Triple Alliance: what was it, countries, context

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THE Triple Alliance was a military alliance signed by Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy on May 20, 1882. This agreement was part of the strategy of these three nations, but above all of the German government, to isolate the French and Russians on the European continent. The treaty was intended to prevent the European continent from going to war.

This pact was part of the complex policy of diplomatic agreements established by the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Bismarck's dismissal in 1890 caused this policy to be dismantled, making German foreign policy more aggressive. This directly contributed to the formation of the Triple Entente, which united France, Great Britain, and Russia.

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Topics of this article

  • 1 - Summary on the Triple Alliance
  • 2 - What was the Triple Alliance?
  • 3 - Context of the Triple Alliance
    • German motivations for the formation of the Triple Alliance
    • Austrian motivations for the formation of the Triple Alliance
    • Italian motivations for the formation of the Triple Alliance
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  • 4 - World War I

Overview of the Triple Alliance

  • The Triple Alliance was an agreement that established a military alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy.

  • The agreement was signed on May 20, 1882, considered an evolution of the Dual Alliance, existing between Germany and Austria-Hungary.

  • The main objectives of this pact were to isolate French and Russians and prevent a new war in Europe.

  • From the 1890s, German foreign policy became more aggressive, which encouraged the formation of the Triple Entente, formed by Russia, France and Great Britain.

  • In 1914, Italy was summoned to join the Entente, and negotiations resulted in it leaving the Triple Alliance the following year.

What was the Triple Alliance?

Triple Alliance is the name by which we know a treaty signed between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy in May 20, 1882. This treaty corresponded to a military agreement between the nations and was periodically renewed until its expiration in 1915. It was considered an expansion of the Dual Alliance, the alliance that had existed between Germany and Austria-Hungary since 1879.

One of the objectives of this agreement was combat the influence of Russia and France in Europe, countries that were rivals of the three nations that were part of the Triple Alliance. The signing of the treaty uniting the three nations was public knowledge, although the clauses that formed it were kept secret.

Another objective was prevent the growth of rivalry in Europe and prevent that the continent get into war. However, the effect of these agreements was the opposite, as they contributed to the intensification of relations and the eventual beginning of the war in 1914.

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Through this pact, the three member countries of the Triple Alliance pledged to provide mutual cooperation if they were attacked by any European power. THE German and Austrian government pledged to help the Italians if Italy were attacked by France without any kind of provocation that would justify a war.

The Italian government also assured that it would remain neutral if Austria-Hungary went to war with Russia. This was an important guarantee, as it allowed Austria-Hungary to withdraw troops from its territory's border with Italy to sustain a conflict against the Russians.

Furthermore, the Italian government received a promise from the German government that it would support the demands that the Italians made about obtaining possible colonies in North Africa. In return, the Italian government assured that it would maintain friendly relations with the German government. Finally, the Austrian government agreed to overcome the rivalry it had with Italy due to border disputes between the two nations.

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Context of the Triple Alliance

The signing of the Triple Alliance was result of the policy of agreements promoted by the German government through its chancellor Otto von Bismarck, in order to protect the European continent from a possible conflict. Europe was experiencing a period of peace, but the escalation of tensions was evident across the continent.

The belligerent powers that were allying or competing with each other were the great European nations. from the turn of the 19th to the 20th century: France, Russia, Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, Germany and Italy. The tensions between them destroyed any diplomatic effort that existed to avoid a major battle between European nations, such as those that took place during the Napoleonic period.

  • German motivations for the formation of the Triple Alliance

In the case of Germany, there was a growing concern as for possibility that the French would seek revenge on the Germans in a future war as a result of the way in which the Franco-WarPrussian. Thus, assuming military treaties with other European nations would be a way of guaranteeing the diplomatic isolation of the French, which would weaken the possibility of a war in France.

Furthermore, there was a rivalry between the German and Russian governments on account of the racial question and the growing radius of Russian influence over the LThis one ANDeuropean, particularly in the Balkan region. The German government considered Slavism (expansion of Russian interests) a major threat to Germanism (expansion of German interests).

Historian Max Hastings reports evidence that members of the German government treated a possible war between Germans and Russians as a race war.1| Furthermore, the Russian government itself treated the rivalry between the two nations as part of a historic struggle between Slavism and Germanism.2|

The German position in this tangle of diplomatic relations between European nations was complex. Thus, even despising and having great rivalry with a certain nation, the Germans, through Otto von Bismarck, sought to ensure the consolidation of diplomatic and military alliances.

In that regard, even with the growing rivalry with the Russians, the German government maintained an alliance with them. This agreement also existed during the Triple Alliance period and was called the League of the Three Emperors. The pact involved Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia, running from 1873 to 1878 and from 1884 to 1887.

Growing rivalry between Austrians and Russians caused the agreement to cease to exist in the late 1880s. In the following decade, the Russians approached the French through the Franco-Russian Alliance. With this agreement, the Germans tried to stop the Russians and French from approaching, which we have already seen failed.

The Germans even tried to maintain their policy of rapprochement with Russia, although there was the aforementioned rivalry between the nations. In 1887, Germany and Russia signed a diplomatic agreement known as the Reinsurance Treaty., certifying that both parties would remain neutral if one of the two nations went to war with any power.

This agreement had exceptions and would not be valid if the Germans attacked France or if the Russians attacked Austria-Hungary. Finally, as a guarantee of their alliance, the Germans agreed to support the expansion of Russian interests into Bulgarian territory. With the deposition of Otto von Bismarck in 1890, this agreement lost strength and was not renewed.

  • Austrian motivations for the formation of the Triple Alliance

German concern about Russian advances in the Balkans motivated the Treaty of Berlin, a diplomatic agreement that reorganized the map of region and guaranteed the independence of Romania, Serbia and Montenegro in order to weaken Russian influence in these locations. This treaty also guaranteed the cession of Bosnia to Austria-Hungary.

This reinforced the importance of the Balkan question, since the great German allies, the Austrians, fought a direct fight for the control of the Balkans. The Austrians feared that the advance of Russian influence in the region would lead to the fragmentation of their territory, as part of it was occupied by Austria-Hungary.

THE alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary was secured through the Dual Alliance, military agreement between the two nations that preceded the formation of the Triple Alliance. This treaty, signed in 1879, consisted of an alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary against a possible attack promoted by the Russians.

Furthermore, the countries guaranteed to assume a position of neutrality in case they were attacked by another power, and that is understood as a direct concern of Germany to keep the Austrians out of an eventual conflict against the France.

  • Italian motivations for the formation of the Triple Alliance

There was a concern in Italy regarding the France, and the rivalry between the two nations was the result of the imperialist disputes fought by European nations at the turn of the 19th century to the 20th century. The Italians' imperialist ambitions in North Africa had been thwarted by the French, and this turned into a fierce rivalry between the two European nations.

Joining Germans and Austrians, the Italywould guarantee your military protection if attacked by the French. However, Italy was never considered a reliable ally by Germans and Austrians, so much so that the historian David Stevenson considers that the alliance that united Italy, Germany and Austria-Hungary was “loose”.|3|

Read too: Nationalisms as a stimulus for the outbreak of the First World War

First World War

In 1914, the First World Warbegan thanks à escalation in tension in the Balkans, fruit of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The crisis that began between Austria-Hungary and Serbia over the attack dragged the European continent into the conflict. With the beginning of the conflict, Italy assumed a position of neutrality and remained so until 1915.

In mid-1914, diplomatic relations were established between the members of the Triple Entente (Russia, Great Britain and France) so that Italy would side with them in the conflict. The negotiations caused Italy to switch sides, abandoning the Triple Alliance and joining the Triple Entente. On May 3, 1915, Italy declared war on members of the Triple Alliance..

Ultimately, the formation of the Triple Entente was a result of the growing hostility of German foreign policy. This happened after the German Emperor Wilhelm II dismissed Otto von Bismarck as chancellor. The increase in German naval power came to be seen as a threat in Europe, especially by the British. Furthermore, the rise of German imperialist ambitions reinforced Germany's hostility towards Britain and France. So, Britain, France, and Russia eventually merged to form the Triple Entente..

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Grades

|1| HASTINGS, Max. Catastrophe — 1914: the world goes to war. Rio de Janeiro: Intrinsic, 2014, p. 47.

|2| Ditto, p. 49.

|3| STEVENSON, David. The History of World War I — Part I: The Deflagration. Barueri: New Century, 2016 p. 13.

Image credits:

[1] Everett Collection and shutterstock

By Daniel Neves Silva
History teacher

Teachs.ru
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