TRIPLE ALLIANCE (1882): HISTORICAL CONTEXT, CREATION, AND MEMBERS - HISTORY - 2025

The Triple Alliance (1882) was the agreement reached between the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Italy during the years preceding the First World War. At first, it was the first two empires that signed a mutual defense treaty, with Italy joining soon after.

This alliance was part of the tactic undertaken by the German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, to maintain the balance between the different European powers but keeping France as isolated as possible.

Military Alliances in Europe in 1914 - Source: Dove Translated from / Translated from Image: Map Europe alliances 1914-fr.svg) under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

During that time, the situation in Europe was one of permanent tension, with open conflicts for economic, territorial and colonial reasons. The policy of alliances intended that these tensions did not lead to open warfare.

Russia, France and England responded to the creation of the Triple Alliance with their own agreement, the Triple Entente. Bismarck's removal caused a change in German policy, which became more aggressive. Finally, in 1914, the assassination of Francisco Fernando in Sarajevo was the spark that caused the outbreak of the First World War.

Historic context

After the defeat of Napoleon, the European powers began a process of reorganization of the political map of the continent. To do this, they met in the Congress of Vienna in 1815, establishing a series of balances of power to maintain peace in the long term.

In this way, each power was given a control area. This did not prevent situations of tension from arising, although, in general, the positions of each country were respected. Britain, for example, was left with control of the ocean, while the Russian Empire focused on the east and the Black Sea.

Among the areas of Europe causing the most friction were the Balkans. There, the Ottomans, Russians, and Austro-Hungarians tried to increase their influence.

For its part, the emergence of Germany as a great power, after the victory against France in 1870, meant the entry of a new actor in the distribution of European power.

Bismarckian systems

Indeed, the key figure in European politics for several decades of the 19th century was a German, Otto von Bismarck. This had already been head of government of Prussia during the war with France and was appointed chancellor after the unification.

As soon as he occupied this position, he began to design a diplomatic plan that would allow, on the one hand, to keep France, his traditional enemy, isolated and, on the other, to maintain balances of power on the continent that would prevent new wars. Ultimately, all her movements were aimed at consolidating Germany's position as a great power.

To do this, he created systems of alliances, called Bismarckian systems. These marked the relations in Europe until the beginning of the First World War.

Race to get colonies

In addition to territorial tensions in some parts of Europe, such as Alsace, Lorraine or the Balkans, the European powers also began to compete to increase their colonial possessions, especially in Africa and Asia.

Italy, for example, felt harmed in the different divisions of territories, since its requests to control North Africa were not heeded. France was one of the beneficiaries, creating the protectorate of Tunis by taking advantage of the weakness of the Ottoman Empire.

Entente of the Three Emperors

Great Britain, traditionally faced with France, preferred to maintain a rather isolationist policy. Bismarck, not having to worry about that country, considered that the only possible allies of the French were Russia and Austria-Hungary.

For that reason, the Chancellor first went to these empires to try to sign alliances. Although, due to some confrontations in the Balkans, the agreement was not easy to achieve, Bismarck managed to get the respective leaders to sign, in 1873, the so-called Pact of the Three Emperors.

This alliance was defensive in nature. The three countries promised to defend each other if they were attacked by a third party. Similarly, Russia and Austria-Hungary agreed to support any attack initiated by their German ally.

This first agreement only lasted a couple of years. In 1875 two crises broke out that ended up causing its dissolution. This was accompanied by an increase in military strength by France, although the intermediation of England and Russia prevented an open war from breaking out.

Creation of the Triple Alliance

Despite the failure of his first attempt to create an alliance, Bismarck soon returned to negotiate the establishment of another agreement. In 1879, he managed to sign the so-called Dúplice Alliance with Austria-Hungary, the most immediate antecedent of the future Third Alliance.

After convincing the Austro-Hungarians, the next step was to get them to move closer to Russia. The change of the Tsar in the latter country, together with the insistence of the Chancellor, was definitive so that, in 1881, the Pact of the Three Emperors was reissued between the three countries.

According to what was agreed, this alliance was to be maintained for three years. During that period, the signatories undertook to maintain neutrality in the event of an attack by a third country.

Signature of the Triple Alliance

As was the case before, the differences between Russia and Austria-Hungary over the Balkans ended up causing the former to withdraw from the agreement.

To replace him, Bismarck chose Italy, which he considered an important ally in maintaining the isolation of France. For the Italians, for their part, signing an agreement with Germany meant being able to access the rank of great power. Furthermore, his relations with the French were not good due to the colonial policy in North Africa.

The Triple Alliance was signed on May 20, 1882 and established the obligation to provide mutual military aid in the event of being attacked by Russia or France. However, the agreement did not contemplate the same conditions in the event that the attacking country was Great Britain.

Members of the Triple Alliance

The Triple Alliance was made up of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Italy. This country would end up abandoning the treaty before the First World War. Similarly, there were other nations that joined the alliance over time, such as the Ottoman Empire.

German empire

Germany inherited the status of great power from Prussia, one of the territories that would later make up its Empire.

After the Berlin Congress, this country was establishing itself as the most important in Central Europe. The unification of all the Germanic territories and the victory in the war against France, only confirmed that status. It was just after defeating the French that it became an Empire in 1871.

Very soon, it began to stand out for its industrial production, partly focused on weapons. Likewise, he became involved in the race to control colonial territories.

Austro-Hungarian Empire

Germany's growth as a power was, in part, at the expense of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The war between Prussia and Austria in 1866, which ended with the defeat of the Empire, caused it to lose much of its influence in Central Europe.

Before the signing of the Triple Alliance, Austro-Hungary had problems with the nationalist movements that settled in its territories. Likewise, he maintained a political and diplomatic confrontation with Russia for control of the Balkans.

Italy

Italy became the third member of the Triple Alliance when the differences between Russia and Austria-Hungary became insurmountable. Italians, seeking to increase their international presence, were very unhappy with how France had acted in North Africa, so, at that time, their interests coincided with the Germans.

However, over time, Italy began to distance itself from its two allies. With Austria-Hungary, for example, there was a territorial problem, since, since their unification, the Italians always sought to annex Trentino, in Austro-Hungarian power.

Finally, when the First World War broke out, Italy ended up positioning itself with the Allies, breaking their previous agreement.

Consequences

The Triple Alliance was framed within the second of the Bismarckian systems, but the Chancellor would still have time to negotiate more coalitions before the Great War.

In 1887, he managed to sign the Mediterranean Pact, made up of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Spain and Great Britain. After this, he also convinced Russia to consolidate its alliance with his country through the Reinsurance Treaty, which only lasted until the Chancellor left office.

Bismarck's removal

The ascent to the German throne of Guillermo II, in 1890, supposed an absolute change on the foreign policy carried out by Bismarck. The new emperor also decided to remove the Chancellor, who was already very old.

William II put aside the complex system of alliances woven by Bismarck in previous decades. In its place, he implemented the so-called Weltpolitik, a policy that sought German hegemony in Europe.

Germany's new way of acting, putting diplomacy aside and taking aggressive attitudes, unleashed a great arms race. Europe was divided into two great blocs and both prepared for a conflict that seemed imminent.

Triple entente

France ended the new policy promoted by William II. The first symptom of this was the agreement between France and Russia, signed in 1893. Through this pact, both countries agreed to provide military aid in the event of war against Germany.

In 1904, the French made a new ally when they signed the Entente Cordial with Great Britain. The reason, in large part, was the threat posed by the new German foreign policy.

The following year, in 1905, Russia suffered a humiliating defeat in its war against Japan. This caused her to abandon her claims to expand her influence in the Far East, focusing her efforts on the Balkans. There, inevitably, it ended up colliding with Austria-Hungary.

Finally, France encouraged its two allies, Russia and Great Britain, to reach an agreement between them, something they did in 1907. In this way, the three countries were united by a network of crossed alliances that would end up giving rise to the Triple Entente.

First World War

At the beginning of the 20th century, tension in Europe had reached a point of no return. Germany, with its economic growth and its desire for political expansion, represented a danger to the traditional powers of the continent.

On the other hand, Austria and Russia had started a race to take advantage of the weakness of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans. The former wanted an outlet to the Adriatic Sea, while the Russians supported the Slavic states in the area, especially Serbia.

Although the war was about to start on several occasions, the event that triggered it occurred on June 28, 1914, when the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated while visiting Sarajevo.

Austria, with German support, issued an ultimatum to investigate the crime and Russia reacted by mobilizing its troops in case it had to help its Serbian ally.

World War I started when Austria declared war on Serbia. Russia honored its agreement with the Serbs and got involved in the conflict. Germany, under the Triple Alliance, declared war on the Russians, provoking a reaction from France.

In a few months, the alliances signed during the previous years caused almost the entire continent to be involved in the conflict.

References

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