TRIPLE ENTENTE: ANTECEDENTS AND COUNTRIES THAT MADE IT UP - HISTORY - 2025

The Triple Entente was the alliance formed by Great Britain, Russia and France in 1907. More than an agreement between the three countries, it was about the harmonization of three previous agreements: the Franco-Russian alliance, the Franco-British Entente Cordiale of 1904 and the Russo-British agreement of 1907, which made everyone acquire defense obligations.

The common enemy that managed to unite these countries, normally at odds, was the Germany of William II. The expansionist policy carried out by the Germanic rulers, who sought to be the dominant power in all of Europe, provoked the misgivings of the rest of the continent.

The French had seen how Germany tried to isolate France politically and wrest influence from it. Meanwhile, the Russians saw their pan-Slavic strategy in the Balkans and other areas hampered. Likewise, the struggle to achieve more colonial power also made crises continually occur.

Although the British tried not to incur too many military obligations, the truth is that in the end the outbreak of World War I demonstrated the need for this alliance. These original members were joined somewhat later by the Kingdom of Serbia, Belgium, and a few other nations.

Background

The Triple Entente is called the pact signed by France, Great Britain and Russia, which ended up being one of the participants in World War I. This coalition tried to counteract the growing power that Germany was acquiring in its attempt to become the main European power.

The origin of the Triple Entente is found in three other agreements signed by its components in previous years.

Franco-Russian Alliance

Having a common enemy, Germany, was what caused two countries with such conflicting systems to become allies. Thus, the republican France and the Russia of the absolutism of the tsars, reached an agreement before the aggressive policy of the William II regime.

It was the Russians who initiated the approaches to negotiate the agreement. This was signed in 1894, but it had been going on for a while.

At first, the Tsar was not very in favor of the rapprochement with a republic that, in his own words, caused him "disgust" and "contempt" for its political system. However, the continuous clashes with Germany caused him to change his mind

William II had refused to maintain the agreement he had with Russia, called the Reinsurance Treaty and, furthermore, he had maintained the strategy of isolating France that Bismarck had initiated.

All this led to the signing of the agreement on August 17, 1892, although it was not made public until 3 years later.

The treaty stated that its objective was, specifically, to defend itself against the Triple Alliance, the coalition led by Germany. Both powers promised to defend each other if they were attacked.

French-British Entente Cordiale

Another of the agreements that led to the Triple Entente was the one signed between France and Great Britain. Although they had been traditional enemies throughout history, circumstances forced them to sit down and negotiate.

The British had lost some of their influence in the world. In Africa, their colonies did not stop presenting problems to them. The Boer War was costly and Egypt was a source of instability.

Its historic naval dominance was threatened by Germany, the United States, and Russia, who were modernizing and expanding their navies. For its part, France wanted the British to allow them to expand their colonies. All of this led to the signing of the treaty in 1904.

Anglo-Russian Entente

The third agreement prior to the formation of the Triple Entente was pursued for quite some time by France. Faced with the growing German aggressiveness in some colonial areas, especially in Morocco, she pressured her two allies to sign an agreement between them.

Despite the fact that Great Britain and Russia had quite a few differences over some Asian territories, in the end they agreed to sign a treaty.

The signing took place in 1907 and they agreed to divide up the areas of influence in Central Asia. With this agreement, Germany was practically surrounded.

Countries that made up the Triple Entente

France

In the years before the First World War, the foreign policy of the French Third Republic was centered on its bad relations with Germany. It must be remembered that the Third Republic was born after the Franco-Prussian War, which, with the French defeat, forced Napoleon III to leave power.

The Germans dedicated themselves to isolating the French power, creating the so-called League of the Three Emperors with Russia and Austro-Hungary. He also tried to reach agreements with the British and with Italy. That policy only changed after Bismarck's resignation, when William II left the Russians out of the League.

The French took advantage of that fact to get closer to Russia and forge an alliance with them, alleviating their lack of allies. At the same time, he had some confrontations with Great Britain for the division of the colonies. Despite popular pressure, the Gallic government preferred not to go to war with the British and start negotiating an agreement with them.

This agreement had very reassuring effects on the relations of the two countries. The First Moroccan Crisis in 1905, and that of Agadir in 1911, did nothing but strengthen the relationship with the actions of the Germans. Furthermore, the construction of a new fleet by Germany worried the two nations.

Britain

Great Britain watched with great concern the German military rearmament, especially in the naval field. The unification of Germany, its victory in the war with France and the growing industrial power were all aspects that were threatening for the government of the island.

Concern increased when, starting in 1890, Germany decided to modernize its fleet. The stated goal was to overcome the traditional might of the British at sea.

Russia

As the influence of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans began to wane, two powers began to compete to replace it: Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Obviously, this caused several incidents that could easily lead to a war.

For example, Russia openly supported Serbia in its goal of annexing Bosnia, at that time in the hands of the Austro-Hungarians. These sought to end the nascent Serbian nationalism to control the Balkans.

Russia's turn to France and Britain had several fundamental objectives. The main one was trying to counteract the weight of Italy, Germany and Austria-Hungary. Russia knew that war with them was inevitable due to friction in the Balkans and needed allies.

Other allies

Although they were not strictly part of the Triple Entente, other countries became allies when the war broke out. The German attack on Belgium made this country side with the Allied side. Soon Japan would join her, in dispute with the Germans for the Pacific colonies.

Other nations that, at different times, allied themselves with the Triple Entente were Italy, Romania, Portugal, the United States and Greece.

References

1. Garay Caballero, Hugo. Triple Entente, the victorious coalition. Obtained from abc.com.py
2. Ocaña, Juan Carlos. Triple Entente 1907. Retrieved from Historiesiglo20.org
3. Weitsman, Patricia A. Dangerous Alliances: Proponents of Peace, Weapons of War. Recovered from books.google.es
4. Cezara, Anton. How did the Triple Entente manage to win the Great War ?. Retrieved from historia.ro
5. Trueland, Elizabeth. International Co-Operation and Conflict 1890s-1920s. Recovered from books.google.es
6. TeInteres. The triple alliance against the triple entente: this is how Europe came to the First World War. Obtained from teinteresa.es
7. Simkin, John. Triple Entente. Retrieved from spartacus-educational.com
8. The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Triple Alliance And Triple Entente. Retrieved from encyclopedia.com