Pre-World War I Alliances Macdonald World History
Triple Alliance (Central Powers) Germany beat France in Franco-Prussian War Believed France wanted revenge for losing war, so tried to isolate France by surrounding it with countries that favored Germany Austria-Hungary Joined Germany against b/c shared nationalistic characteristics w/ Germany
Triple Alliance (Central Powers) Italy Joined b/c mad at France b/c stopped them from occupying Tunis in Africa Russia Germany asked to join to remove ally from France Later new German ruler Kaiser Wilhelm II didn’t renew treaty w/ Russia b/c didn’t want to share power w/ another powerful nation
Triple Entente (Allied Powers) France Mistrustful of Germany, so wanted to form alliance Russia Mad at Germany for not renewing treaty, so joined w/ France Great Britain Worried that Germany’s navy would be more powerful than theirs after Kaiser Wilhelm II started to build it up