Central Powers
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The Central Powers (German: "Mittelmächte"; Hungarian: "Központi hatalmak"; Turkish: "İttifak Devletleri"; Bulgarian: "Централни сили") was one of the two sides that participated in World War I, the other being the Entente.
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[edit] Member states
The Central Powers consisted of the German Empire, the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Bulgaria. The name "Central Powers" is derived from the location of these countries.
All four were located between the Russian Empire in the east and the French Third Republic and the United Kingdom in the west. The alliances made between these four nations were a result of Germany's inability to gain power on the "world stage". The Germans then decided to focus on creating an alliance of Mitteleuropa, which means Central Europe. The Balkans were originally desired as members of this alliance, but as the Balkans formed separate, autonomous states this was deemed impossible.
Allies
Allied colonies, dominions, territories or occupied territory
Central powers
Central powers colonies or occupied territory
Neutral countries
The Central Powers were composed of these nations:
Austro-Hungarian Empire
German Empire (including German colonial forces)
Ottoman Empire
Kingdom of Bulgaria
[edit] Italy
On 7 October 1879, Germany and Austria-Hungary became allies. On 20 May 1882, they were joined by the Kingdom of Italy in what was known as the "Triple Alliance." This alliance was intended to be limited to defensive purposes only.[1][2]
When World War I began, the petition made by Germany and Austria-Hungary for Italian intervention was rejected by the Italian Government on the grounds of these two countries declaring war on the Kingdom of Serbia, rather than taking defensive action against it.
Italy eventually entered World War I on May 23, 1915, but it fought against Germany and Austria-Hungary rather than with them, because of the land promised them in the Treaty of London made with France and Britain. This treaty promised Italy land in Asia Minor, Africa, the Balkans and others.[3]
[edit] Ottoman Empire joins
Following the outbreak of war in Europe during August 1914, the Ottoman Empire intervened at the end of October by taking action against Russia, resulting in declarations of war by the Triple Entente.
[edit] Bulgaria joins
Bulgaria, still resentful after its defeat in July 1913 at the hands of Serbia, Greece, Romania and the Ottoman Empire, was the last nation to enter the war against the Entente, invading Serbia in conjunction with German and Austro-Hungarian forces in October 1915.
[edit] Other movements
Other movements supported the efforts of the Central Powers for their own reasons, such as the Irish Nationalists who launched the Easter Rising in Dublin in April 1916; they referred to their "gallant allies in Europe". During the years 1917 and 1918, the Finns under C.G.E. Mannerheim and the Ukrainian and Lithuanian nationalists fought Russia for a common cause. The Ottoman Empire also had its own allies in Azerbaijan and the Northern Caucasus. The three nations fought alongside each other under the Army of Islam in the Battle of Baku.
[edit] Armistice
Bulgaria signed an armistice with the Allies on 29 September 1918, following a successful Allied advance in Macedonia. The Ottoman Empire followed suit on 30 October 1918 in the face of British and Arab gains in Palestine and Syria. Austria and Hungary concluded ceasefires separately during the first week of November following the disintegration of the Habsburg Empire, and Germany signed the armistice ending the war on the morning of 11 November 1918 after the Allied Hundred Days Offensive, a succession of advances by New Zealand, Australian, Canadian, Belgian, British, French and US forces in north-eastern France and Belgium.
| Flag | Name | Armistice |
|---|---|---|
|
Bulgaria | September 29, 1918 |
|
Ottoman Empire | October 30, 1918 |
|
Austria-Hungary | November 4, 1918 |
|
German Empire | November 11, 1918 |
[edit] Leaders
- Austria-Hungary
- Franz Josef I - Emperor of Austria-Hungary
- Karl I - Emperor of Austria-Hungary
- Conrad von Hötzendorf - Chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff
- Arthur Arz von Straussenburg - Chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff
- Anton Haus - Commander-in-Chief of the Austro-Hungarian Navy
- Maximilian Njegovan - Commander-in-Chief of the Austro-Hungarian Navy
- German Empire
- Wilhelm II - German Emperor
- Erich von Falkenhayn - Chief of the German General Staff
- Paul von Hindenburg - Chief of the German General Staff
- Reinhard Scheer - Commander of the Imperial High Seas Fleet
- Erich Ludendorff - Deputy Chief of Staff of the German Army
- Wilhelm Souchon - German Naval Advisor to the Ottoman Empire
- Otto Liman von Sanders - German Army Advisor to the Ottoman Empire
- Ottoman Empire
- Mehmed V - Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
- İsmail Enver - Commander-in-Chief of the Ottoman Army
- Mustafa Kemal Atatürk - Commander of the Second Army
- Bulgaria
- Ferdinand I - Czar of Bulgaria
- Nikola Zhekov - Commander-in-Chief of the Bulgarian Army
- Vladimir Vazov - Bulgarian Lieutenant General
[edit] See also
- Triple Entente
- Participants in World War I
- Axis powers (allies of Nazi Germany in WWII)
- Allies of World War I
- Treaty of Versailles
[edit] References
- ^ The Triple Alliance (First 8 Articles) The World War I Document Archive, Brigham Young University Library, accessed 2008-04-21
- ^ Triple Alliance, 1882 Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, accessed 2008-04-21
- ^ Hunt, Lynn. The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures. 3. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009.
