In 1882, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy formed the Triple Alliance. The three countries agreed to support each other if attacked by either France or Russia.

France felt threatened by this alliance. Britain was also concerned by the growth in the German navy and in 1904 France and Britain signed the Entente Cordiale (friendly understanding). The objective of the alliance was to encourage cooperation against the perceived threat of Germany.

Three years later, Russia, who feared the growth of the German army, joined Britain and France to form the Triple Entente. The Russian government was also concerned about the possibility of Austria-Hungary increasing the size of its empire. It therefore promised to help Serbia if it was attacked by members of the Triple Alliance.

The 1882 Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy had left Russia vulnerable, while France had been diplomatically isolated since its defeat in the 1870 Franco- Prussian War. Despite the political differences between France, a republic, and Russia, an absolute monarchy, relations between the two countries rapidly improved.

Russia and France started extensive negotiations and the Franco-Russian Alliance was drafted on August 17, 1892. It became final on January 4, 1894. The alliance was to remain in place as long as the Triple Alliance existed. The secret treaty between France and Russia stipulated that if one of the countries of the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy) would mobilise their army, Russia and France would both attack Germany.

As early as March 1881, the French statesman Léon Gambetta and the then Prince of Wales, Albert Edward, met at the Château de Breteuil to discuss an alliance against Germany. However, a decade later, on the initiative of Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain, there were three rounds of British-German talks between 1898 and 1901. After Albert Edward became King Edward VII, he declined to accede to the Triple Alliance, broke off the negotiations with Berlin and revived the idea of a British-French alliance.

When the Russo-Japanese War was about to erupt, France and Britain found themselves on the verge of being dragged into the conflict on the side of their respective allies. France was firmly allied with Russia, while Britain had recently signed the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. In order to avoid going to war, both powers reverted to solve their rivalry and differences in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific.

Toward this end, French Foreign Minister Théophile Delcassé, and Lord Lansdowne, the British Foreign Secretary, negotiated an agreement on colonial matters, and Lord Lansdowne and Paul Cambon, the French ambassador to Britain, signed the resulting Entente Cordiale on April 8, 1904.

The agreement settled many long-standing issues. France recognised British control over Egypt, while Britain reciprocated regarding France in Morocco. France gave up its exclusive fishery rights on the shores of Newfoundland and in return received an indemnity and territory in Gambia (Senegal) and Nigeria. Britain dropped complaints regarding the French customs régime in Madagascar. The respective spheres of influence were defined in Siam (Thailand).

During the late 19th century, Russian imperial advances into central Asia and the consolidation of British imperial domination in south Asia led to intense rivalry between the two European powers. The conflicting interests centred on Afghanistan, Persia, and Tibet, three states that constituted buffers between Britain’s and Russia’s colonial possessions in Asia.

The emergence of Germany as a world power and the humiliating defeat in 1905 of Russia by a nascent Asian power, Japan, helped to persuade some British and Russian officials of a need to resolve their respective differences in Asia. Consequently, on August 31, 1907, both countries signed the Anglo-Russian Entente to regulate their economic and political interests.

The convention of 1907 stated that Persia would be split into three zones: a Russian zone in the north, a British zone in the southeast, and a neutral buffer zone in the remaining land. Britain was not to seek concessions beyond a line starting from Qasr-e Shirin, passing through Isfahan, Yezd (Yazd), Kakhk, and ending at a point on the Persian frontier at the intersection of the Russian and Afghan frontiers. Afghanistan was a British protectorate. A separate treaty was drawn up to resolve disputes regarding Tibet.

The Anglo-Russian Entente did not eliminate all competition between the two powers with respect to their policies in Persia, but after 1907 it did foster broad cooperation.

The Russian government promised to help Serbia if it was attacked by members of the Triple Alliance

Thus, England was bound to France and Russia by ententes and France and Russia were held together by a firm alliance called the Triple Entente. The alliance was made immediately after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente during the same year.

In contrast to the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy), the terms of the entente did not require each country to go to war on behalf of the others, but stated that they had a ‘moral obligation’ to support each other. All were united in their suspicions of German plans to dominate Europe. The entente was created to balance the growing power of Germany by being more powerful itself.

The alliance of the three powers, supplemented by agreements with Portugal and Japan, constituted a powerful counterweight to the Triple Alliance. In June 1902, Italy subsequently negotiated a secret agreement with France, under which Italy would remain neutral should Germany attack France, effectively nullifying their alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary. In 1912, Britain and France concluded a military agreement, the Anglo-French Naval Convention, which promised British protection of France’s coastline from German naval attack and French defence of the Suez Canal.

The possibility of an alliance between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Empire of Japan had been canvassed since 1895, when Britain refused to join the triple intervention of France, Germany and Russia against the Japanese occupation of the Liaotung peninsula. The 1894 Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation had also paved the way for equal relations and the possibility of an alliance.

In the end, the common interest truly fuelling the alliance was opposition to Russian expansion. Negotiations began when Russia began to move into China. Nevertheless, both countries had their reservations. Britain was unwilling to protect Japanese interests in Korea and likewise the Japanese were unwilling to support Britain in India.

The Japanese ambassador in Britain, Count Hayashi Tadasu Hayashi, and the British Foreign Secretary Lord Lansdowne began their discussions in July 1901, and disputes over Korea and India delayed them until November. At this point, Hirobumi Ito requested a delay in negotiations in order to attempt a reconciliation with Russia. He was mostly unsuccessful, and Britain expressed concerns over duplicity on Japan’s part, so Hayashi hurriedly re-entered negotiations in 1902.

The treaty was duly signed in London on January 30, 1902, and was considered a triumph in Japan, where it had a powerful influence in boosting national pride. For the first time, a European country had allied with an Asiatic power against a western rival. The treaty laid out an acknowledgement of Japanese interests in Korea without obligating the UK to help should a Russo-Japanese conflict arise on this account. Japan was not obligated to defend British interests in India. Although written using careful and clear language, the two sides understood the treaty slightly differently. The UK saw it as a gentle warning to Russia, while Japan was emboldened by it.

In effect, the British sanctioned Japanese aggression in Korea and strengthened the Japanese to challenge the Russians successfully in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, which put Japan on course to dominate Manchuria. In response to the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, Russia sought to form alliances with France and Germany, which Germany declined.

On March 16, 1902, a mutual pact was signed between France and Russia. China and the United States were strongly opposed to the alliance. Nevertheless, the nature of the Anglo-Japanese alliance meant that France was unable to come to Russia’s aid in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.

The alliance was renewed and extended in scope twice, in 1905 and 1911. The July 1905, renegotiations allowed for Japanese support of British interests in India and British support for Japanese progress into Korea. By November of that year, Korea was a Japanese protectorate.

All were united in their suspicions of German plans to dominate Europe

The alliance’s provisions for mutual defence prompted Japan to enter World War I on the British side. Japan attacked the German base at Tsingtao in 1914 and forced the Germans to surrender. In 1917, Japanese warships were sent to the Mediterranean and assisted in the protection of Allied shipping near Malta from U-boat attacks. The treaty also made possible the Japanese seizure of German possessions in the Pacific north of the equator during World War I, a huge boon to Japan’s imperial interests.

The Pacific powers of the US, Japan, France, and Great Britain would sign the Four-Power Treaty, which provided a minimal structure for the expectations of international relations in the Pacific, as well as a loose alliance without any commitment to armed alliances. The Four-Power Treaty at the Washington Conference made the Anglo-Japanese Alliance defunct in December, 1921. However, it would not officially terminate until all parties ratified the treaty on August 17, 1923.

With the outbreak of World War I, the Triple Entente, which was also known simply as the Allies, was composed of the Russian Empire, which entered war on July 30, 1914, the French Republic, which entered on August 3, 1914 and the British Empire, which entered on August 4, 1914; Italy joined the Triple Entente on May 23, 1915.

Secondary members of the Triple Entente were Serbia, which entered on July 28, 1914, Belgium, which entered on August 4, 1914, Japan, which entered on August 23, 1914, Montenegro, which entered on August 5 1915, Portugal, which entered on March 9, 1916, Romania, which entered on August 27, 1916, the US, which entered on April 6, 1917, and Greece, which entered on July 2, 1917.

(Concluded)

Relevant artefacts and information can be seen at Heritage Malta’s National War Museum in Valletta.

Charles Debono is curator, National War Museum.