Another example was the relationship between France and Germany. As France and Russia were sworn enemies, this alliance gave some of the European states some protection. Generally, Secret Alliances is a serious account of activity for which, although in the end it was surprisingly peripheral, we can all be grateful. Thanks to men like Manus and Baalsrud, the Nazis were prevented from going nuclear. A meeting named “The Congress of Vienna”, held in 1815, helped establish an informal system of diplomacy, which was defined by national boundaries in a bid to ease tensions and prevent wars and revolutions. The coalition got its name due to the fact that it was based around Tsar Alexander’s vision of instilling Christian values and the divine right of kings across European political life. Although in reality, the three monarchs in the Alliance used it to suppress any revolutionary influences from entering their kingdoms. The Quadruple Alliance (1813 – 1815)

Historians over the years have tried to figure out who was really to blame for starting the war. Many historians today agree that Germany wanted to start the war. The German leaders felt that they were being surrounded by enemies (France, Russia) and that war was going to happen eventually. They felt that the sooner the war occurred, the better chance Germany had to win. Not that the British government was unified in its objectives. The two intelligence agencies, the SIS and SOE, frequently squabbled. Although we are now aware of all the clauses, changes and renewals for each of the aforementioned alliances and ententes, that was not the case at the time, where much of the alliance system, in the half century before the war, took place in secrecy.Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the Russian Federation and the Lugansk People's Republic [19] [20] Tony Insall draws on new archive material to provide an authoritative perspective on some of the most remarkable operations of the Second World War.” Military History Monthly

Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s the major powers in Europe had been building up their armies and navies in an arms race. a b "Sweden, Finland Sign Defense Treaty with the U.K. Ahead of Joining NATO". National Review. 11 May 2022. Insall has used a great deal of new material but expresses frustration at the documents which remain classified. Sometimes less is more, however: there is a bit of information overload, particularly in the early chapters concerning the humdrum process of intelligence gathering and collating. Later chapters, concerning the major operations, are a lot more thrilling, although I recommend Neal Bascomb’s Winter Fortress for an even pacier account of the Vemork sabotage. The Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy) formed the basis of the Central Powers, the dominant alliance bloc in central Europe. A military alliance is a formal agreement between nations, which promises the defence of all of its signatories according to the terms laid out in the agreement.

Our Secret Alliance Chapter 1

Austria-Hungary issued a number of harsh demands on Serbia, threatening to invade if Serbia did not comply. They gave them 48 hours to respond. When Serbia's response fell short of the demands, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28. Alliances arise from states’ attempts to maintain a balance of power with each other. In a system composed of a number of medium-size countries, such as that in Europe since the Middle Ages, no single state is able to establish a lasting hegemony over all the others, largely because the other states join together in alliances against it. Thus, the repeated attempts by King Louis XIV of France (reigned 1643–1715) to dominate continental Europe led to a coalition in opposition to France and eventually to the War of the Grand Alliance; and the ambitions of Napoleon were similarly thwarted by a series of alliances formed against him.

Following the defeat of Napoleon, the alliance was formalised with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, on the 20th November 1815. The Quintuple Alliance (1818) US and Papua New Guinea sign pact amid Pacific militarisation concerns". The Guardian. 22 May 2023 . Retrieved 14 August 2023. Using previously unpublished archival material from London, Oslo and Moscow, Insall explores how SIS and SOE worked effectively with their Norwegian counterparts to produce some of the most remarkable achievements of the Second World War Barnes, Robert (2022). " 'In the Mutual Interest': The Making and Breaking of the United Kingdom-Ceylon Defence Agreement, 1947–1957". The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History. 50 (6): 1093–1122. doi: 10.1080/03086534.2022.2084932. S2CID 249944469. The presence of emperors and their interests, changes in administration, a series of revolutions, and rising nationalist movements (where the state wanted to own everything) in Germany, Italy, and other countries saw European tensions rise again and marked the beginning of rivalries. Alliances were favoured once again as nations tried to defend and advance their interests.Particularly in the early years, neither the Allies nor the Germans were especially competent. Espionage operations could be astonishingly amateurish, and they could also be disastrous. To this day, the memory lingers of the notorious massacre at Telavåg in 1942, when the Nazis slaughtered an entire village as punishment for harbouring two spies sent from Britain. At certain times, these coalitions included Britain, Prussia, Sweden, Russia, Holland, Austria, Spain and Portugal. After Napoleon was defeated in 1815 at Waterloo, England, European leaders strived to restore normality and achieve stability in their respective nations. German nationalists believed in this treaty as they saw it as a way of achieving their goal of uniting Germany and Austria as one nation.

National tensions and rivalries have made alliances a common feature of European politics, however the alliance system became particularly extensive in the late 1800s. An example was France and England, who were ancient rivals, which led to open warfare several times. In this definitive appraisal of Anglo-Norwegian cooperation in the Second World War, Tony Insall reveals how some of the most striking successes of the Norwegian resistance were the reports produced by the heroic SIS agents living in the country’s desolate wilderness. Their coast-watching intelligence highlighted the movements of the German fleet and led to counter-strikes which sank many enemy ships – most notably the Tirpitz in November 1944. Solomon Islands signs China pact, defying Australia". Taipei Times. 20 April 2022 . Retrieved 20 April 2022. South Korea-Japan Defense Pact [38] is a proposed alliance between South Korea & Japan in response to increased aggression from North Korea.The Anglo-Russian Entente (1907). This agreement between Britain and Russia eased tensions and restored good relations between the two nations. Britain and Russia had spent much of the 19th century as antagonists, going to war in the Crimea (1853-56) and later reaching the verge of war twice. The Anglo-Russian Entente resolved several points of disagreement, including the status of colonial possessions in the Middle East and Asia. It did not involve any military commitment or support. It is worth noting that despite not being a formal military alliance, all three members of the Triple Entente entered the war as the Allied Powers and later agreed to only negotiate any future peace terms together as one. How Did Alliances Lead to WW1? These terms are usually present in an alliance document. Moreover, alliances can also be economic terms, such as bilateral or multilateral trade agreements, investments, or even loans.