{"id":812,"date":"2017-06-12T18:10:14","date_gmt":"2017-06-12T18:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/?p=812"},"modified":"2026-04-23T08:13:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T08:13:55","slug":"allied-powers-of-world-war-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/allied-powers-of-world-war-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Allied Powers of\u00a0World War I: A Detailed Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Allied Powers of\u00a0World War I<\/a>\u00a0included some of the most powerful nations at the time, including France<\/a>, Russia<\/a>, and the\u00a0United Kingdom (Britain<\/a>).\u00a0 Other nations joined the war alongside the Allied Powers such as: Belgium, Greece,\u00a0Italy<\/a>, Japan, Serbia, and the\u00a0United States<\/a>.\u00a0 World War I first began in 1914 from a series of important causes<\/a> that included the\u00a0assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand<\/a>.\u00a0 The fighting continued until 1918 and saw the Allied Powers face off against the\u00a0Central Powers\u00a0in battlefields across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.\u00a0 The main nations of the Central Powers<\/a> of World War I included:\u00a0Austria-Hungary<\/a>,\u00a0Germany<\/a>, the\u00a0Ottoman Empire<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Bulgaria<\/a>.\u00a0 Many of the most notable battles between the Allied Powers and the Central Powers occurred on the two fronts in Europe, which included the\u00a0Western Front<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Eastern Front<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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TRIPLE ENTENTE AND THE START OF WORLD WAR I<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the years before World War I first began, Europe was divided by two different alliance systems, which included the\u00a0Triple Entente<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Triple Alliance<\/a>.\u00a0 The Triple Alliance was made up of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy, while the Triple Entente was made up of France, Russia and the United Kingdom.\u00a0 In general, the Triple Entente was an informal agreement between the different member nations.\u00a0 The French term \u2018entente\u2019 means agreement or friendship, thus showing that the Triple Entente was an agreement of mutual support for the member nations.\u00a0 With that said, the Triple Entente was not necessarily a true military alliance as was its counterpart \u2013 the Triple Alliance.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Map of the European Alliances Before World War I, including the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. (Created by historycrunch.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The member nations of the Triple Entente maintained their loyalty with one another and when war broke out in 1914, the three nations entered World War I as the Allied Powers.  The Allied Powers of World War I faced off against the Central Powers, which included the member nations of the Triple Alliance.  The only significant change was the allegiance of Italy.  Italy, which had previously been a member of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary flipped sides and instead joined the Allied Powers in World War I.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event that sparked the creation of the Allied Powers was the\u00a0assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand<\/a>\u00a0on June 28th, 1914.\u00a0 Pro-Serbian nationalists killed Ferdinand<\/a> and his wife Sophie in the city of Sarajevo.\u00a0 The assassination of Ferdinand obviously angered Austria-Hungary and caused them to threaten the government of Serbia. \u00a0In response, Russia came to the defense of Serbia.\u00a0 Russia did this as part of its larger movement for\u00a0Pan-Slavism.\u00a0 Pan-Slavism<\/a> was the theory that supported the promotion of all Slavic people of which Russians and Serbians were both.\u00a0 As such, Russia wanted to support the Serbians against Austro-Hungarian aggression because Russia viewed Serbians as sharing a similar ethnic heritage.\u00a0 After Russia came to the defense of Serbia, Germany pledged its support to Austria-Hungary in the form of a \u2018blank check\u2019, meaning Germany was offering Austria-Hungary its unlimited support.\u00a0 This act by Germany caused an alliance between Russia and France to take effect and both France and Britain were pulled into the conflict in support of Russia.\u00a0 As such, the Allied Powers of World War I were established and faced off against the Central Powers in a brutal and devastating war.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The assassination of Franz Ferdinand artwork by Achille Beltrame from an Italian newspaper. It shows Gavrilo Princip killing Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo. (1914)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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MAIN ALLIED POWERS OF WORLD WAR I<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As stated above, the main Allied Powers of World War I was France, Russia, and the United Kingdom (Britain).\u00a0 Also significant, but to a lesser extent, were the contributions of Italy and Japan.\u00a0 These five nations combined to represent most of the Allied response in World War I.\u00a0 It\u2019s also important to note that many of the colonies of the large European Allied Powers also participated in the fighting of World War I.\u00a0 For instance, both France and Britain has vast empires that included colonies in North America, Africa and Asia.\u00a0 As such, there were Canadian<\/a>, Indian and Australian<\/a> forces who fought as part of the Allied Powers in World War I Battles, due to them being colonies in the British Empire.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Victorious Canadians after the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917. (Archives of Canada) (Colorized by historycrunch.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Each of the main Allied Powers of World War I differed greatly in terms of their resources and military capabilities.  For example, Britain and France had vast colonies from which they could gather more soldiers and resources, while others such as Italy and Russia had little or no colonies.  As well, due to its vast empire, Britain also had the largest and most powerful navy on the planet.  While France also had a capable naval force, its real power rested in its large mobilized army.  For example, before World War I began in 1914, France had a force of over 3.5 million soldiers ready for battle.  This was due in part to the arms race that France and Germany competed in during the decade before.  On the other hand, Russia was a large but weak nation at the outbreak of war in 1914. The largest nation-state involved in World War I and the largest in the world, Russia had many natural resources but lacked the ability to use them properly.  Not only was it the largest country but it also had the largest population at nearly 160 million people.  With that said, Russia struggled to match the industrial output of other European nations and struggled to properly equip the 1.2 million Russian soldiers with weapons when they went off to the frontlines in 1914.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Russian soldiers in World War I on the Eastern Front.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Before the start of World War I, Italy was actually a member nation of the Triple Alliance, alongside Germany and Austria-Hungary.  However, at the start of the war in 1914, Italy remained neutral and eventually joined the Allied Powers in 1915.  This was significant for the Allied nations because it weakened the fighting capabilities of the Central Powers and helped force Austria-Hungary to devote a certain portion of their forces to fight Italy along their shared border.  By the end of the war Italy had mobilized over 5.6 million soldiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While not a European power, where much of the fighting of World War I occurred, Japan was still an important member of the Allied Powers.  In fact, in 1914 Japan was a major industrial leader and had significant military capabilities.  This is due in part to Japan\u2019s earlier period of modernization, which saw it model itself after several of the major European powers.  Japan\u2019s role in World War I was established based upon the Anglo-Japanese Alliance.  This alliance was agreed to by both Japan and Britain on January 30th, 1902.  As such, Japan entered the fighting of World War I on the side of the Allied Powers.  With that said, Japan\u2019s role in World War I was limited to carrying out military operations in the Far East.  For instance, much of Japan\u2019s military actions were centered on China, which Japan sought to expand its influence over.  As well, Japanese forces worked to limit German influence in the region, as aid to the European Allied Powers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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OTHER ALLIED POWERS OF WORLD WAR I<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Besides the main Allied Powers of World War I (France, Russia, United Kingdom) there were also a number of other \u2018affiliated\u2019 Allied Powers.  These included smaller nations that participated in the fighting of World War I but to a much lesser degree.  The main affiliated Allied Powers of World War I included: Belgium, Greece, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia.  These nations played a significant role in the events of World War I and together they mobilized over 1.5 million soldiers for the war effort.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also of note was the role that the\u00a0United States<\/a>\u00a0played in the later events of World War I.\u00a0 While not officially an Allied Power, the United States fought alongside the Allied Powers beginning in 1917 when the country entered the war.\u00a0 The contributions of the United States were important for the Allied victory.\u00a0This is because, just over a year later in 1918, Russia withdrew from World War I after undergoing the events of the Russian Revolution.\u00a0 This removed an important member of the Allied Powers.\u00a0 As well, the United States had not fought in World War I before 1917, which meant that American soldiers came into the fighting of the war without having suffered in the trenches throughout the earlier years of the war.\u00a0 This meant that the American soldiers of World War I were not \u2018beaten down\u2019 by their experiences as were the French and British soldiers.\u00a0 Also, the United States committed millions of soldiers to the war effort, with over 4.3 million soldiers mobilized.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Two American soldiers advance towards a German bunker in World War I. (Colorized by historycrunch.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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MAJOR BATTLES OF THE ALLIED POWERS OF WORLD WAR I<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As stated previously, the Allied Powers of World War I participated in many significant battles.\u00a0 Most of the battles were focused along the\u00a0Western Front\u00a0and\u00a0Eastern Front, but several others also occurred in the Balkans and the Far East.\u00a0 The Western Front<\/a> refers to a line of trenches<\/a> that stretched along the eastern border of France.\u00a0 Along this line of trenches, several major battles were fought primarily by the Allied Powers of France and Britain.\u00a0 Some of the most important battles of the Western Front included:\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n