Central Powers
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2008) |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Central Powers (German: Mittelmächte; Hungarian: Központi hatalmak; Turkish: İttifak Devletleri or Bağlaşma Devletleri; Bulgarian: Централни сили) was one of the two sides that participated in World War I and was also known as the Triple Alliance, the other being the Triple Entente (Allied Powers). It was made up of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria.
Contents |
[edit] Member states
The Central Powers consisted of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria. The name "Central Powers" is derived from the location of these countries; all four were located between the Russian Empire in the east and France and the United Kingdom in the west.
Allies
Allied colonies, dominions, territories or occupied territory
Central powers
Central powers colonies or occupied territory
Neutral countries
The Central Powers were composed of these nations:
Austro-Hungarian Empire
German Empire (including German colonial forces)
Ottoman Empire
Kingdom of Bulgaria
| Population | Land | GDP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| German Empire (plus colonies), 1914 | 67.0m (77.7m) | 0.5m km2 (3.5m km2) | $244.3b ($250.7b) |
| Austro-Hungarian Empire, 1914 | 50.6m | 0.6m km2 | $100.5b |
| Ottoman Empire, 1914 | 23.0m | 1.8m km2 | $25.3b |
| Kingdom of Bulgaria, 1915 | 4.8m | 0.1m km2 | $7.4b |
| Central Powers Total in 1914 | 151.3m | 5.9m km2 | $376.6b |
| Mobilized | Battle Deaths | Wounded | Prisoners/Missing | Total Casualties | Percent of Mobilized | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| German Empire | 11,000,000 | 1,808,546 | 4,247,143 | 1,152,800 | 7,208,489 | 66% |
| Austro-Hungarian Empire | 7,800,000 | 922,500 | 3,620,000 | 2,200,000 | 6,742,500 | 86% |
| Ottoman Empire | 2,850,000 | 325,000 | 400,000 | 250,000 | 975,000 | 34% |
| Kingdom of Bulgaria | 1,200,000 | 75,844 | 153,390 | 27,029 | 255,263 | 21% |
| Central Powers Total | 22,850,000 | 3,131,890 | 8,419,533 | 3,629,829 | 15,181,252 | 66% |
[edit] Italy
On 7 October 1879, Germany and Austria-Hungary became allies and formed the Dual Alliance. On 20 May 1882, they were joined by the Kingdom of Italy in what was known as the Triple Alliance. This alliance was intended to be limited to defensive purposes only.[3][4]
When World War I began, the petition made by Germany and Austria-Hungary for Italian intervention was rejected by the Italian Government on the grounds of these two countries declaring war on the Kingdom of Serbia, rather than taking defensive action against it.
Italy eventually entered World War I on May 23, 1915, but it fought against Germany and Austria-Hungary rather than with them, because of the land promised them in the Treaty of London made with France and Britain. This treaty promised Italy the Italian-speaking lands of Austria-Hungary and territories in Asia Minor, Africa and the Balkans.[5]
[edit] Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria
Following the outbreak of war in Europe during August 1914, the Ottoman Empire intervened at the end of October by taking action against Russia, resulting in declarations of war by the Triple Entente.
Bulgaria, still resentful after its defeat in July 1913 at the hands of Serbia, Greece, Romania and the Ottoman Empire, was the last nation to enter the war against the Allies, invading Serbia in conjunction with German and Austro-Hungarian forces in October 1915.
[edit] Other movements
Other movements supported the efforts of the Central Powers for their own reasons, such as the Irish Nationalists who launched the Easter Rising in Dublin in April 1916; they referred to their "gallant allies in Europe". In 1914 Józef Piłsudski was permitted by the Austrians to form independent Polish legions. Piłsudski wanted his legions to help the Central Powers defeat Russia and then side with France and the UK and win the war with them. During the years 1917 and 1918, the Finns under C.G.E. Mannerheim and the Ukrainian and Lithuanian nationalists fought Russia for a common cause. The Ottoman Empire also had its own allies in Azerbaijan and the Northern Caucasus. The three nations fought alongside each other under the Army of Islam in the Battle of Baku.
[edit] Armistice
Bulgaria signed an armistice with the Allies on 29 September 1918, following a successful Allied advance in Macedonia. The Ottoman Empire followed suit on 30 October 1918 in the face of British and Arab gains in Palestine and Syria. Austria and Hungary concluded ceasefires separately during the first week of November following the disintegration of the Habsburg Empire and the Italian offensive at Vittorio Veneto; Germany signed the armistice ending the war on the morning of 11 November 1918 after the Hundred Days Offensive, and a succession of advances by New Zealand, Australian, Canadian, Belgian, British, French and US forces in north-eastern France and Belgium.
| Flag | Name | Armistice |
|---|---|---|
|
Bulgaria | 29 September 1918 |
|
Ottoman Empire | 30 October 1918 |
|
Austria-Hungary | 4 November 1918 |
|
German Empire | 11 November 1918 |
[edit] Military leaders
- Austria-Hungary
- Franz Josef I - Emperor of Austria-Hungary
- Karl I - Emperor of Austria-Hungary
- Conrad von Hötzendorf - Chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff
- Arthur Arz von Straussenburg - Chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff
- Anton Haus - Commander-in-Chief of the Austro-Hungarian Navy
- Maximilian Njegovan - Commander-in-Chief of the Austro-Hungarian Navy
- German Empire
- Wilhelm II - German Emperor
- Erich von Falkenhayn - Chief of the German General Staff
- Paul von Hindenburg - Chief of the German General Staff
- Reinhard Scheer - Commander of the Imperial High Seas Fleet
- Erich Ludendorff - Deputy Chief of Staff of the German Army
- Wilhelm Souchon - German Naval Advisor to the Ottoman Empire
- Otto Liman von Sanders - German Army Advisor to the Ottoman Empire
- Paul Erich von Lettow-Vorbeck German Army Commander of East Africa Campaign
- Hermann von François Germany Army General
- Ottoman Empire
- Mehmed V - Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
- İsmail Enver - Commander-in-Chief of the Ottoman Army
- Mustafa Kemal Atatürk - Commander of the Second Army
- Bulgaria
- Ferdinand I - Czar of Bulgaria
- Nikola Zhekov - Commander-in-Chief of the Bulgarian Army
- Georgi Todorov - commander of the 2nd Army, deputy Commander-in-Chief
- Konstantin Zhostov - Chief of the Bulgarian General Staff
- Vladimir Vazov - Bulgarian Lieutenant General
[edit] See also
.jpg){kind=small}
- Triple Entente
- Participants in World War I
- Axis powers (allies of Nazi Germany in WWII)
- Allies of World War I
- Treaty of Versailles
[edit] References
- ^ S.N. Broadberry, Mark Harrison. The Economics of World War I. illustrated ed. Cambridge University Press, 2005, pgs. 9-10.
- ^ Spencer Tucker. The European powers in the First World War: an encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis, 1996, pg. 173.
- ^ The Triple Alliance (First 8 Articles) The World War I Document Archive, Brigham Young University Library, accessed 2008-04-21
- ^ Triple Alliance, 1882 Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, accessed 2008-04-21
- ^ Hunt, Lynn. The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures. 3. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s in 2009.
