Triple Alliance and Entente. Entente and Triple Alliance - history of creation, goals, composition Russia's accession to the Entente

The beginning of the last century was marked by a sharp aggravation of contradictions between the world's major powers. The main rivalry flared up between England and Germany, who headed the opposing military-political blocs: the Entente and the Triple Alliance.

Back in 1904, an agreement was reached between Paris and London, which discussed the elimination of controversial territorial issues between them - the delimitation of their spheres of interest in Africa. Although it did not say anything about Germany, the agreement was essentially directed against it, since Berlin began to openly declare the need to redivide the world. And this created a threat to the colonial possessions of London and Paris. German claims against England and France pushed Paris to strengthen ties with Russia and forced British diplomacy to achieve the same, especially since St. Petersburg’s mediation in the settlement was required controversial issues in the Asian region to delimit spheres of influence.

SPLITTLE BETWEEN RUSSIA AND GERMANY

Other problems in the world have also worsened. Japan expressed complaints about the terms of the Portsmouth Peace. Austro-Hungarian and German capital broke through to Turkey. Berlin strove to undermine England's dominance in the seas and intensively strengthened the power of its naval forces. An arms race began.

In 1907, on the initiative of Russia, the second international Hague Conference was held, in which 44 states participated. It adopted 13 conventions, including: on the limitation of arms, on the introduction of arbitration for the peaceful resolution of international conflicts, on the laws and conditions of warfare, etc.

In the ruling circles of Russia, the assessment of current events (especially in relation to Germany) was contradictory. It should be noted that Berlin actively sought to draw Russia into the wake of its policy, to split it international unions. So, in 1905, during a meeting between Nicholas II and Wilhelm II in Bjerke, the Kaiser persuaded the Tsar to sign (secretly from the then Foreign Minister V.N. Lamzdorf) an agreement containing obligations of Russia and Germany on mutual assistance in the event of an attack on one of the contracting parties to any European power. Despite the extreme indignation of Wilhelm II, the Bjork Agreement, which was in conflict with the alliance treaty with France, did not have any practical results and was essentially annulled by Russia in the fall of 1905. The logic of the development of international relations ultimately pushed the autocracy towards the Entente.

Russia's transition to the camp of Germany's opponents became apparent, but not immediately. Appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs A.P. Izvolsky sought to achieve rapprochement with England without breaking relations with Germany. To do this, he planned to conclude agreements on the most pressing issues with both Germany and Austria-Hungary, and with England. At the same time, Izvolsky intended to regulate relations with Japan. This policy allowed Russia to gain the respite necessary to solve internal problems, restore its military potential, and was supposed to provide it with an advantageous position in the emerging Anglo-German conflict.

JAPAN'S CLAIMS

After the signing of the Portsmouth Peace, relations between Russia and Japan remained tense. Tokyo made a number of demands aimed at expanding its influence in the Far East to the detriment of Russian interests. Militarist circles in Japan believed that “peace was concluded prematurely” and sought new conquests in the Far East, primarily the complete annexation of Korea and Southern Manchuria. They began to increase the army and navy. There were also calls for revenge in Russia. And Germany fueled these sentiments and pushed both countries towards a new military conflict. At the same time, Berlin promised Russia its help and put forward the idea of ​​a German-Russian-American coalition against Japan. Having entered into negotiations with Russia, Tokyo presented it with demands to expand the sphere of its influence along the Songhua River in Manchuria, up to the inclusion of the Chinese Eastern Railway in this sphere, as well as free navigation along the Amur, preferential transportation of goods through Siberia and virtually unlimited freedom fishing along the Far Eastern coast of Russia.

In 1907, a Russian-Japanese agreement on political issues was signed. The parties agreed to maintain the “status quo” in the Far East. Northern Manchuria and Outer Mongolia were recognized as the sphere of influence of Russia, and Southern Manchuria and Korea were recognized as the sphere of influence of Japan.

BOSNIA CRISIS

In 1908, Izvolsky, during negotiations with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria-Hungary A. Erenthal, agreed to the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, occupied by the Austrians after the Berlin Congress, to Austria-Hungary. In exchange, he received Aehrenthal's promise not to object to the opening of the Black Sea straits to Russian military vessels. However, England and France did not support the claims of tsarist diplomacy. Izvolsky's attempt to solve the problem of the straits failed. Austria-Hungary, meanwhile, announced the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Germany sent an ultimatum to Russia in March 1909, demanding recognition of this act. The tsarist government, realizing that it was not ready for a decisive objection, was forced to yield.

BALKAN WARS

The prologue to the First World War was the Balkan wars of 1912-1913. Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece, united as a result of the active efforts of Russian diplomacy, began a war against Turkey and defeated it. The winners soon quarreled with each other. Germany and Austria-Hungary, considering the formation of the Balkan Union as a success of Russian diplomacy, took steps aimed at its collapse and pushed Bulgaria to act against Serbia and Greece. During the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria, against which they began fighting also Romania and Türkiye were defeated. All these events significantly aggravated Russian-German and Russian-Austrian contradictions. Türkiye became more and more subject to German influence.

THE BEGINNING OF THE ENTENTE

The Russian government, realizing the country's unpreparedness for war and fearing (in case of defeat) a new revolution, sought to delay the armed conflict with Germany and Austria-Hungary. At the same time, in the face of a progressive deterioration in relations with its western neighbors, it tried to formalize allied relations with England. These attempts were unsuccessful, since London did not want to bind itself to any obligations. The allied relations between Russia and France by 1914, however, had strengthened significantly. In 1911-1913, at meetings of the chiefs of the Russian and French general staffs, decisions were made that provided for an increase in the number of troops deployed against Germany in the event of war. The naval headquarters of England and France concluded a naval convention that entrusted the protection of the Atlantic coast of France to the English fleet, and the protection of England's interests in the Mediterranean to the French. The Entente as a coalition of England, France and Russia, directed against the Triple Alliance, was becoming a threatening reality.

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The formation of opposing blocs took place over a number of years. Their configuration changed under the influence of the dynamics of foreign policy contradictions.

Triple Alliance- a military-political unification of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy - was created back in 1882. However, distinct forms of bloc confrontation emerged during local armed conflicts at the turn of the century. These were the first wars for the redistribution of territories: the Spanish-American War (1898), the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). The Moroccan crises, the Balkan wars, and national liberation revolutions in a number of colonial and semi-colonial countries had no less active influence on the formation of the system of bloc confrontation.

At the time of the signing of the Entente Cordiale (Entente Cordiale) by England and France, Russia was at war with Japan. Before signing the treaty with France, England had already concluded a military-political alliance with Japan directed against Russia, thus the Anglo-French alliance was directed mainly against Germany. In the current conditions, Germany tried to take advantage of the Russo-Japanese War to weaken Russia’s political and economic positions, but at the same time took into account the danger of the emerging alliance between England and France, inclining Russia towards an alliance. This was evidenced by the meeting between German Kaiser Wilhelm II and Russian Emperor Nicholas II in the summer of 1905.

The further aggravation of contradictions between Germany, France and England served First Moroccan Crisis 1905-1906 At the Algeciras (Spain) conference on the problem of Morocco, France received strong support not only from England, but also from Russia, which was a step towards Russia’s entry into the Entente. A member of the Triple Alliance - Italy - also supported France, recognizing its claims to Morocco, thereby moving away from Germany and Austria-Hungary.

A year after graduation Russo-Japanese War England, taking into account the emerging imbalance of power in the East and the growing hostility on the part of Germany, signed an agreement with Russia, which determined the spheres of influence of the two countries in Iran, Afghanistan, Northeast China and Tibet.

The agreement between England and Russia finally formalized the bloc Entente.

Steady growth of power navy Germany led to increased confrontation with the first naval power in the world - England.

The main epicenter of controversy on the eve of the First World War was Balkans, where the interests of not only the great Jaw villages, but also the small peoples inhabiting this

region. Traditionally oriented towards Russia, Bulgaria and Serbia in 1912 concluded an alliance treaty with a number of secret annexes, which provided for a joint armed action in the event of a violation of their sovereignty, as well as attempts to partition Macedonia. This treaty was directed primarily against Austria-Hungary and Turkey. Greece and Montenegro soon joined him, forming a broad coalition that went down in history as Balkan Union.

In the autumn of 1912 it began First Balkan War created a military-political union with Turkey. The reason for the war was the anti-Turkish uprising in Albania and Macedonia and Turkey's refusal to grant autonomy to Macedonia. Intervention in the conflict of the great powers (Austria-Hungary, Russia and

Since the collective security system ceased to exist, each country began to look for an ally. France was the first to begin this search. After the Franco-Prussian War, on its eastern border there were now not several dozen German monarchies independent from each other, but a single empire, surpassing France in population and economic power. In addition, France was forced to transfer its territories to the enemy: the province of Alsace and a third of the province of Lorraine. This gave Germany a strategic advantage: it had access to the plain of Northern France in its hands. From this moment, realizing the impossibility of a one-on-one fight, France itself begins an active search for allies to balance the power of the new Germany.

German Chancellor Bismarck, who did more than anyone else to unify the country, saw the main goal of his diplomacy in preventing an alliance of France with other great powers. He understood how vulnerable the position of the German Empire was, which, unlike France, was surrounded on three sides by great powers: Austria-Hungary, Russia and France itself. An alliance of the latter with any of the remaining two exposed Germany to the prospect of a war on two fronts, which Bismarck considered a direct road to defeat.

Triple Alliance

A way out of this situation was found along the lines of rapprochement with Austria-Hungary. The latter, in turn, entering into increasingly intense rivalry with Russia in the Balkans, needed an ally.

Consolidating this rapprochement, Germany and Austria-Hungary signed a treaty in 1879, under which they pledged to support each other in the event of an attack by the Russian Empire. Italy joined the alliance of these states, which was looking for support in the conflict with France over control of North Africa.

In 1882 the Triple Alliance was created. Germany and Italy assumed obligations of mutual assistance in the event of an attack by France, and Italy, in addition, promised Austria-Hungary neutrality in the event of a conflict with Russia. Bismarck also hoped that Russia would refrain from conflict with Germany due to close economic, dynastic and traditional political ties with it and the reluctance of the Russian emperor to enter into an alliance with republican, democratic France.

In 1904, they settled all mutual claims that arose in connection with the colonial division of the world and established “cordial agreement” among themselves. In French it sounds “Entente Cordial”, hence the Russian name for this alliance - Entente. Russia signed a military convention with France back in 1893. In 1907, she settled all her differences with England and actually joined the Entente.

Features of new unions

This is how unexpected and strange alliances developed. France and England have been enemies since the Hundred Years' War, Russia and France - since the revolution of 1789. The Entente united the two most democratic states in Europe - England and France - with autocratic Russia.

Two traditional allies of Russia - Austria and Germany - found themselves in the camp of its enemies. The alliance of Italy with its yesterday's oppressor and the main enemy of the unification - Austria-Hungary, on whose territory the Italian population also remained, also looked strange. The Austrian Habsburgs and the Prussian Hohenzollerns, who had been vying for control of Germany for centuries, found themselves in the same coalition, while blood relatives, cousins, William II on the one hand, Nicholas II and King Edward VII of Great Britain, his wife, were in opposing alliances.

Thus, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, two opposing coalitions emerged in Europe - the Triple Alliance and the Entente. The rivalry between them was accompanied by an arms race.

The creation of coalitions in itself was not unusual in European politics. Let us remember, for example, that the largest wars of the 18th century - the Northern and the Seven Years - were fought by coalitions, as were the wars against Napoleonic France in the 19th century.

The Entente and the Triple Alliance are military-political associations, each of which pursued its own interests; they were opposing forces during the First World War.

The Entente is a political union of three friendly states - Russia, England and France, created in 1895.

Unlike the Triple Alliance, which was a military bloc even before the Entente, it became a full-fledged military association only when gun shots thundered over Europe in 1914. It was in this year that England, France and Russia signed an agreement under which they committed themselves not to enter into agreements with their opponents.

The Triple Alliance emerged from Austria-Hungary in 1879. A little later, namely in 1882, they were joined by Italy, which completed the process of formation of this military-political bloc. He played a significant role in creating the situations that led to the outbreak of the First World War. In accordance with the clauses of the agreement, signed for a five-year period, the countries participating in this agreement pledged not to participate in actions directed against one of them and to provide all possible support for each other. According to their agreement, all three parties were to serve as so-called “backers.” In the event of an attack on Italy, Germany and Austria-Hungary became its reliable defense. In the case of Germany, its supporters, Italy and Austria-Hungary, who were a trump card in the event of Russian participation in military operations.

The Triple Alliance was concluded on a secret basis and with minor reservations on the part of Italy. Since she did not want to enter into conflict relations with Great Britain, she warned her allies not to count on her support if any of them were attacked by Great Britain.

The creation of the Triple Alliance served as an impetus for the formation of a counterweight in the form of the Entente, which included France, Russia and Great Britain. It was this confrontation that led to the outbreak of the First World War.

The Triple Alliance lasted until 1915, since Italy already participated in military operations on the side of the Entente. This redistribution of forces was preceded by the neutrality of this country in relations between Germany and France, with which it was not beneficial for the “native” to spoil relations.

The Triple Alliance was eventually replaced by a Quadruple Alliance, in which Italy was replaced by the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.

The Entente and the Triple Alliance were extremely interested in the territory of the Balkan Peninsula, the Near Peninsula and Germany wanted to capture part of France and its colonies; Austria-Hungary needed control of the Balkans; England pursued the goal of weakening Germany's position, securing a global market monopoly, and also maintaining naval power; France dreamed of returning the territories of Alsace and Lorraine taken away during the Franco-Prussian War; Russia wanted to take root in the Balkans and seize the western

The greatest number of contradictions were associated with the Balkan Peninsula. Both the first and second blocs wanted to strengthen their positions in this region. The struggle began with peaceful diplomatic methods, accompanied by parallel preparation and strengthening of the countries' military forces. Germany and Austria-Hungary actively took up the modernization of troops. Russia was the least prepared.

The event that served and prompted the start of hostilities was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Serbia by a student. A shot at a moving car hit not only Ferdinand, but also his wife. On July 15, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia...

A well-known example of confrontation between political blocs in the international arena is the clash of large countries during the 1900s.

During the period of tension before the events of the First World War, powerful players on the world stage banded together to dictate their policies and have an advantage in deciding foreign policy issues. In response, an alliance was created, which was supposed to become a counterweight in these events.

Thus begins the history of confrontation, the basis of which was the Entente and the Triple Alliance. Another name is Antanta or Entente (translated as “heartfelt agreement”).

Countries participating in the Triple Alliance

The international military bloc, which was initially formed to strengthen hegemony, included the following list of countries (see table):

1. Germany- played a key role in the formation of the alliance, concluding the first military agreement.
2. Austria-Hungary- the second participant to join the German Empire.
3. Italy– joined the union last.

A little later, after the events of World War I, Italy was withdrawn from the bloc, but nevertheless the coalition did not disintegrate, but on the contrary, it additionally included the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.

Creation of the Triple Alliance

The history of the Triple Alliance begins with an allied agreement between the German Empire and Austria-Hungary - these events took place in the Austrian city of Vienna in 1879.

The main point of the agreement was the obligation to enter into hostilities on the side of an ally if aggression was carried out by the Russian Empire.

In addition, the pact stipulated the requirement that a neutral party be observed if the allies were attacked by someone other than Russia.

At the same time, Germany was worried about the growing position of France in the international arena. Therefore, Otto von Bismarck was looking for ways that would push France into isolation.

Favorable conditions arose in 1882, when the Austrian Habsburgs were involved in negotiations, which played a decisive role in Italy's decision.

The secret alliance between Italy and the Germany-Austria-Hungary bloc consisted of providing military support in the event of military aggression by France, as well as maintaining neutrality in the event of an attack on one of the countries participating in the coalition.

Goals of the Triple Alliance in World War I

The main goal of the Triple Alliance on the eve of the war was the creation of a military-political coalition that, in its power, would oppose the alliance of the Russian Empire, Great Britain and France (opponents).

However, the participating countries also pursued their own goals:

1. The German Empire, due to its rapidly growing economy, needed as many resources as possible and, as a result, more colonies. The Germans also had claims to redistribute spheres of influence in the world, aimed at creating German hegemony.
2. The goals of Austria-Hungary were to establish control over the Balkan Peninsula. For the most part, the matter was carried out for the sake of capturing Serbia and some other Slavic countries.
3. The Italian side had territorial claims on Tunisia, and also sought to secure its access to the Mediterranean Sea, bringing it under its absolute control.

Entente - who was part of it and how it was formed

After the formation of the Triple Alliance, the distribution of forces in the international arena changed dramatically and led to a clash of colonial interests between England and the German Empire.

Expansion in the Middle East and Africa prompted Britain to become more active, and they began negotiations for a military agreement with the Russian Empire and France.

The definition of the Entente began in 1904, when France and Great Britain entered into a pact, according to which all colonial claims on the African issue were transferred under its protectorate.

At the same time, obligations for military support were confirmed only between France and the Russian Empire, while England in every possible way avoided such confirmation.

The emergence of this military-political bloc made it possible to level out differences between the major powers and make them more capable of resisting the aggression of the Triple Alliance.

Russia's accession to the Entente

The events that marked the beginning of the Russian Empire's involvement in the Entente bloc occurred in 1892.

It was then that a powerful military agreement was concluded with France, according to which, in the event of any aggression, the ally country would withdraw all available armed forces for mutual assistance.

At the same time, by 1906, tensions between Russia and Japan were growing, caused by negotiations on the Portsmouth Treaty. This could provoke Russia's loss of some Far Eastern territories.

Understanding these facts, Foreign Minister Izvolsky set a course for rapprochement with Great Britain. This was a favorable move in history, since England and Japan were allies, and the agreement could resolve mutual claims.

The success of Russian diplomacy was the signing of the Russo-Japanese Agreement in 1907, according to which all territorial issues were settled. This significantly influenced the acceleration of negotiations with England - the date August 31, 1907 marked the conclusion of the Russian-English agreement.

This fact was the final one, after which Russia finally joined the Entente.

The final formation of the Entente

The final events that completed the formation of the Entente bloc were the signing of mutual agreements between England and France to resolve colonial issues in Africa.

This included the following documents:

1. The territories of Egypt and Morocco were divided.
2. The borders of England and France in Africa were clearly separated. Newfoundland completely went to Britain, France received part of the new territories in Africa.
3. Settlement of the Madagascar issue.

These documents formed a bloc of alliances between the Russian Empire, Great Britain and France.

Entente plans in the First World War

The main goal of the Entente on the eve of the First World War (1915) was to suppress Germany's military superiority, which was planned to be implemented from several sides. This is, first of all, a war on two fronts with Russia and France, as well as a complete naval blockade by England.

At the same time, the members of the agreement had a personal interest:

1. England had claims to the rapidly and confidently growing German economy, the rate of production of which had a suppressive effect on the English economy. In addition, Britain saw the German Empire as a military threat to its sovereignty.
2. France sought to regain the territories of Alsace and Lorraine lost during the Franco-Prussian conflict. These lands were also important to the economy due to the abundance of resources.
3. Tsarist Russia pursued its goals of spreading influence over the important economic zone of the Mediterranean and settling territorial claims on a number of Polish lands and territories in the Balkans.

The results of the confrontation between the Entente and the Triple Alliance

The results of the confrontation following the First World War were the complete defeat of the Triple Alliance- Italy was lost, and the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires, which were part of the union, disintegrated. The system was destroyed in Germany, where a republic reigned.

For the Russian Empire, participation in the Entente and the First World War ended in civil clashes and revolution, which led to the collapse of the empire.