LIVE TOGETHER, DIE TOGETHER

There were two alliances formed prior to WWI: the Central Powers and the Allies. The Central Powers, or the Triple Alliance, originally started as a Dual Alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary as they sought for protection from Russia. Italy, needing protection from France, later joined the alliance, creating a Triple Alliance. Suspicious of the Central Powers for numerous reasons, France, Russia, and Britain created their own alliance, which came to be known as the Allies, or the Triple Entente.