The Triple Alliance, contraction of the term "Triple Alliance", is the name given on the eve of 1914 to the alliance concluded between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy.
The beginnings
In 1879, at the instigation of Bismarck, a rapprochement took place between Germany and Austria-Hungary:the Duplice.
Assured of the support of their ally and of British neutrality, the Germans no longer had anything to fear from a France animated by a desire for revenge due to the loss of Alsace-Lorraine in 1870 and which surpassed them on the colonial plan. For its part, Austria-Hungary imposes a little more and German support can determine the outcome of the game of arm wrestling it plays with Russia in the Balkans.
The conclusion
In 1881, the French set foot in Tunisia and extended their colonial empire. This event then prompted Italy to request its integration into the German-Austrian association, despite the disputes between it and Austria for territorial reasons. The Triple Alliance or Triple Alliance was born in 1882.
Romania is secretly associated with it by a treaty signed on October 30, 1883 and renewed several times until 1914.
Consequences
From 1890 to 1914, the Triplice tried to isolate France diplomatically and to hinder its colonial expansion (incident of Fashoda in 1898 and Agadir in 1911). In order to protect and unite in the event of conflict, France, the United Kingdom and Russia created the Triple Entente in 1907. The tension between the two blocs then continued to mount, culminating in the First World War.
In 1915, however, against the promise of attribution of territories in Trentino-Alto Adige, on the Adriatic and in Turkey, the allies managed to make Italy leave the Triple Alliance, which then declared war on Germany. .