Alliance System and the New Imperialism Paper
Germany and its Alliances
Christian Ramirez
HIS/114
GEORGE THOMSON
12/5/2014
Alliance System and the New Imperialism Paper
Germany and its Alliance
Germany belonged to the Triple Alliance. The Triple Alliance included AustriaHungary and Italy. The other alliance was the Triple Entente. Which included Russia,
France, and Great Britain. Germany belong to the Triple Alliance which meant that if
they ever got attacked they were going to be backed up by the alliance which means that
Austria-Hungary and Italy will help them military wise. Unlike the Triple Entente were
they just had a treaty to keep the peace. But this meant that if any of them got attacked
neither of the other countries were obligated to help them fight with their own military.
Germany entered the alliance because of the security it would provide. Germany knew
their allies would back them up if they were attacked at any time. That meant if France
ever attacked Germany they would get help from Italy and Austria-Hungary. France
made their own allies and decided to make an agreement with Russia. The agreement was
that if Germany ever attacked either of them they would help each other out. That was
one of the main reasons these empires were joining an alliance at that time. It was all
about security. That’s why Great Britain decided to finally join one and they joined the
Entente Cordiale. This was an alliance with France. Which pretty much only meant that
they would not go to war with each other. If any of them ever got into a war neither side
was obligated to help each other out. Germany played a big part in the First World War.
Some people think that it all started because of Germany. But World War I started more
cause of a competition between all the great powers of that time trying to start colonies in
Africa and Asia. Germany began to enter an industrial era, and when Germany defeated
Denmark, Austria, and France it led to a more unified Germany, which then helped create
a large market and establish the development of industrial capitalism. Germany wanted to
Alliance System and the New Imperialism Paper
expand to a foreign market and establish colonies where the other great powers of that
time had started colonies, like Africa and parts of Asia. Since Great Britain, Russia, and
France all had the same agenda pretty much, it made the competition that much bigger.
After all the tension that was building up from the competition in expanding their
colonies, industry, and military between the great powers war broke out. Then Archduke
Franz Ferdinand was assassinated; that’s really what pushed the world into the First
World War.