Allies of World War I

• 1. Origins Of The Entente

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  In 1907, the United Kingdom and Russia signed an agreement that complemented existing pacts between three major European powers. This diplomatic realignment formed the Triple Entente alongside France, creating a counterweight to the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. Britain had long pursued a policy known as splendid isolation, avoiding formal alliances throughout much of the nineteenth century. That strategy left the nation exposed as Europe divided into opposing power blocs. The 1895, 1905 Conservative government negotiated first the 1902 Anglo-Japanese Alliance, then the 1904 Entente Cordiale with France. These agreements settled colonial disputes but paved the way for wider cooperation. By 1914, both the British army and Royal Navy were committed to support France in the event of war with Germany. Yet even within the British government, very few officials understood the extent of these commitments. On the 3rd of August 1914, Germany demanded unimpeded progress through any part of Belgium. When this was refused, German troops invaded early on the morning of the 4th of August. The invasion consolidated political and public support for the war by presenting what appeared to be a simple moral and strategic choice.

• 2. Global Coalition Expansion

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  Japan joined the Entente by declaring war on Germany on the 23rd of August 1914, followed by Austria on the 25th of August. Japanese forces surrounded the German Treaty Port of Tsingtao on the 2nd of September 1914, which surrendered on the 7th of November. Italy remained neutral until the 23rd of May 1915 when it joined the Entente, declaring war on Austria but not Germany. The United States entered the war as a co-belligerent on the 6th of April 1917, along with associated allies including Liberia, Siam, and Greece. Romania commenced hostilities against Austria on the 27th of August 1916. Portugal declared war on Germany in March 1916 after being attacked. Greece initially remained neutral but allowed Entente forces to land at Thessaloniki in October 1915. A new national government under Eleftherios Venizelos joined the Entente in June 1917 after King Constantine was forced into exile. Brazil entered the war in 1917 after Germany sank its merchant ships. Serbia, Belgium, Montenegro, Asir, Nejd and Hasa, Portugal, Romania, Hejaz, Panama, Cuba, Greece, China, Siam, Brazil, Armenia, Luxembourg, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Haiti, Liberia, and Honduras all became part of the expanding coalition.

• 3. Imperial Resources And Dominions

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  Over one million soldiers of the British Indian Army served in different theatres of the war, primarily France and the Middle East. The largest component after Britain itself was the British Raj, which included modern India, Pakistan, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. Unlike other colonies administered by the Colonial Office, it was governed directly by the India Office or by princes loyal to the British. From 1914 to 1916, overall Imperial diplomatic, political, and military strategy was controlled by the British War Cabinet in London. In 1917 it was superseded by the Imperial War Cabinet, which included representatives from the Dominions. Theatre commanders like Douglas Haig on the Western Front or Edmund Allenby in Palestine reported to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff. After the Indian Army, the largest individual units were the Australian Corps and Canadian Corps in France. By 1918 these were commanded by their own generals, John Monash and Arthur Currie. Contingents from South Africa, New Zealand, and Newfoundland served in theatres including France, Gallipoli, German East Africa, and the Middle East. Australian troops separately occupied German New Guinea, with the South Africans doing the same in German South West Africa.

• 4. Eastern Front Dynamics

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  Between 7 and the 9th of August 1914, Russian forces entered German East Prussia and Austrian Eastern Galicia. On the 30th of July 1914, Russia mobilized in support of Serbia after Austria invaded that nation on the 28th of July. Germany declared war on Russia on the 1st of August, followed by Austria-Hungary on the 6th of August. Romania fought on three of the four European fronts: Eastern, Balkan, and Italian, fielding over 1,200,000 troops total. The Romanian capital was conquered in December 1916 despite having little foreign help. Only 50,000 Russians aided 650,000 Romanians during the campaign. After Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and dropped out of the war, Romania was left surrounded by the Central Powers. It eventually signed a similar treaty on the 7th of May 1918 but re-entered the war on the 10th of November. The Romanian campaign provided considerable respite for Western Allies as Germans ceased other offensive operations to deal with Romania. At Mărăști in July 1917, German prisoners told their Romanian captors they had not encountered such stiff resistance since the battles of Somme and Verdun.

• 5. Statistical Casualties And Losses

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  The Allied Powers mobilized a total of 42,244,409 personnel between 1914 and 1918. Military fatalities reached 5,741,389 across all participating nations. Wounded in action numbered 12,925,833 soldiers. Total casualties amounted to 18,744,547, representing 49% of all mobilized forces. France lost 1,397,800 military dead, accounting for 16.62% of its mobilized personnel. Serbia suffered the greatest proportional losses of any combatant, with over 25% of those mobilized becoming casualties. Including civilians and deaths from disease, over 1.2 million died in Serbia, nearly 30% of the entire population. Russia mobilized 12,000,000 men but lost 1,811,000 military dead. The United Kingdom mobilized 6,211,922 personnel and lost 886,342 military dead. Japan had the lowest casualty rate among major powers, losing only 415 military dead out of 800,000 mobilized.

• 6. Leadership And Command Structures

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  King George V served as monarch of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions while Emperor Taishō led Japan. In France, President Raymond Poincaré held office until 1917 when Georges Clemenceau took over as Prime Minister. Marshal Ferdinand Foch became Supreme Allied Commander on the 26th of March 1918. Douglas Haig commanded the British Expeditionary Force from December 1915 until November 1918. John J. Pershing led the American Expeditionary Forces after the United States entered the war. Luigi Cadorna served as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Italian Army throughout most of Italy's involvement. King Nicholas I of Montenegro declared war on Austria-Hungary on the 1st of August 1914 in fulfillment of obligations to Serbia. Peter I was King of Serbia with Crown Prince Alexander serving as Regent and Commander-in-Chief. Field Marshal Radomir Putnik headed the Serbian General Staff from 1914 to 1915. The Russian Empire saw multiple changes in leadership including Tsar Nicholas II until his abdication on the 15th of March 1917.