Allies of World War I
The coalition that fought the Central Powers during World War I, led by France, the United Kingdom, Russia, and later the United States.
Triple Entente: The prewar understanding among France, Russia, and the United Kingdom that shaped their cooperation in World War I. It supplied the coalition’s principal prewar diplomatic foundation.
Western Front: The principal theater of trench warfare in France and Belgium during World War I. French, British, and later American forces fought together on the Allies’ main European front.
Woodrow Wilson: The 28th president of the United States, who led the country during its entry into World War I and the peace negotiations. His decision to bring the United States into the war altered Allied power and aims.
Serbia: A Balkan kingdom whose conflict with Austria-Hungary helped trigger the July Crisis of 1914. Its defense was central to Russia’s early involvement against Austria-Hungary.
Armistice of 11 November 1918: The agreement that ended fighting between the Allies and Germany on the Western Front on 11 November 1918. It marked the coalition’s military victory over Germany.
Central Powers: The wartime coalition of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. This opposing alliance defined the Allies’ main military and diplomatic challenge.
Eastern Front (World War I): The theater of World War I between the Central Powers and Russia and its allies in eastern Europe. Russian campaigns diverted Central Powers forces from other theaters until Russia left the war.
David Lloyd George: British prime minister from 1916 to 1922 and a leading Allied statesman during the war. He pressed for strategic coordination and represented Britain at the peace settlement.
Japan in World War I: Japan’s participation in World War I on the Allied side, including operations against German possessions in Asia and the Pacific. Japan joined the Allies in 1914 under its alliance with the United Kingdom.
Paris Peace Conference, 1919: The 1919–1920 negotiations that determined the postwar settlements between the Allies and defeated powers. Allied leaders negotiated the new European order and peace treaties there.