About That War 100 Years Ago-- Part 3: Forming Alliances

Italy, since her unification, would extend her boundaries to include Italian-speaking peoples to the north and east;  Austria-Hungary, cut off from expansion to the west, looked upon the Balkans as a normal region for expansion and thus came into conflict with Russia.

Obviously, there was enough tinder here for a dozen conflagrations, and it is amazing that, with the exception of the Balkans, Europe maintained peace over a long period.

For this period of peace, Germany was primarily responsible.  Wedged in between hostile nations and anxious to maintain the status quo in Europe, she constructed in 1882 the Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary and Italy.

To protect herself, France achieved an alliance with Russia in the early nineties and a close understanding with Great Britain, while the later attempted to iron out her conflicting imperialistic rivalries with Russia and Japan.

Just Waiting for a Spark.  --CootWar