sought to act in the least official ways possible.

For Austria, rapprochement with the Italians promised to provide a rear in case of war with Russia. Therefore, Vienna, after a series of delays, agreed to an alliance with Italy, no matter how much the Austrian court despised this country. Otto von Bismarck needed Italy to isolate France. All this led to the signing of an alliance treaty between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy (Appendix 2).

A secret treaty between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy was signed on May 20, 1882 and was called the Triple Alliance. Concluded for five years, it was extended several times and lasted until 1915. The parties to the treaty pledged not to take part in any alliances or agreements directed against one of them. Germany and Austria-Hungary pledged to provide assistance to Italy if it were attacked by France, and Italy pledged to do the same in the event of an unprovoked French attack on Germany. As for Austria-Hungary, it was exempt from providing assistance to Germany against France; it was assigned the role of a reserve in case of Russia's entry into the war.

If there is an unprovoked attack on one or two parties to a treaty by two or more great powers, all three states go to war with them. If one of the powers that attacked Italy's partners was England, then Rome was freed from military assistance to its allies (the coasts of Italy were easily vulnerable to the English navy).

In the event of an unprovoked attack on one of the parties to the treaty by one of the great powers not participating in this treaty (except France), the other two parties pledged to maintain benevolent neutrality towards their ally. Thus, Italy's neutrality was guaranteed in the event of a Russian-Austrian war. Following the signing of the treaty, Germany and Austria-Hungary took note of Italy's statement, according to which Italy refused military assistance to its allies in the event of a war with Great Britain. In 1887, additions were made to the treaty in favor of Italy: it was promised the right to participate in resolving issues relating to the Balkans, Turkish coasts, islands in the Adriatic and Aegean seas. In 1891, a decision was recorded to support Italy in its claims in North Africa (Cyrenaica, Tripoli, Tunisia).

The powers were obliged, in the event of common participation in the war, not to conclude a separate peace and to keep the treaty secret. The Treaty of 1882 existed in parallel with the Austro-German Alliance of 1879 and the Alliance of the Three Emperors of 1881. By becoming the center of the three alliances, Germany was able to exert enormous influence on international relations. Romania also joined the Austro-German bloc. In 1883, she concluded a secret treaty with Austria-Hungary, according to which Austria-Hungary pledged to provide assistance to Romania in the event of an attack by Russia. The Romanian ruling elite associated themselves with the Triple Alliance, on the one hand, because of the fear of Russia’s seizure of the Black Sea straits, which could lead to Russian domination over the economic life of Romania, on the other, because of the desire to increase the territory of the Romanian state at the expense of Bessarabia, and also Silistria, Shumla and other Bulgarian cities and regions. The formation of the Triple Alliance marked the beginning of the formation of those military coalitions that later clashed in the First World War. The German military clique sought to use the Triple Alliance to carry out its aggressive plans against France. Such an attempt was made at the end of January 1887, when in Germany it was decided to call up 73 thousand reservists for training camps. Lorraine was appointed as the gathering place. Inspired articles appeared in newspapers about France's supposedly intensified preparations for war with Germany. Crown Prince Friedrich, the future Emperor Frederick III, wrote in his diary on January 22, 1887 that, according to Otto von Bismarck, war with France was closer than he expected. However, the German Chancellor failed to secure Russia's neutrality in the event of a Franco-German conflict. And Otto von Bismarck always considered a war with France without confidence that Russia would not intervene in the conflict as dangerous and risky for Germany.

The emergence of the Triple Alliance in the center of Europe and the continuing deterioration of Franco-German relations, which reached their greatest tension by 1887, required the French government to quickly find ways to break out of the political isolation created for France. For a weakened France, in need of peace and at the same time never abandoning the thought of revenge, time was needed to eliminate the consequences of the war of 1870-1871. French politicians clearly understood that if new war with Germany (and the danger of new aggression from Germany was quite real), then France needs to have reliable allies, because combat with the German armed forces will not bring success. And France saw such an ally primarily in the largest state located in the east of Europe - in Russia, with which France began to seek cooperation the very next day after the signing of the Frankfurt Peace.

At the end of 1870 The struggle between the great powers and their allies for the final division of spheres of influence in the world is becoming more acute. The main reason for the strengthening of colonial expansion was the rapid growth of industrial production in Western countries caused by the emergence of new technologies, which determined the desire of governments to find new markets for the export of capital and the sale of finished products. An equally important task was to seize sources of raw materials, the free exploitation of which allowed the industry of these countries to constantly increase production volumes without attracting additional funds.

Having gained the opportunity to solve economic problems through the unlimited exploitation of colonies and dependent countries, the governments of many European powers were able to mitigate internal social contradictions by redistributing the income received. This allowed the most economically developed metropolitan countries of Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and Belgium to subsequently avoid the social upheavals that Russia, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Spain and Portugal faced. The latter, for a number of reasons, were unable to economically develop and effectively exploit the markets of their equally extensive territorial possessions. At the same time, most of these states, compensating for economic weakness with military force, managed to take an active part in the struggle for the final division of spheres of influence in the world at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.

For this reason, despite the differences in methods of expansion, all these countries can be classified as colonial empires, because their policy was based on the desire to seize or take control of as wide a territory as possible, towards the population of which the Europeans pledged to carry out a “civilizing mission” .

Thus, the active trade, economic and military-political penetration of Western states into all regions of Asia and Africa was the final stage in the formation of the world economic system, within the framework of which competition continued between the great powers for control over the most profitable ones, both economically and militarily. strategically the territories. By the end of the 19th century. a significant part of the Southern Hemisphere was divided between the great powers and their allies. Only a very few countries managed to maintain formal sovereignty, although they also became completely economically dependent on the colonial empires. This happened with Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, China, Korea, Siam, Ethiopia, which, thanks to strong centralized power and tough government policies towards national minorities, managed to avoid the fate of India, Burma, Vietnam and other feudal states that fell into separate parts and were captured colonialists. The sovereignty of individual countries (Liberia, Uriankhai region) was guaranteed by the great powers (USA, Russia).

Particularly important in this regard are the aggravated contradictions between Germany and Great Britain - by and large the main factor in the international situation.

The alliance between Russia and France was dictated not only by the common military-strategic interests of both powers, but also by the presence of a threat from common enemies. By that time, the union already had a solid economic basis. Russia since the 70s was in dire need of free capital to invest in industry and railway construction; France, on the contrary, did not find a sufficient number of objects for its own investment and actively exported its capital abroad. It was from then on that the share of French capital in the Russian economy gradually began to increase. For 1869-1887 17 foreign enterprises were founded in Russia, 9 of them French.

French financiers very productively used the deterioration of Russian-German relations. The economic prerequisites of the union also had a special military-technical aspect. Already in 1888, brother arrived in Paris on an unofficial visit Alexandra III Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich managed to place a mutually beneficial order with French military factories for the production of 500 thousand rifles for the Russian army.

The cultural prerequisites for the alliance between Russia and France were long-standing and strong. No other country had such a powerful cultural impact on Russia as France. The names of F. Voltaire and J.J. Rousseau, A. Saint-Simon and C. Fourier, V. Hugo and O. Balzac, J. Cuvier and P.S. Laplace, J.L. David and O. Rodin, J. Wiese and C. Gounod were known to every educated Russian. In France they always knew less about Russian culture than in Russia about French culture. But since the 80s. The French, like never before, are joining the Russians cultural values. In the context of growing rapprochement between Russia and France, an alliance was advocated in both countries by advocates of an active offensive policy against Germany. In France, as long as it maintained a defensive position towards Germany, an alliance with Russia was not a burning need. Now, when France recovered from the consequences of the defeat of 1870 and the question of revenge arose on the order of the day for French foreign policy, the course towards an alliance with Russia sharply prevailed among its leaders (including President S. Carnot and Prime Minister C. Freycinet).

In Russia, meanwhile, the government was being pushed towards an alliance with France by the landowners and bourgeoisie, who were hurt by Germany’s economic sanctions and therefore advocated a turn of the domestic economy from German to French loans. In addition, wide (politically very different) circles of the Russian public were interested in the Russian-French alliance, which took into account the entire set of mutually beneficial prerequisites for this alliance. A “French” party began to take shape in society, in the government, and even at the royal court. Its herald was the famous “white general” M.D. Skobelev.

True, the “German” party was also strong at court and in the Russian government: Foreign Minister N.K. Gire, his closest assistant and future successor V.N. Lamzdorf, Minister of War P.S. Vannovsky, ambassadors to Germany P.A. Saburov and Pavel Shuvalov. In terms of influence on the tsar and the government, as well as in the energy, persistence and “caliber” of its members, the “German” party was inferior to the “French” one, but a number of objective factors that hindered Russian-French rapprochement were in favor of the first.

The first of these was the geographical factor of remoteness. What hampered the union between Russia and France more were differences in their state and political system. Therefore, the Russian-French alliance took shape, although steadily, but slowly and difficultly. It was preceded by a number of preliminary steps towards rapprochement between the two countries - mutual steps, but more active on the part of France.

Otto von Bismarck entered into an alliance with Austria in 1879, an alliance with Italy in 1882 (thus creating the Triple Alliance) in order to have support in case of war with Russia or France. He strongly encouraged France's policy of conquest in Africa and Asia, firstly, in order to distract the French from the thought of revenge - about the reverse conquest of Alsace and Lorraine, and secondly, in order to thereby contribute to the deterioration of France's relations with England and Italy. Finally, he was very stingy and reluctant to create German colonies, so as not to get involved in dangerous quarrels with the great maritime power - England. This policy of abstinence and caution required many sacrifices, which irritated the ruling circles of Germany. But Otto von Bismarck, while yielding to them, still tried to yield as little as possible.

Using the idea of ​​monarchical solidarity in maintaining “order” in Europe, in 1873 Otto von Bismarck managed to create the “Union of Three Emperors” - Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia. The agreement was consultative in nature, but Germany's role in international relations immediately increased. However, the Soyuz was not, and could not be, stable. The contradictions between its participants were too significant. And although in 1881 the agreement was renewed, and in the form of a neutrality treaty, by the mid-80s. The Soyuz has completely exhausted its capabilities.

After the Russo-Turkish War, at the Berlin Congress of 1878, Germany did not support Russia's claims in the Balkans. In turn, Russia refused to remain neutral in the event of war between Germany and France. This kept Otto von Bismarck from attacking France again three times (in 1875, 1885 and 1887). In addition, after the mutual increase in customs duties on the import of goods between Germany and Russia in the late 70s. a real customs war began.

The deterioration of relations with Russia led to a military-political rapprochement between Germany and Austria-Hungary. In 1879, the governments of the two countries entered into a secret treaty of alliance, which provided for mutual assistance in the event of a Russian attack on either state and benevolent neutrality during a war with any other European country, unless Russia joined it. Defensive in form, the treaty was aggressive in nature, since it provided for a real situation in which, in the event of a military conflict between Germany and France, if the latter provided assistance from Russia, Germany would receive Austrian support, and the war would acquire a European scale.

Undoubtedly, Otto von Bismarck was the only outstanding diplomat of the German Empire. He was a representative of the Prussian Junkers and the German bourgeoisie during the struggle for the national unification of Germany, and then for the strengthening of the state he created. He lived and acted in an era when imperialism was far from being established.

A distinctive feature of Otto von Bismarck's foreign policy was its aggressive nature. When Otto von Bismarck saw the enemy in front of him, the chancellor’s first move was to find his most vulnerable places in order to hit them as hard as possible. Pressure and blow were for Otto von Bismarck a means not only to defeat the enemy, but also to make friends for himself. To ensure the loyalty of his ally, Otto von Bismarck always kept a stone in his bosom against him. If he did not have a suitable stone at his disposal, he tried to intimidate his friends with all sorts of imaginary troubles that he could allegedly cause them.

If pressure did not help, or, with all his ingenuity, Otto von Bismarck could not find any means of pressure or blackmail, he turned to his other favorite method - bribery, most often at someone else's expense. Gradually, he developed a kind of standard for bribes. He bought the British with assistance in Egyptian financial affairs, the Russians with assistance or freedom of action in one or another of the eastern problems, the French with support in the seizure of a wide variety of colonial territories. Otto von Bismarck had quite a large arsenal of such “gifts”.

Otto von Bismarck was less willing to use such a diplomatic technique as compromise. It wasn't his style. Otto von Bismarck was a great realist. He loved, when necessary, to talk about monarchical solidarity. However, this did not prevent him from supporting republicans in France, and in 1873 in Spain, as opposed to the monarchists, since then he believed that republican governments in these countries, from the point of view of the German Empire, would be the most convenient

Otto von Bismarck did not give room to feelings in his politics, but always tried to be guided solely by calculation. If some feeling sometimes interfered with his logic, it was most often anger. Anger and hatred were, perhaps, the only emotions that could sometimes divert the chancellor from the path of cold and sober calculation - and then only for a while.

Another character trait of Otto von Bismarck was exceptional activity. The first Chancellor of the German Empire was an energetic, extremely active person who literally knew no rest. Simplicity was not a feature of Bismarck's policy, despite the fact that its goal was usually expressed with the utmost clarity. Otto von Bismarck almost always clearly knew what he wanted and was able to develop an amazing amount of willpower to achieve his goal. He sometimes walked straight towards her, but more often - along complex, sometimes confusing, dark, always varied and restless paths.

Foreign policy fascinated Otto von Bismarck. One of the reasons that led directly to his resignation was disagreements between the Chancellor and the Kaiser on the issue of attitude towards Russia.

General Waldersee, who replaced the decrepit General von Moltke as Chief of the German General Staff in 1888, continued to insist on a preventive war against Russia. The young Kaiser was inclined to this point of view. Otto von Bismarck considered the war against Russia disastrous.

Sometimes in Western historiography Otto von Bismarck is portrayed as almost a friend of Russia. This is not true, he was her enemy, since he saw in her the main obstacle to German supremacy in Europe. Otto von Bismarck always tried to harm Russia, trying to drag it into conflicts with England and Turkey, but the chancellor was smart enough to understand what enormous power lay in the Russian people. Harming Russia in every possible way, Otto von Bismarck tried to do it with the wrong hands.

The lines dedicated by Otto von Bismarck to the problem of the Russian-German war sound like a terrible warning. “This war with the gigantic size of its theater would be full of dangers,” said Otto von Bismarck. - Examples Charles XII and Napoleon prove that the most capable commanders only with difficulty extricate themselves from expeditions to Russia." And Otto von Bismarck believed that a war with Russia would be a "great disaster" for Germany. Even if military luck had smiled on Germany in the fight against Russia, then and then "geographical conditions would make it infinitely difficult to bring this success to completion."

But Otto von Bismarck went further. He not only realized the difficulties of the war with Russia, but also believed that even if, contrary to expectations, Germany managed to achieve complete success in the purely military sense of the word, then even then it would not have achieved a real political victory over Russia, because the Russian people cannot be defeated. Polemicizing with supporters of an attack on Russia, Otto von Bismarck wrote in 1888: “This could be argued if such a war could really lead to the defeat of Russia. But such a result even after the most brilliant victories lies beyond all probability. Even the most favorable outcome of the war will never lead to the disintegration of the main strength of Russia, which is based on millions of Russians themselves... These latter, even if they are dismembered by international treaties, will just as quickly unite with each other again , like particles of a cut piece of mercury. This indestructible state of the Russian nation is strong with its climate, its spaces and limited needs...". These lines do not at all indicate the chancellor's sympathy for Russia. They talk about something else - Otto von Bismarck was careful and perspicacious.

Bismarck was to a large extent a kind of personification of the alliance of the bourgeoisie with the Junkers. But as imperialist tendencies matured in the economy and politics of Germany, its policy increasingly became the policy of “state capitalism”

Bismarck's policy was aimed at preserving what was extracted, and not at acquiring new things. He intended to attack France, this was explained by Otto von Bismarck's fear of a certain future war. He deliberately tried to discount everything that in any way increased the likelihood of Germany going to war with any great power or coalition of powers.

Over time, using Italian-French colonial rivalry, Otto von Bismarck managed to attract Italy to the coalition. In 1882, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy concluded a secret alliance agreement on mutual assistance in the event of war with France and common action in the event of an attack on one of the participants by two or more European countries. This is how the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy arose, which marked the beginning of the split of Europe into warring military factions.

Cleverly playing on the differences between European states, the Triple Alliance soon managed to win over Romania and Spain. However, all attempts by Otto von Bismarck and his successors to achieve England's participation in the union were fruitless. Despite acute colonial contradictions with France and Russia, England, as before, did not want to bind itself to an agreement with any European state, remaining faithful to the policy of “brilliant isolation.”

However, the likely accession of England to the German-Austrian bloc accelerated the military-political rapprochement between France and Russia. In 1891, the Franco-Russian alliance was formalized by a consultative pact, and in 1892, representatives of the general staffs of both countries signed a secret military convention on joint actions in the event of war with Germany. The Convention, which was to remain in force for the duration of the Triple Alliance, was ratified in late 1893 and early 1894.

90s XIX century were characterized by a sharp intensification of German foreign policy and a change in its direction. The rapid development of industry, which had outgrown the capabilities of the domestic market, forced the country's ruling circles to support German trade expansion in Europe and look for “new independent territories” for the sale of goods. Having embarked on the path of colonial conquests later than other countries, Germany was significantly inferior to them in terms of the size of the captured territories. The German colonies were twelve times smaller than the English ones, and in addition they were poor in raw materials. The imperial leadership was acutely concerned about such “injustice” and, intensifying its colonial policy, for the first time raised the question of redividing the world already divided by European countries.

Germany's transition to "world politics" was embodied in its claims to dominance in Europe, the desire to gain a foothold in the Near, Middle and Far East, the desire to redistribute spheres of influence in Africa." The main direction of German expansion was the Middle East. In 1899, the Kaiser obtained consent from the Turkish Sultan to build a transcontinental railway, which was supposed to connect Berlin and Baghdad, after which the active penetration of German capital into the Balkans, Anatolia and Mesopotamia began.

The advance of the Germans to the east and Germany's overt territorial claims led to a sharp deterioration in its relations with the largest colonial state in the world - England. By the beginning of the 20th century. Anglo-German contradictions become central to the system of international relations. The economic, political and colonial rivalry between the two countries was complemented by a naval arms race. By launching the construction of a powerful navy in 1898, Germany challenged the “mistress of the seas,” threatening its intermediary trade and relations with the colonies.

For a long time, confident in the invulnerability of England's island position and the advantage of its navy, British diplomats considered the best foreign policy not to tie their hands with alliances with other states, to encourage conflicts between them and to benefit England from these conflicts. To maintain the “European balance,” Great Britain usually opposed the strongest continental state, preventing it from taking a dominant position in Europe.

However, the deterioration of the country's international position at the beginning of the 20th century. forced the British government to change its foreign policy course. The sharp increase in Germany's military and naval power and its overt territorial claims created real threat existence of the British Empire. The policy of isolation was becoming dangerous, and British diplomacy began to look for allies on the continent in a future clash with Germany.

In 1904, after the settlement of mutual colonial claims in Africa, England entered into a military-political agreement with France, which was called the Entente ("Concord of the Heart"). In 1907, the Entente became tripartite: having signed a convention with England on the division of spheres of influence in Iran, Afghanistan and Tibet, Russia also joined it. Thus, as a result of the agreements of 1904-1907. The military-political bloc of three states, opposing the countries of the Triple Alliance, finally took shape.

The formation of the Entente in 1904 became a serious warning to Germany in its expansionist plans. On the eve of the inevitable clash with England, the Franco-Russian alliance of 1891-1893 became much more dangerous for it. Therefore, the Kaiser and German diplomacy repeatedly made attempts to break the hostile environment, inspiring the aggravation of Anglo-Russian differences and fueling the mistrust of the Russian ruling circles towards France.

After France had established a “cordial agreement” with England, all that remained was to tie up the loose ends: to convince England and Russia of the need for rapprochement. It was not an easy task.

Anglo-Russian relations after Crimean War were quite tense. Despite Russia's defeat in this war, Britain continued to be concerned about its activity in areas of British interest. The British were also worried about the prospect of the Russians taking possession of the Black Sea straits. After all, it was from the Mediterranean that the shortest route to India began - the Suez Canal. The defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese War and the revolution of 1905-1907. finally convinced England that it was not Russia that now posed a danger to British interests. England, like France, needed a military alliance against Germany more than Russia. Therefore, the old Russian-English differences in the face of general German aggression were resolved. In 1907, England and Russia managed to agree on the division of spheres of influence in Iran, Afghanistan and Tibet. So in 1907 Russia joined the Entente.

The results of the development of international relations from 1871 to 1893 can be summarized in the words of Engels: “The major military powers of the continent were divided into two large camps that threatened each other: Russia and France on the one hand, Germany and Austria on the other.” England remained outside these two blocs for now; she continued to base her policy on their contradictions. Moreover, until the mid-90s. its diplomacy gravitated more towards the German group, although objectively Anglo-German antagonism had been growing for quite some time.

Therefore, in his work V.P. Potemkin - “History of Diplomacy” put it this way: “If the imperialist struggle for colonies and spheres of influence is overlooked as a factor in the impending world war, if the imperialist contradictions between England and Germany are also overlooked, if the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by Germany is a factor in the war , is relegated to the background before the desire of Russian tsarism for Constantinople, as a more important and even determining factor in the war; if, finally, Russian tsarism represents the last stronghold of pan-European reaction, then isn’t it clear that the war of, say, bourgeois Germany with tsarist Russia is not an imperialist, not a predatory, not an anti-people war, but a war of liberation, or almost liberation?

After the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, using Romanov and Hohenzollern family connections, Wilhelm II increased pressure on Nicholas II, arguing in correspondence that French neutrality during the war bordered on treason, and that the Anglo-French agreement of 1904 was aimed at against Russia. During a personal meeting in Björk (Finland) in 1905, he managed to convince Russian Emperor conclude a secret treaty of mutual assistance with Germany, however, this diplomatic success remained inconclusive. Under pressure from the highest dignitaries of the empire, Nicholas II was soon forced to cancel this agreement. Equally futile was the attempt by German diplomacy to tear Russia away from its Entente allies during the Potsdam meeting of the two emperors in 1910.

By fueling disagreements between European states, Germany sought, among other things, to ensure unimpeded penetration into the Middle East. At the same time, it tried to establish itself in North Africa, laying claim to part of Morocco that had not yet been captured by the Europeans. However, on the European "colonial exchange" Morocco had long been recognized as a sphere of French interest, and William II's intervention in Moroccan affairs in 1905 caused a sharp deterioration in international relations. The Moroccan crisis almost led to the outbreak of a European war, but the conflict was resolved diplomatically. An international conference convened in Algeciras (Spain) in 1906, contrary to the expectations of the Germans, recognized France's preferential rights to Morocco.

In 1911, taking advantage of the unrest in the Fez region, France, under the pretext of “pacification,” sent its troops into the Moroccan capital. This caused an unexpected demarche in Germany. “After a noisy campaign in the press demanding the division of Morocco, the German government sent the gunboat Panther to its shores, and then a light cruiser, provoking the second Moroccan crisis.” The French government took the "Panther Leap" as a challenge and was ready to defend its colonial "rights". However, the war, which threatened to acquire European proportions, did not begin this time either. The British government's decisive declaration of readiness to fight on the side of France forced Germany to retreat and recognize the French protectorate over most of Morocco.

The Bosnian crisis of 1908 also led to an acute international conflict. Under the terms of the Berlin Treaty of 1878, Bosnia and Herzegovina was occupied by Austria-Hungary, but formally remained part of the Ottoman Empire. After the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, the Austrian government concluded that the moment had arrived for the final annexation of these two Slavic provinces. At the same time, Russia’s consent was secured by a promise to support its demands regarding the opening of the Black Sea straits to Russian warships. But this promise was never fulfilled, since Russia’s claims were not supported by either England or France. At the same time, the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina strengthened Austrian positions in the Balkans and dealt a strong blow to the national liberation movement of the South Slavs.

The annexation provoked a sharp protest from Serbia, which publicly declared disrespect for the rights of the Slavic peoples and demanded that Austria-Hungary grant political autonomy to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Russia supported her, proposing to convene an international conference to solve the Bosnian problem. However, Russia's Entente allies took a neutral position, and the German government openly invited Russia to confirm the annexation and force Serbia to do so. Having received an ultimatum warning from Berlin that in case of refusal, Germany would support Austria-Hungary in an attack on Serbia, and being left alone, Russia was forced to concede.

Italy also took advantage of the weakening of the once powerful Ottoman Empire, which had long encroached on its possessions in North Africa. Having secured the support of major European states, in 1911 it began military operations against Turkey and captured two of its provinces - Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. Political isolation and the onset of a new crisis in the Balkans forced the Turkish government to make concessions, and under the Treaty of Lausanne, Turkey renounced its rights to Cyrenaica and Tripolitania, which became part of the Italian possessions in North Africa called Libya. According to the treaty, Italy pledged to return the occupied Dodecanese Islands to Turkey, but never fulfilled the promise.

The aggravation of international relations at the beginning of the 20th century, the confrontation between two warring military-political blocs - the Triple Alliance and the Entente - was accompanied by an unprecedented arms race. The parliaments of European countries, one after another, pass laws on additional appropriations for the rearmament and increase in the size of armies, the development of fleets, and the creation of military aviation. Thus, in France in 1913 a law was passed on three-year military service, which increased the number French army in peacetime up to 160 thousand people. In Germany, during the five pre-war years (1909-1914), military spending increased by 33% and accounted for half of all state budget. In 1913, its army numbered 666 thousand people.

Table 1

The degree of militarization of European countries in the 80s. XIX - early XX centuries

Long before the start of the war, the British government began to intensively arm the country. In the ten pre-war years, England's military spending tripled. Created in 1910, the Committee for Imperial Defense developed a strategic plan on an imperial scale. Along with strengthening the fleet, an army was created in England, ready, if necessary, for battles on the continent.

The onerous naval arms race prompted British diplomacy to make a last attempt to reach a compromise with Germany.

For this purpose, in 1912, the Minister of War, Lord Holden, was sent to Berlin, who proposed that the German government stop competition in the construction of battleships in exchange for colonial concessions in Africa.

But England's desire to maintain its naval superiority at any cost doomed Holden's mission to failure. Germany was not going to yield to the “mistress of the seas” in anything, and by the beginning of 1914 it already had 232 new warships at its disposal.

By 1914, Europe was split into two major alliances, which included the six most powerful powers. Their confrontation escalated into world war. Britain, France and Russia formed the Entente, and Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy united in the Triple Alliance. The split into alliances aggravated the explosiveness and completely quarreled the countries.

The beginning of the formation of alliances

Having won a series of victories (1862-1871), Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck created a new German state, united from several small principalities. However, Bismarck feared that after the formation of the new state, neighboring countries, especially France and Austria-Hungary, would feel threatened and begin to take action to destroy Germany. Bismarck saw the only way out was to create alliances to stabilize and balance the forces on the geopolitical map of Europe. He believed that this could stop the inevitability of war for Germany.

Dual alliance

Bismarck understood that France was lost as an ally for Germany. After the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War and the occupation of Alsace and Lorraine by Germany, the French had a sharply negative attitude towards the Germans. Britain, on the other hand, sought dominance and actively prevented the formation of any alliances, fearing possible competition from them.

Based on these circumstances, Bismarck decided to turn to Austria-Hungary and Russia. As a result, in 1873 they united into the Alliance of the Three Emperors, the participants of which guaranteed mutual support if hostilities suddenly began. Five years later, Russia decided to leave the union. On next year the remaining members of the alliance formed the Dual Alliance and now began to consider Russia a threat. They agreed to provide military assistance if Russia attacked them or provided military support to anyone else.

Triple Alliance

In 1881, Italy joined the two countries participating in the alliance, and the Triple Alliance was formed, and France was now added to the list of threat factors. Moreover, the alliance guaranteed that if any of its participants found itself in a state of war with two or more states, the alliance would come to the rescue.

Italy, being the weakest member of the alliance, insisted on including an additional clause in the treaty stating that it had the right to withdraw from it if the Triple Alliance acted as an aggressor. Soon after, Italy signed a treaty with France, promising their support if they were attacked by Germany.

"Reinsurance" agreement

Bismarck was frightened by the possibility of a war on two fronts, which meant settling relations with either France or Russia. The Germans' relations with the French were badly damaged, so Bismarck's choice fell on the Russians. The Chancellor invited Russia to sign a “reinsurance agreement.” Under the terms of this treaty, both parties were required to remain neutral in the event of a war breaking out with a third country.

However, this treaty was valid only until 1890, then the German government canceled it, sending Bismarck into retirement. Russia sought to keep the treaty in force, but Germany did not want this. This decision is considered the main mistake of Bismarck's successors.

Franco-Russian alliance

Carefully designed by Bismarck foreign policy began to crumble after he left. In an effort to expand the German Empire, Kaiser Wilhelm II pursued a policy of aggressive militarization. The expansion and strengthening of the German fleet caused concern in England, France and Russia, which was the reason for the unity of these countries. Meanwhile, the new German government proved insufficiently competent to maintain the alliance created by Germany, and Germany soon faced the distrust and hostility of the European powers.

In 1892, Russia, within the framework of a secret convention, entered into an alliance with France. The terms of this alliance provided for mutual assistance in case of war, without imposing other restrictions. The Alliance was created as a counterweight to the Triple Alliance. Germany's departure from the political course laid out by Bismarck put it in a dangerous position. Now the empire faced the threat of war on two fronts.

Increasing tension between Europe's major powers has forced Great Britain to consider the need to join one of the alliances. Britain did not support France in the Franco-Prussian War, but the countries nevertheless concluded the Entente Cordiale treaty among themselves in 1904. Three years later, a similar treaty appeared between Great Britain and Russia. In 1912, the Anglo-French Naval Convention made this connection even stronger. The alliance came into force.

World War

When Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in 1914, Austria-Hungary's response was immediate. Over the next few weeks, a full-scale war broke out across Europe. The Entente fought the Triple Alliance, which Italy soon abandoned.

The parties to the conflict were confident that the war would be fleeting and would end by Christmas 1914, but it lasted 4 long years, during which time the United States was also drawn into the conflict. Over the entire period, it claimed the lives of 11 million soldiers and 7 million civilians. The war ended in 1919 with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

The Entente (from the French Entente, Entente cordiale - cordial agreement) - an alliance of Great Britain, France and Russia (Triple Entente), took shape in 1904-1907 and united more than 20 states during the First World War (1914-1918) against the coalition of the Central Powers , including the USA, Japan, Italy.

The creation of the Entente was preceded by the conclusion of a Russian-French alliance in 1891-1893 in response to the creation of the Triple Alliance (1882) led by Germany.

The formation of the Entente is associated with the disengagement of the great powers at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, caused by a new balance of power in the international arena and the aggravation of contradictions between Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy on the one hand, France, Great Britain and Russia, on the other.
The sharp intensification of Anglo-German rivalry, caused by Germany's colonial and trade expansion in Africa, the Middle East and other areas, and the naval arms race, prompted Great Britain to seek an alliance with France and then with Russia.

In 1904, a British-French agreement was signed, followed by a Russo-British agreement (1907). These treaties actually formalized the creation of the Entente.

Russia and France were allies bound by mutual military obligations determined by the military convention of 1892 and subsequent decisions of the general staffs of both states. The British government, despite contacts between the British and French general staffs and naval commands established in 1906 and 1912, did not make specific military commitments. The formation of the Entente softened the differences between its participants, but did not eliminate them. These differences were revealed more than once, which Germany took advantage of in an attempt to tear Russia away from the Entente. However, strategic calculations and aggressive plans of Germany doomed these attempts to failure.

In turn, the Entente countries, preparing for war with Germany, took steps to separate Italy and Austria-Hungary from the Triple Alliance. Although Italy formally remained part of the Triple Alliance before the outbreak of World War I, the ties of the Entente countries with it strengthened, and in May 1915 Italy went over to the Entente side.

After the outbreak of the First World War, in September 1914 in London, an agreement was signed between Great Britain, France and Russia on the non-conclusion of a separate peace, replacing the allied military treaty. In October 1915, Japan joined this agreement, which in August 1914 declared war on Germany.

During the war, new states gradually joined the Entente. By the end of the war, the states of the anti-German coalition (not counting Russia, which withdrew from the war after the October Revolution of 1917) included Great Britain, France, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, Greece, Italy, China, Cuba, Liberia, Nicaragua , Panama, Peru, Portugal, Romania, San Domingo, San Marino, Serbia, Siam, USA, Uruguay, Montenegro, Hijaz, Ecuador, Japan.

The main participants of the Entente - Great Britain, France and Russia, from the first days of the war entered into secret negotiations on the goals of the war. The British-French-Russian agreement (1915) provided for the transfer of the Black Sea straits to Russia, the London Treaty (1915) between the Entente and Italy determined the territorial acquisitions of Italy at the expense of Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Albania. The Sykes-Picot Treaty (1916) divided Turkey's Asian possessions between Great Britain, France and Russia.

During the first three years of the war, Russia drew off significant enemy forces, coming quickly to the aid of the Allies as soon as Germany launched serious offensives in the West.

After the October Revolution of 1917, Russia’s withdrawal from the war did not disrupt the Entente’s victory over the German bloc, because Russia fully fulfilled its allied obligations, unlike England and France, who more than once broke their promises of help. Russia gave England and France the opportunity to mobilize all their resources. The struggle of the Russian army allowed the United States to expand its production power, create an army and replace Russia, which had emerged from the war - the United States officially declared war on Germany in April 1917.

After the October Revolution of 1917, the Entente organized an armed intervention against Soviet Russia - on December 23, 1917, Great Britain and France signed a corresponding agreement. In March 1918, the Entente intervention began, but the campaigns against Soviet Russia ended in failure. The goals that the Entente set for itself were achieved after the defeat of Germany in the First World War, but the strategic alliance between the leading Entente countries, Great Britain and France, remained in the following decades.

The general political and military leadership of the bloc's activities in various periods was carried out by: Inter-Allied Conferences (1915, 1916, 1917, 1918), the Supreme Council of the Entente, the Inter-Allied (Executive) Military Committee, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces, the main headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, commanders-in-chief and headquarters at individual theaters of military operations. Such forms of cooperation were used as bilateral and multilateral meetings and consultations, contacts between commanders-in-chief and general staffs through representatives of the allied armies and military missions. However, the difference in military-political interests and goals, military doctrines, an incorrect assessment of the forces and means of the opposing coalitions, their military capabilities, the remoteness of the theaters of military operations, and the approach to the war as a short-term campaign did not allow the creation of a unified and permanent military-political leadership of the coalition in the war.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Since the collective security system ceased to exist, each country began to look for an ally. France was the first to begin this search. After the Franco-Prussian War on her eastern border there were now not several dozen German monarchies independent from each other, but a single empire, surpassing France in population and economic power. In addition, France was forced to transfer its territories to the enemy: the province of Alsace and a third of the province of Lorraine. This gave Germany a strategic advantage: it had access to the plain of Northern France in its hands. From this moment, realizing the impossibility of a one-on-one fight, France itself begins an active search for allies to balance the power of the new Germany.

German Chancellor Bismarck, who did more than anyone else to unify the country, saw the main goal of his diplomacy in preventing an alliance of France with other great powers. He understood how vulnerable the position of the German Empire was, which, unlike France, was surrounded on three sides by great powers: Austria-Hungary, Russia and France itself. An alliance of the latter with any of the remaining two exposed Germany to the prospect of a war on two fronts, which Bismarck considered a direct road to defeat.

Triple Alliance

A way out of this situation was found along the lines of rapprochement with Austria-Hungary. The latter, in turn, entering into increasingly intense rivalry with Russia in the Balkans, needed an ally.

Consolidating this rapprochement, Germany and Austria-Hungary signed a treaty in 1879, under which they pledged to support each other in the event of an attack by the Russian Empire. Italy joined the alliance of these states, which was looking for support in the conflict with France over control of North Africa.

In 1882 the Triple Alliance was created. Germany and Italy assumed obligations of mutual assistance in the event of an attack by France, and Italy, in addition, promised Austria-Hungary neutrality in the event of a conflict with Russia. Bismarck also hoped that Russia would refrain from conflict with Germany due to close economic, dynastic and traditional political ties with it and the reluctance of the Russian emperor to enter into an alliance with republican, democratic France.

In 1904, they settled all mutual claims that arose in connection with the colonial division of the world and established “cordial agreement” among themselves. In French it sounds like "entente cordial", hence Russian name this alliance is the Entente. Russia signed a military convention with France back in 1893. In 1907, she settled all her differences with England and actually joined the Entente.

Features of new unions

This is how unexpected and strange alliances developed. France and England have been enemies since the Hundred Years' War, Russia and France - since the revolution of 1789. The Entente united the two most democratic states in Europe - England and France - with autocratic Russia.

Two traditional allies of Russia - Austria and Germany - found themselves in the camp of its enemies. The alliance of Italy with its yesterday's oppressor and the main enemy of the unification - Austria-Hungary, on whose territory the Italian population also remained, also looked strange. The Austrian Habsburgs and the Prussian Hohenzollerns, who had been vying for control of Germany for centuries, found themselves in the same coalition, while blood relatives, cousins, William II on the one hand, Nicholas II and King Edward VII of Great Britain, his wife, were in opposing alliances.

Thus, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, two opposing coalitions emerged in Europe - the Triple Alliance and the Entente. The rivalry between them was accompanied by an arms race.

The creation of coalitions in itself was not unusual in European politics. Let us remember, for example, that the largest wars of the 18th century - the Northern and the Seven Years - were fought by coalitions, as were the wars against Napoleonic France in the 19th century.