Central Powers
The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires, were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I. It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria; this was also known as the Quadruple Alliance.
The Central Powers' origin was the alliance of Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1879. Despite having nominally joined the Triple Alliance before, Italy did not take part in World War I on the side of the Central Powers and later joined on the side of the Allies. The Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria did not join until after World War I had begun. The Central Powers faced, and were defeated by, the Allied Powers, which themselves had formed around the Triple Entente. They dissolved in 1918 after they lost the war.
Name
The name 'Central Powers' is derived from the location of its member countries. All four were located between the Russian Empire in the east and France and the United Kingdom in the west. The Central Powers too used the name in their languages respectively, with the exception of Turkish, in which the Central Powers were called the دولتري, İttıfâq Devletleri, or Bağlaşma Devletleri, 'Allied States'.Collaboration
Germany had plans to create a Mitteleuropa economic association. Members would include Austria-Hungary, Germany, and others.History
Alliance formation
On, Austria-Hungary, supported by Germany, declared war on Serbia. Germany then supported its only reliable and dependable ally, the Dual Monarchy, and attempted to localize the Austro-Serbian conflict, without success.Officially neutral at the outbreak of the conflict, the Ottoman Empire was nevertheless bound to Germany by a secret treaty; for nearly two months, the Ottoman government maneuvered, pursued a policy favorable to German interests, and prepared for war but did not formally commit. The autumn of 1914 was marked by the strategic failure of Germany and the Dual Monarchy, and on, an action by cruisers sold to the Ottoman Empire in prompted the Ottoman Empire's entry into the war alongside the Central Powers.
Bulgarian intervention
Throughout 1915, the Bulgarian government was courted by both alliance blocs, but, faced with the distant and hypothetical promises of the Allies, the government aligned with Germany and its allies, signing an alliance treaty with the Central Powers, the Dual Monarchy, and the Ottoman Empire; the signing of this treaty solidified Germany’s alliances until, the date when the armistice between Bulgaria and the Allies took effect.Thus, King Ferdinand tied his country to the alliance bloc that guaranteed rapid annexations over its Serbian rivals.
Under this convention, the Bulgarian government agreed to subordinate its army to directives issued by the German Emperor.
Main member states
At the start of the war, the Central Powers consisted of the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Ottoman Empire joined later in 1914, followed by the Tsardom of Bulgaria in 1915.German Empire
War justifications
In early July 1914, in the aftermath of the assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and faced with the prospect of war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, Kaiser Wilhelm II and the German government informed the Austro-Hungarian government that Germany would uphold its alliance with Austria-Hungary and defend it from possible Russian intervention if a war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia took place. When Russia enacted a general mobilization, Germany viewed the act as provocative. The Russian government promised Germany that its general mobilization did not mean preparation for war with Germany but was a reaction to the tensions between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. The German government regarded the Russian promise of no war with Germany to be nonsense in light of its general mobilization, and Germany, in turn, mobilized for war. On 1 August, Germany sent an ultimatum to Russia stating that since both Germany and Russia were in a state of military mobilization, an effective state of war existed between the two countries. Later that day, France, an ally of Russia, declared a state of general mobilization.In August 1914, Germany attacked Russia, citing Russian aggression as demonstrated by the mobilization of the Russian army, which had resulted in Germany mobilizing in response.
After Germany declared war on Russia, France, with its alliance with Russia, prepared a general mobilization in expectation of war. On 3 August 1914, Germany responded to this action by declaring war on France. Germany, facing a two-front war, enacted what was known as the Schlieffen Plan, which involved German armed forces moving through Belgium and swinging south into France and towards the French capital of Paris. This plan was hoped to quickly gain victory against the French and allow German forces to concentrate on the Eastern Front. Belgium was a neutral country and would not accept German forces crossing its territory. Germany disregarded Belgian neutrality and invaded the country to launch an offensive towards Paris. This caused Great Britain to declare war against the German Empire, as the action violated the Treaty of London that both nations signed in 1839 guaranteeing Belgian neutrality.
Subsequently, several states declared war on Germany in late August 1914, with Italy declaring war on Germany in August 1916, the United States in April 1917, and Greece in July 1917.
Colonies and dependencies
Europe
The German Empire had incorporated the province of Alsace-Lorraine, after successfully defeating France in the Franco-Prussian War. However, the province was still claimed by French revanchists, leading to its return to France at the Treaty of Versailles.Africa
The German Empire was late to colonization, only beginning overseas expansion in the 1870s and 1880s. Colonization was opposed by much of the government, including chancellor Otto von Bismarck, but it became a colonial power after participating in the Berlin Conference. Then, private companies were founded and began settling parts of Africa, the Pacific, and China. Later these groups became German protectorates and colonies.Cameroon was a German colony existing from 1884 until its complete occupation in 1915. It was ceded to France as a League of Nations Mandate at the war's end.
German East Africa was founded in 1885 and expanded to include modern-day Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and parts of Mozambique. It was the only German colony to not be fully conquered during the war, with resistance by commander Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck lasting until November 1918. Later it was surrendered to the Allies in 1919 and split between the Belgian Congo, Portuguese Mozambique, and the newly founded colony of Tanganyika.
South West Africa, modern-day Namibia, came under German rule in 1885 and was absorbed into South Africa following its invasion in 1915.
Togoland, now part of Ghana, was made a German protectorate in 1884. However, after a swift campaign, it was occupied by the Allies in 1915 and divided between French Togoland and British Togoland.
Asia
The Jiaozhou Bay Leased Territory was a German dependency in East Asia leased from China in 1898. Japanese forces occupied it following the Siege of Tsingtao.The Austrian Empire had a foreign concession in Tianjin which was swiftly invaded by China in 1917. The German concessions in Tianjin and Hankou were also invaded.
Pacific
was a German protectorate in the Pacific. It was occupied by Australian forces in 1914.German Samoa had been a German protectorate since the Tripartite Convention. It was occupied by the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in 1914.
Austro-Hungarian Empire
War justifications
Austria-Hungary regarded the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand as having been orchestrated with the assistance of Serbia. The country viewed the assassination as setting a dangerous precedent of encouraging the country's South Slav population to rebel and threaten to tear apart the multinational country. Austria-Hungary sent a formal ultimatum to Serbia demanding a full-scale investigation of Serbian government complicity in the assassination and complete compliance by Serbia in agreeing to the terms demanded by Austria-Hungary. Serbia submitted to accept most of the demands. However, Austria-Hungary viewed this as insufficient and used this lack of full compliance to justify military intervention. These demands have been viewed as a diplomatic cover for an inevitable Austro-Hungarian declaration of war on Serbia.Russia had warned Austria-Hungary that the Russian government would not tolerate Austria-Hungary invading Serbia. However, with Germany supporting Austria-Hungary's actions, the Austro-Hungarian government hoped that Russia would not intervene and that the conflict with Serbia would remain a regional conflict.
Austria-Hungary's invasion of Serbia resulted in Russia declaring war on the country, and Germany, in turn, declared war on Russia, setting off the beginning of the clash of alliances that resulted in the World War. In support of his German ally, on Thursday, 6 August 1914, Emperor Franz Joseph signed the declaration of war on Russia.
Territory
Austria-Hungary was internally divided into two states with their own governments, joined through the Habsburg throne. Austria, also known as Cisleithania, contained various duchies and principalities but also the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Kingdom of Dalmatia, and the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. Hungary was composed of the Kingdom of Hungary and the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, sovereign authority was shared by both Austria and Hungary.Ottoman Empire
War justifications
The Ottoman Empire joined the war on the side of the Central Powers in November 1914. The Ottoman Empire had gained strong economic connections with Germany through the Berlin-to-Baghdad railway project that was still incomplete at the time. The Ottoman Empire made a formal alliance with Germany signed on 2 August 1914. The alliance treaty expected that the Ottoman Empire would become involved in the conflict in a short amount of time. However, for the first several months of the war, the Ottoman Empire maintained neutrality though it allowed a German naval squadron to enter and stay near the strait of Bosphorus. Ottoman officials informed the German government that the country needed time to prepare for conflict. Germany provided financial aid and weapons shipments to the Ottoman Empire.After pressure escalated from the German government demanding that the Ottoman Empire fulfill its treaty obligations, or else Germany would expel the country from the alliance and terminate economic and military assistance, the Ottoman government entered the war with the recently acquired cruisers from Germany, along with their own navy, launching a naval raid on the Russian ports of Odessa, Sevastopol, Novorossiysk, Feodosia, and Yalta, thus engaging in military action in accordance with its alliance obligations with Germany. Shortly after, the Triple Entente declared war on the Ottoman Empire.