International Alliances

International alliances were at the heart of the build up to World War 1. Alliances with other nations pulled countries into the war that otherwise would not have been involved. For instance, when Germany was trying to invade France by going through Belgium, Great Britain was forced to declare war on Germany because they had an alliance with France. Also, Russia, France, and Great Britain formed an alliance, however, Russia dropped out and was replaced by the United States. This alliance was known as the Allies.

Another major alliance was the central Powers. This alliance was composed of Germany, Austria-Hungary,and Italy, however, Italy eventually dropped out and joined the Allies.