Map of the World showing the Triple Entente participants in World War I. Those fighting on the Entente's side (at one point or another) are depicted in green, the Central Powers in orange, and neutral countries in grey.

European military alliances prior to the war

The Entente Powers or Allies (French: Forces de l'Entente / Alliés; Italian: Alleati; Russian: Союзники, Soyuzniki) were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the French Republic, the British Empire and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on the side of the Entente in 1915. Japan, Belgium, Serbia, Greece, Montenegro, Romania and the Czechoslovak legions^[1] were secondary members of the Entente.^[2]

The United States declared war on Germany in 1917 on the grounds that Germany violated U.S. neutrality by attacking international shipping and because of the Zimmermann Telegram sent to Mexico.^[3] The U.S. entered the war as an "associated power", rather than a formal ally of France and Great Britain, in order to avoid "foreign entanglements".^[4] Although the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria severed relations with the United States, neither declared war.^[5]

Although the Dominions and Crown Colonies of the British Empire made significant contributions to the Allied war effort, they did not have independent foreign policies during World War I. Operational control of British Empire forces was in the hands of the five-member British War Cabinet (BWC). However, the Dominion governments controlled recruiting, and did remove personnel from front-line duties as they saw fit. From early 1917 the BWC was superseded by the Imperial War Cabinet, which had Dominion representation. The Australian Corps and Canadian Corps were placed for the first time under the command of Australian and Canadian Lieutenant Generals John Monash and Arthur Currie,^[6] respectively, who reported in turn to British generals.^{[citation needed]}

In April 1918, operational control of all Entente forces on the Western Front passed to the new supreme commander, Ferdinand Foch.

History [edit]

Russian poster depicting the Triple Entente

The original alliance opposed to the Central Powers was the Triple Entente, which was formed by three Great European Powers:

• French Republic
•  British Empire
•  Russia

The war began with the Austrian attack invasion of Serbia on 28 July 1914, in response to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The Austrian Empire followed with an attack on Serbian allies Montenegro on 8 August.^{[citation needed]} On the Western Front, the two neutral States of Belgium and Luxembourg were immediately occupied by German troops as part of the German Schlieffen Plan. Of the two Low Countries, Luxembourg chose to capitulate, and was viewed as a collaborationist State by the Entente Powers: Luxembourg never became part of the Allies, and only narrowly avoided Belgian efforts of annexation, at the conclusion of hostilities in 1919. On 23 August Japan joined the Entente, which then counted seven members.^{[citation needed]}. The entrance of the British Empire brought Nepal into the war.

On May 23, 1915, Italy entered the war on the Entente side and declared war on Austria; previously, Italy had been a member of the Triple Alliance but had remained neutral since the beginning of the conflict. In 1916, Montenegro capitulated and left the Entente, and two nations joined, Portugal and Romania.^{[citation needed]}

April 6, 1917 marked the entrance of the United States and its American allies. Liberia, Siam and Greece also became allies. After the October Revolution, Russia left the alliance and ended formal involvement in the war, by the signing of the treaty of Brest Litovsk in November effectively creating a separate peace with the Central Powers. This was followed by Romanian cessation of hostilities, however the Balkan State declared war on Central Powers again on 10 November 1918. The Russian withdrawal allowed for the final structure of the alliance, which was based on five Great Powers:

• French Republic
•  British Empire
•  United States
•  Italy
•  Japan

Leaders [edit]

France [edit]

• Raymond Poincaré – President of France
• René Viviani – Prime Minister of France (13 June 1914 – 29 October 1915)
• Aristide Briand – Prime Minister of France (29 October 1915 – 20 March 1917)
• Alexandre Ribot – Prime Minister of France (20 March 1917 – 12 September 1917)
• Paul Painlevé – Prime Minister of France (12 September 1917 – 16 November 1917)
• Georges Clemenceau – Prime Minister of France (From 16 November 1917)
• Joseph Joffre – Commander-in-Chief of the French Army (3 August 1914 – 13 December 1916) and Marshal of France
• Robert Nivelle – Commander-in-Chief of the French Army (13 December 1916 – April 1917)
• Philippe Pétain – Commander-in-Chief of the French Army (April 1917 – 11 November 1918)
• Ferdinand Foch – Marshal of France, Supreme Allied Commander (26 March 1918 – 11 November 1918)
• Milan Rastislav Stefanik – General of French Army, Commander of Czechoslovak Legions
• Georges Thenault – Commander of the Lafayette Escadrille

British Empire [edit]

• George V – King of the United Kingdom, Emperor of India
• H. H. Asquith – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Until 5 December 1916)
• David Lloyd George – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (From 7 December 1916)
• Horatio Herbert Kitchener – Secretary of State for War (5 August 1914 – 5 June 1916)
• William Robertson – Chief of the Imperial General Staff (23 December 1915 – February 1918)
• John French – Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force (4 August 1914 – 15 December 1915)
• Douglas Haig – Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force (15 December 1915 – 11 November 1918)
• Hugh Trenchard – Commander of Royal Flying Corps – (August 1915 – January 1918)
• Winston Churchill – First Lord of the Admiralty – (1911 – May 1915)
• Arthur Balfour- First Lord of the Admiralty – (May 1915 – December 1916)
• Edward Carson – First Lord of the Admiralty – (10 December 1916 – 17 July 1917)
• Eric Geddes – First Lord of the Admiralty – (July 1917 – January 1919)
• "Jackie" Fisher – First Sea Lord – (1914 – May 1915)
• Henry Jackson – First Sea Lord – (May 1915 – November 1916)
• John Jellicoe – First Sea Lord (November 1916 – December 1917)
• Rosslyn Wemyss – First Sea Lord (December 1917 – November 1919)

Dominion of Canada [edit]

• Robert Borden – Prime Minister of Canada (1914–18)
• Sam Hughes- Minister of Militia and Defence (1914 – January 1915)
• Joseph Flavelle- Chairmen of Imperial Munitions Board (1915–19)
• Julian Byng (June 1916 – June 1917) Canadian Corps commander
• Edwin Alderson – Commander of the unified Canadian Corps of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (26 January 1915 – September 1915)
• Arthur Currie – Commander of the unified Canadian Corps of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (June 1917 –)^[9]

Commonwealth of Australia [edit]

• Joseph Cook – Prime Minister of Australia (until 17 September 1914)
• Andrew Fisher – Prime Minister of Australia (17 September 1914 – 27 October 1915)
• Billy Hughes – Prime Minister of Australia (from 27 October 1915)
• John Monash – Commander of the Australian Corps (all five Australian infantry divisions serving on the Western Front) (May 1918 –)
• William Holmes – Commander of the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (August 1914 – February 1915)
• Henry Chauvel – Commander of Desert Mounted Corps (Sinai and Palestine) (August 1917 –)

Indian Empire [edit]

• John Nixon commander of the British Indian Army (active in the Middle East)

Union of South Africa [edit]

• Louis Botha – Prime Minister of South Africa
• Jan Smuts – Led forces in South-West Africa Campaign and East African Campaign, later member of the Imperial War Cabinet

New Zealand [edit]

• William Massey – Prime Minister of New Zealand
• General Sir Alexander Godley - Commandant of New Zealand Military Forces (to October 1914); Commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force
• Major General Sir Alfred William Robin – Quartermaster-General and Commandant of New Zealand Military Forces (from October 1914)

Russia [edit]

• Nicholas II — Russian Emperor, King of Poland, and Grand Prince of Finland. (Until 15 March 1917)
• Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich – Commander-in-chief (1 August 1914 – 5 September 1916) and viceroy in the Caucasus
• Alexander Samsonov – Commander of the Russian Second Army for the invasion of East Prussia (1 August 1914 – 29 August 1914)
• Paul von Rennenkampf – Commander of the Russian First Army for the invasion of East Prussia (1 August 1914 – November 1914)
• Nikolai Ivanov – Commander of the Russian army on the Southwestern Front, (1 August 1914 – March 1916) responsible for much of the action in Galicia
• Aleksei Brusilov – Commander of the South-West Front, then provisional Commander-in-Chief after the Tsar's abdication (February 1917 – August 1917)
• Lavr Georgievich Kornilov – Commander of the South-West Front, then Commander-in-Chief (August 1917)
• Aleksey Kuropatkin – Commander of the Northern Front (October 1915 – 1917)
• Nikolai Yudenich – Commander of the Caucasus (January 1915 – May 1917)
• Andrei Eberhardt – Commander of Black Sea Fleet (1914–16)
• Aleksandr Kolchak – Commander of Black Sea Fleet (1916–17)
• Nikolai Essen – Commander of Baltic Fleet (1913 – May 1915)

Serbia [edit]

• Peter I – King of Serbia
• Crown Prince Alexander – Regent, Commander-in-Chief
• Nikola Pašić – Prime Minister
• Vojvoda Radomir Putnik – Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army
• Vojvoda Živojin Mišić – Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army, Deputy Commander of First Army, later Chief of General Staff
• Vojvoda Petar Bojović – Commander of First Army, later Chief of General Staff
• Vojvoda Stepa Stepanović – Commander of Second Army
• General Pavle Jurišić Šturm - Commander of Third Army

Montenegro [edit]

• Nicholas I – King of Montenegro
• Serdar Janko Vukotić – Commander of 1st Montenegrin Army
• Crown Prince Danilo II Petrović-Njegoš - In the staff of the 1st Montenegrin Army
• Brigadier General Krsto Zrnov Popović - In the staff of the 1st Montenegrin Army, Aide-de-camp to Serdar Janko Vukotić
• General Anto Gvozdenović - King's Aide-de-camp
• Divisional General Mitar Martinović - Commander of several detachments in the Montenegrin army ( Drina and Herzegovina detachments together in 1914-1915, Kotor detachment in 1916 )

Belgium [edit]

• Albert I of Belgium – King of Belgium (23 December 1909 – 17 February 1934)
• Leon de Witte - Belgian commander at the Battle of Haelen (1914)
• Theophile Figeys - Belgian general in the Hundred Days Offensive

Italy [edit]

• Victor Emmanuel III – King of Italy
• Antonio Salandra – Prime Minister (until June 18, 1916)
• Paolo Boselli – Prime Minister (June 18, 1916 – October 29, 1917)
• Vittorio Emanuele Orlando – Prime Minister (from October 29, 1917)
• Luigi Cadorna – Commander-in-Chief of the Italian army
• Armando Diaz – Chief of General Staff of the Italian army
• Luigi, Duke of Abruzzi – Commander-in-Chief of the Adriatic Fleet of Italy (1914–17)
• Paolo Thaon di Revel – Admiral of the Royal Italian Navy

Romania [edit]

• Ferdinand I – King of Romania
• Constantin Prezan – Chief of the General Staff of Romania
• Alexandru Averescu – Commander of the Romanian 2nd Army, 3rd Army, then Army Group South

United States [edit]

Use of naval convoys to transport U.S. troops to France, 1917

• Woodrow Wilson – President of the United States/Commander-In-Chief of the U.S.A armed forces
• Newton D. Baker – U.S. Secretary of War
• John J. Pershing – Commander of the American Expeditionary Force

Japan [edit]

• Emperor Taishō – Emperor of Japan
• Ōkuma Shigenobu – Prime Minister of Japan (16 April 1914 – 9 October 1916)
• Terauchi Masatake – Prime minister of Japan (9 October 1916 – 29 September 1918)
• Hara Takashi – Prime minister of Japan (29 September 1918 – 4 November 1921)

Portugal [edit]

• Bernardino Machado – President of Portugal
• Afonso Costa – Prime Minister of Portugal
• Norton de Matos -War Minister
• Tamagnini de Abreu – Commander of the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (CEP)
• Alves Roçadas – Commander of the Portuguese Forces in Southern Angola
• Ferreira Gil – Commander of the Portuguese Forces in Eastern Africa

Brazil [edit]

See main Article: Brazil during World War I

• Venceslau Bras – President of Brazil
• Admiral Pedro Frontin, Chief of DNOG (Brazilian Expeditionary Fleet)
• General Napoleão Felipe Aché, Chief of Brazilian Military Mission in France
• Dr. Nabuco Gouveia – Chief of the Brazilian Medical Delegation

Greece [edit]

• Eleftherios Venizelos: Prime minister of Greece after 13 June 1917.
• Constantin I: King of Greece, he retired from the throne, without formally resigned.
• Alexander: King of Greece, he became King of Greece after his father retired from the throne.
• Panagiotis Danglis: Greek general in the Hellenic Army.

Personnel and casualties [edit]

Pie chart showing military deaths of the Allied Powers.

These are estimates of the cumulative number of different personnel in uniform 1914–1918, including army, navy and auxiliary forces. At any one time, the various forces were much smaller. Only a fraction of them were frontline combat troops. The numbers do not reflect the length of time each country was involved. (See also: World War I casualties.)

Summary of Allied declarations of war on Central Powers [edit]

The following table shows the timeline of the several declarations of war among the belligerent powers. Entries on a yellow background show severed diplomatic relations only, not actual declarations of war. Unless stated otherwise, declarations of war by and on the United Kingdom include de facto declarations by and on other members of the British Empire.

Date	Declarer	On
1914
July 28	Austria-Hungary	Serbia
July 30	Russia	Austria-Hungary
August 1	Germany	Russia
August 1	Monaco	Germany
August 3	Germany	France
August 4	Germany	Belgium
	United Kingdom	Germany
August 5	Montenegro	Austria-Hungary
August 6	Austria-Hungary	Russia
	Serbia	Germany
August 9	Montenegro	Germany
August 11	France	Austria-Hungary
August 12	United Kingdom	Austria-Hungary
August 22	Austria-Hungary	Belgium
August 23	Japan	Germany
August 25	Japan	Austria-Hungary
November 1	Russia	Ottoman Empire
November 2	Serbia	Ottoman Empire
November 3	Montenegro	Ottoman Empire
November 5	United Kingdom France	Ottoman Empire
1915
May 23	Italy	Austria-Hungary
June 3	San Marino	Austria-Hungary
August 21	Italy	Ottoman Empire
October 14	Bulgaria	Serbia
October 15	United Kingdom Montenegro	Bulgaria
October 16	France	Bulgaria
October 19	Italy Russia	Bulgaria
1916
March 9	Germany	Portugal
March 15	Austria-Hungary	Portugal
August 27	Romania	Austria-Hungary
	Italy	Germany
August 28	Germany	Romania
August 30	Ottoman Empire	Romania
September 1	Bulgaria	Romania
1917
April 6	United States	Germany
April 7	Cuba	Germany
April 10	Bulgaria	United States
April 13	Bolivia	Germany
April 20	Ottoman Empire	United States
July 2	Greece	Germany Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire Bulgaria
July 22	Siam	Germany Austria-Hungary
August 4	Liberia	Germany
August 14	China	Germany Austria-Hungary
October 6	Peru	Germany
October 7	Uruguay	Germany
October 26	Brazil	Germany[28]
December 7	United States	Austria-Hungary
December 7	Ecuador	Germany
December 10	Panama	Austria-Hungary
December 16	Cuba	Austria-Hungary
1918
April 23	Guatemala	Germany
May 8	Nicaragua	Germany Austria-Hungary
May 23	Costa Rica	Germany
July 12	Haiti	Germany
July 19	Honduras	Germany
November 10	Romania	Germany

Special case: Insurgent nationalities [edit]

Four insurgent nationalities, which voluntarily fought with the Allies and seceded from the constituent states of the Central Powers at the end of the war, were allowed to participate as winning nations to the peace treaties:

• Poles
• Czechoslovak Legions: armed by France, Italy and Russia
•  The Hejaz: armed by Britain in Arabia
• Armenians: seceded from Russia and fought against Ottoman Empire.

See also [edit]

World War I portal

• Triple Entente
• Participants in World War I
• Central Powers
• Allied leaders of World War I
• Allies of World War II

Footnotes [edit]

References [edit]

• ^1 The War Office (2006) [1922]. Statistics of the military effort of the British Empire during the Great War 1914—1920. Uckfield, East Sussex: Military and Naval Press. ISBN 1-84734-681-2. OCLC 137236769. 
• ^2 Gilbert Martin (1994). Atlas of World War I. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-521077-8. OCLC 233987354. 
• ^3 Tucker Spencer C (1999). The European Powers in the First World War: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland. ISBN 0-8153-3351-X. 
• ^4 The Commonwealth War Graves Commission. "Annual Report 2005-2006" (PDF). 
• ^5 The Commonwealth War Graves Commission. "Debt of Honour Register". 
• ^6 Urlanis Boris (2003) [1971]. Wars and Population. Honolulu: University Press of the Pacific. OCLC 123124938.  Unknown parameter |original-place= ignored (help)
• ^7 Huber Michel (1931). La population de la France pendant la guerre, avec un appendice sur Les revenus avant et après la guerre (in French). Paris. OCLC 4226464. 
• ^8 Bujac Jean Léopold Emile (1930). Les campagnes de l'armèe Hellènique 1918–1922 (in French). Paris: Charles-Lavauzelle. OCLC 10808602. 
• ^9 Mortara Giorgio (1925). La Salute pubblica in Italia durante e dopo la Guerra (in Italian). New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. OCLC 2099099. 
• ^10 Harries Merion, Harries Susie (1991). Soldiers of the Sun – The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army. Random House. ISBN 0-679-75303-6. OCLC 32615324. 
• ^11 Clodfelter Michael (2002). Warfare and Armed Conflicts : A Statistical Reference to Casualty and Other Figures, 1500–2000 (2nd ed.). London: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-1204-6. OCLC 48066096. 

Sources [edit]

See List of World War I books

• Ellis, John and Mike Cox. The World War I Databook: The Essential Facts and Figures for All the Combatants (2002)
• Esposito, Vincent J. The West Point Atlas of American Wars: 1900–1918 (1997) despite the title covers entire war; online maps from this atlas
• Falls, Cyril. The Great War (1960), general military history
• Higham, Robin and Dennis E. Showalter, eds. Researching World War I: A Handbook (2003), historiography, stressing military themes
• Pope, Stephen and Wheal, Elizabeth-Anne, eds. The Macmillan Dictionary of the First World War (1995)
• Strachan, Hew. The First World War: Volume I: To Arms (2004)
• Trask, David F. The United States in the Supreme War Council: American War Aims and Inter-Allied Strategy, 1917–1918 (1961)
• Tucker, Spencer, ed. The Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History (5 volumes) (2005), online at eBook.com
• Tucker, Spencer, ed. European Powers in the First World War: An Encyclopedia (1999)

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