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Central Powers | |||||||||||
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| 1914–1918 | |||||||||||
 The Central Powers of Europe on 14 October 1915
Principal Central Powers:
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| Status | Military alliance | ||||||||||
| Historical era | World War I | ||||||||||
• Established | 1914 | ||||||||||
| 1918 | |||||||||||
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The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,[1][notes 1] were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria; this was also known as the Quadruple Alliance.[2][notes 2]
- Leaders of the Central Powers (left to right):
- Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany;
- Kaiser and King Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary;
- Sultan Mehmed V of the Ottoman Empire;
- Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria
- The caption reads:
- "Vereinte Kräfte führen zum Ziel"
- "United Powers Lead to the Goal"
The Central Powers' origin was the alliance of Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1879. Despite having nominally joined the Triple Alliance before, Italy did not take part in World War I on the side of the Central Powers. The Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria did not join until after World War I had begun. The Central Powers faced, and were defeated by, the Allied Powers, which themselves had formed around the Triple Entente.
- ^ e.g. in Britain and the Olympic Games, 1908–1920 by Luke J. Harris p. 185
- ^ Hindenburg, Paul von (1920). Out of my life. London : Cassell. p. 113 – via Internet Archive.
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