Allies of World War I

Picture - Map of the World showing the Triple Entente participants in World War I. Those fighting on the Entente's side (at one point or another) are depicted in green, the Central Powers in orange, and neutral countries in gray.

Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The key members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire. These other countries were also minor members of the Entente: Belgium, Serbia, Italy, Japan, Greece, Romania.

The United States declared war on Germany on the grounds that Germany violated US neutrality by attacking international shipping and because of the Zimmermann Telegram that was sent to Mexico. The U.S. entered the war as an "associated power", rather than a formal ally of France and Great Britain, in order to avoid "foreign entanglements". Although the Ottoman Empire severed relations with the United States, it did not declare war.

Picture - European military alliances prior to the war.

Although the Dominions and Crown Colonies of the British Empire made significant contributions to the Allied war effort, they did not have independent foreign policies during World War I. Operational control of British Empire forces was in the hands of the five-member British War Cabinet (BWC). However, the Dominion governments controlled recruiting, and did remove personnel from front-line duties as they saw fit. From early 1917 the BWC was superseded by the Imperial War Cabinet, which had Dominion representation. The Australian Corps and Canadian Corps were placed for the first time under the command of Australian and Canadian Lieutenant Generals John Monash and Arthur Currie, respectively, who reported in turn to British generals.

In April 1918, operational control of all Entente forces on the Western Front passed to the new supreme commander, Ferdinand Foch.

History

Picture - Russian poster depicting the Triple Entente

The original alliance opposed to the Central Powers was the Triple Entente, which was formed by three Great European Powers:

United Kingdom
Russia
France

The war began with the Austrian attack invasion of Serbia on July 28, 1914, in response to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The Austrian Empire followed with an attack on Serbian allies Montenegro on August 8. On the Western Front, the two neutral States of Belgium and Luxembourg were immediately occupied by German troops as part of the German Schlieffen Plan. Of the two Low Countries, Luxembourg chose to capitulate, and was viewed as a collaborationist State by the Entente Powers: Luxembourg never became part of the Allies, and only nearly avoided Belgian efforts of annexation, at the conclusion of hostilities in 1919. On August 23, Japan joined the Entente, which then counted seven members.. The entrance of the British Empire brought Nepal into the war.

On May 23, 1915, Italy entered the war on the Entente side and declared war on Austria; previously, Italy had been a member of the Triple Alliance but had remained neutral since the beginning of the conflict. In 1916, Montenegro capitulated and left the Entente, and two nations joined, Portugal and Romania.

The direction of the war changed on April 6, 1917, with the entrance of the United States and its American allies. Liberia, China, Siam and Greece also became allies. After the October Revolution, Russia left the alliance and ended formal involvement in the war, by the signing of the treaty of Brest Litovsk in November effectively creating a separate peace with the Central Powers. This was followed by Romanian cessation of hostilities, however the Balkan State declared war on Central Powers again on November 10, 1918. The Russian withdrawal allowed for the final structure of the alliance, which was based on five Great Powers:

United Kingdom
United States
France
Italy
Japan

When war finished in November 1918, many new States were formed over the ruins of the Central Powers. The Great Powers recognized these national movements and their help to the common goal, accepting their claims of sovereignty between the signatories of the peace treaties.

Leaders

United Kingdom/British Empire

George V - King of the United Kingdom, Emperor of India
H. H. Asquith - Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Until 5 December 1916)
D. Lloyd George - Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (From 7 December 1916)
Horatio Herbert Kitchener - Secretary of State for War (5 August 1914 - 5 June 1916)
William Robertson - Chief of the Imperial General Staff
John French - Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force (4 August 1914 - 15 December 1915)
Douglas Haig - Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force (15 December 1915 - 11 November 1918)
Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard - Commander of Royal Flying Corps - (August 1915 - January 1918)
Winston Churchill - First Lord of the Admiralty - (1911 - May 1915)
Arthur Balfour- First Lord of the Admiralty - (May 1915 - December 1916)
Edward Carson - First Lord of the Admiralty - (10 December 1916 - 17 July 1917)
Eric Geddes - First Lord of the Admiralty - (July 1917 - January 1919)
"Jackie" Fisher - First Sea Lord - (1914 - May 1915)
Henry Jackson - First Sea Lord - (May 1915 - November 1916)
John Jellicoe - First Sea Lord (November 1916 - December 1917)
Rosslyn Wemyss - First Sea Lord (December 1917 - November 1919)

Dominion of Canada

Robert Borden - Prime Minister of Canada (1914-18) Sam Hughes- Minister of Militia and Defence (1914 - January 1915) Joseph Flavelle- Chairmen of Imperial Munitions Board (1915-19) Julian Byng (June 1916 - June 1917) Canadian Corps commander Edwin Alderson - Commander of the unified Canadian Corps of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (26 January 1915 - September 1915) Arthur Currie - Commander of the unified Canadian Corps of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (June 1917 -)

Robert Borden - Prime Minister of Canada (1914-18)
Sam Hughes- Minister of Militia and Defence (1914 - January 1915)
Joseph Flavelle- Chairmen of Imperial Munitions Board (1915-19)
Julian Byng (June 1916 - June 1917) Canadian Corps commander
Edwin Alderson - Commander of the unified Canadian Corps of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (26 January 1915 - September 1915)
Arthur Currie - Commander of the unified Canadian Corps of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (June 1917 -)

Commonwealth of Australia

Andrew Fisher - Prime Minister of Australia (until 27 October 1915) Billy Hughes - Prime Minister of Australia (from 27 October 1915) John Monash - Commander of the Australian Corps (all five Australian infantry divisions serving on the Western Front) (May 1918 -)

Andrew Fisher - Prime Minister of Australia (until 27 October 1915)
Billy Hughes - Prime Minister of Australia (from 27 October 1915)
John Monash - Commander of the Australian Corps (all five Australian infantry divisions serving on the Western Front) (May 1918 -)

Indian Empire

John Nixon commander of the British Indian Army (active in the Middle East)

John Nixon commander of the British Indian Army (active in the Middle East)

Union of South Africa

Louis Botha - Prime Minister of South Africa Jan Smuts - Led forces in South-West Africa Campaign and East African Campaign, later member of the Imperial War Cabinet

Louis Botha - Prime Minister of South Africa
Jan Smuts - Led forces in South-West Africa Campaign and East African Campaign, later member of the Imperial War Cabinet

Russia

Nicholas II - Russian Emperor, King of Poland, and Grand Prince of Finland. (Until 15 March 1917)
Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich - Commander-in-chief (1 August 1914 - 5 September 1916) and viceroy in the Caucasus
Alexander Samsonov - Commander of the Russian Second Army for the invasion of East Prussia (1 August 1914 - 29 August 1914)
Paul von Rennenkampf - Commander of the Russian First Army for the invasion of East Prussia (1 August 1914 - November 1914)
Nikolai Ivanov - Commander of the Russian army on the Southwestern Front, (1 August 1914 - March 1916) responsible for much of the action in Galicia
Aleksei Brusilov - Commander of the South-West Front, then provisional Commander-in-Chief after the Tsar's abdication (February 1917 - August 1917)
Lavr Georgievich Kornilov - Commander of the South-West Front, then Commander-in-Chief (August 1917)
Aleksey Kuropatkin - Commander of the Northern Front (October 1915 - 1917)
Nikolai Yudenich - Commander of the Caucasus (January 1915 - May 1917)
Andrei Eberhardt - Commander of Black Sea Fleet (1914-16)
Aleksandr Kolchak - Commander of Black Sea Fleet (1916-17)
Nikolai Essen - Commander of Baltic Fleet (1913 - May 1915)

France

Raymond Poincaré - President of France
René Viviani - Prime Minister of France (13 June 1914 - 29 October 1915)
Aristide Briand - Prime Minister of France (29 October 1915 - 20 March 1917)
Alexandre Ribot - Prime Minister of France (20 March 1917 - 12 September 1917)
Paul Painlevé - Prime Minister of France (1GHGH2 September 1917 - 16 November 1917)
Georges Clemenceau - Prime Minister of France (From 16 November 1917)
Joseph Joffre - Commander-in-Chief of the French Army (3 August 1914 - 13 December 1916) and Marshal of France
Robert Nivelle - Commander-in-Chief of the French Army (13 December 1916 - April 1917)
Philippe Pétain - Commander-in-Chief of the French Army (April 1917 - 26 March 1918) and Marshal of France
Ferdinand Foch - Commander-in-Chief of the French Army and Marshal of France, Supreme Allied Commander (26 March 1918 - 11 November 1918)
Milan Rastislav Stefanik - General of French Army, Commander of Czechoslovak Legions
Georges Thenault - Commander of the Lafayette Escadrille

Serbia

Peter I - King of Serbia
Vojvoda Radomir Putnik - Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army
Vojvoda Petar Bojović - Commander of First Army, later Chief of General Staff
Vojvoda Stepa Stepanović - Commander of Second Army
Vojvoda Živojin Mišić - Commander of 1st Serbian Army

Montenegro

Nicholas I - King of Montenegro
Serdar Janko Vukotić - Commander of 1st Montenegrin Army

Belgium

Albert I of Belgium - King of Belgium (23 December 1909 - 17 February 1934)

Italy

Victor Emmanuel III - King of Italy
Antonio Salandra - Prime Minister (until June 18, 1916)
Paolo Boselli - Prime Minister (June 18, 1916 - October 29, 1917)
Vittorio Emanuele Orlando - Prime Minister (from October 29, 1917)
Luigi Cadorna - Commander-in-Chief of the Italian army
Armando Diaz - Chief of General Staff of the Italian army
Luigi, Duke of Abruzzi - Commander-in-Chief of the Adriatic Fleet of Italy (1914-17)
Paolo Thaon di Revel - Admiral of the Royal Italian Navy
Vito Bolzanello da Roma- Captain of the Italian Navy

Romania

Ferdinand I - King of Romania
Constantin Prezan - Chief of the General Staff of Romania
Alexandru Averescu - Commander of the Romanian 2nd Army, 3rd Army, then Army Group South

United States

Woodrow Wilson - President of the United States/Commander-In-Chief of the U.S. armed forces
Newton D. Baker - U.S. Secretary of War
John J. Pershing - Commander of the American Expeditionary Force

Japan

Emperor Taish� - Emperor of Japan
ÅŒkuma Shigenobu - Prime Minister of Japan (16 April 1914 - 9 October 1916)
Terauchi Masatake - Prime minister of Japan (9 October 1916 - 29 September 1918)

Brazil

Venceslau Bras - President of Brazil
Pedro Frontin - Brazilian Admiral
Dr. Nabuco Gouveia - Chief of the Brazilian Medical Delegation

Portugal

Bernardino Machado - President of Portugal
Afonso Costa - Prime Minister of Portugal
Norton de Matos -War Minister
Tamagnini de Abreu - Commander of the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (CEP)
Alves Rox§adas - Commander of the Portuguese Forces in Southern Angola
Ferreira Gil - Commander of the Portuguese Forces in Eastern Africa

China

Feng Guozhang - President of the Republic of China
Duan Qirui - Premier of China

Personnel and casualties

Picture - Pie chart showing military deaths of the Allied Powers.

These are estimates of the cumulative number of different personnel in uniform 1914-1918, including army, navy and auxiliary forces. At any one time, the various forces were much smaller. Only a fraction of them were frontline combat troops. The numbers do not reflect the length of time each country was involved. (See also: World War I casualties.)

Summary of Allied declarations of war on Central Powers

List of the 23 member States of the Entente:

After the Assassination of Franz Ferdinand

Kingdom of Serbia: 28 July 1914
Russian Empire: 1 August 1914 (separate peace in November 1917)
France: 3 August 1914
Belgium: 4 August 1914
British Empire 4 August 1914
Nepal 4 August 1914
Kingdom of Montenegro: 8 August 1914 (capitulation in January 1916)
Empire of Japan: 23 August 1914

After the Miracle of the Marne

Italy: 23 May 1915
Portugal: 9 March 1916
Romania: 27 August 1916 (capitulation in December 1917, returned in November 1918)

After the Russian Revolution

United States: 6 April 1917
Greece: Officially, 2 July 1917 (since 24 November 1916 by Movement of National Defence)
Brazil: 26 October 1917

Special case: British Empire

Six Dominions of the British Empire, which were subordinate to London under international law, were admitted to the Conference of Versailles in recognition of their huge military involvement:

Canada
Australia
British India
New Zealand
Union of South Africa
Newfoundland

Special case: Nominal allies

Countries that declared war on Central Powers but had no military involvement in the conflict:

Cuba: 8 April 1917
Panama: 9 April 1917
Siam: 22 July 1917
Liberia: 4 August 1917
Republic of China: 14 August 1917
Guatemala: 25 April 1918
Nicaragua: 7 May 1918
Costa Rica: 25 May 1918
Honduras: 19 July 1918
Haiti: 25 July 1918
Andorra: remained in an official state of belligerency until 1957 as it was not included in the Treaty of Versailles.

Countries that severed relationships with Central Powers but did not declare war and had no military involvement:

Bolivia: April 1917
Peru: October 1917
Uruguay: October 1917
Ecuador: December 1917

Special case: Insurgent nationalities

Four insurgent nationalities, which voluntarily fought with the Allies and seceded from the constituent states of the Central Powers at the end of the war, were allowed to participate as winning nations to the peace treaties:

Poles
Czechoslovak Legions: armed by France, Italy and Russia
The Hejaz: armed by Britain in Arabia
Armenians: seceded from Russia and fought against Ottoman Empire (many ethnic Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire fought for the Ottoman Empire until the Ottomans turned on them)

Triple Entente
Participants in World War I
Central Powers
Allies of World War II

Footnotes

^1 The War Office (2006) [1922]. Statistics of the military effort of the British Empire during the Great War 1914-1920. Uckfield, East Sussex: Military and Naval Press. ISBN 1-84734-681-2. OCLC 137236769.
^2 Gilbert Martin (1994). Atlas of World War I. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-521077-8. OCLC 233987354.
^3 Tucker Spencer C (1999). The European Powers in the First World War: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland. ISBN 0-8153-3351-X.
^4 The Commonwealth War Graves Commission. "Annual Report 2005-2006" (PDF). http://www.cwgc.org/admin/files/6%20Statistics.pdf.
^5 The Commonwealth War Graves Commission. "Debt of Honour Register". http://www.cwgc.org/debt_of_honour.asp?menuid=14.
^6 Urlanis Boris (2003) [1971]. Wars and Population. Honolulu: University Press of the Pacific. OCLC 123124938.
^7 Huber Michel (1931) (in French). La population de la France pendant la guerre, avec un appendice sur Les revenus avant et aprx¨s la guerre. Paris. OCLC 4226464.
^8 Bujac Jean Léopold Emile (1930) (in French). Les campagnes de l'armx¨e Hellx¨nique 1918-1922. Paris: Charles-Lavauzelle. OCLC 10808602.
^9 Mortara Giorgio (1925) (in Italian). La Salute pubblica in Italia durante e dopo la Guerra. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. OCLC 2099099.
^10 Harries Merion, Harries Susie (1991). Soldiers of the Sun - The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army. Random House. ISBN 0-679-75303-6. OCLC 32615324.
^11 Clodfelter Michael (2002). Warfare and Armed Conflicts : A Statistical Reference to Casualty and Other Figures, 1500-2000 (2nd ed.). London: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-1204-6. OCLC 48066096.

Sources

See List of World War I books

Ellis, John and Mike Cox. The World War I Databook: The Essential Facts and Figures for All the Combatants (2002)
Esposito, Vincent J. The West Point Atlas of American Wars: 1900-1918 (1997) despite the title covers entire war; online maps from this atlas
Falls, Cyril. The Great War (1960), general military history
Higham, Robin and Dennis E. Showalter, eds. Researching World War I: A Handbook (2003), historiography, stressing military themes
Pope, Stephen and Wheal, Elizabeth-Anne, eds. The Macmillan Dictionary of the First World War (1995)
Strachan, Hew. The First World War: Volume I: To Arms (2004)
Trask, David F. The United States in the Supreme War Council: American War Aims and Inter-Allied Strategy, 1917-1918 (1961)
Tucker, Spencer, ed. The Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History (5 volumes) (2005), online at eBook.com
Tucker, Spencer, ed. European Powers in the First World War: An Encyclopedia (1999)

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Source: WikiPedia