Allies of World War I



The Entente Powers or Allies (Forces de l'Entente / Alliés; Alleati; Puterile Antantei / Aliații; Союзники, Soyuzniki; Савезници, Saveznitsi; İttifak Devletleri) were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the French Republic, the British Empire and the Russian Empire; Italy ended its alliance with the Central Powers and entered the war on the side of the Entente in 1915. Japan, Belgium, Serbia, Greece, Montenegro, Romania and the Czechoslovak legions were secondary members of the Entente.

The United States declared war on Germany in 1917 on the grounds that Germany violated U.S. neutrality by attacking international shipping and because of the Zimmermann Telegram sent to Mexico. The U.S. entered the war as an "associated power," rather than a formal ally of France and the United Kingdom, in order to avoid "foreign entanglements." Although the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria severed relations with the United States, neither declared war.

Although the Dominions and Crown Colonies of the British Empire made significant contributions to the Allied war effort, they did not have independent foreign policies during World War I. Operational control of British Empire forces was in the hands of the five-member British War Cabinet (BWC). However, the Dominion governments controlled recruiting, and did remove personnel from front-line duties as they saw fit.

From early 1917 the BWC was superseded by the Imperial War Cabinet, which had Dominion representation. The Australian Corps and Canadian Corps were placed for the first time under the command of Australian and Canadian Lieutenant Generals John Monash and Arthur Currie, respectively, who reported in turn to British generals. In April 1918, operational control of all Entente forces on the Western Front passed to the new supreme commander, Ferdinand Foch.

History
The original alliance opposed to the Central Powers was the Triple Entente, which was formed by three Great European Powers: The war began with the Austrian attack invasion of Serbia on 28 July 1914, in response to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The Austrian Empire followed with an attack on Serbian allies Montenegro on 8 August. On the Western Front, the two neutral States of Belgium and Luxembourg were immediately occupied by German troops as part of the German Schlieffen Plan.
 * 🇫🇷 French Republic
 * British Empire
 * undefined

Of the two Low Countries, Luxembourg chose to capitulate, and was viewed as a collaborationist State by the Entente Powers: Luxembourg never became part of the Allies, and only narrowly avoided Belgian efforts of annexation, at the conclusion of hostilities in 1919. On 23 August Japan joined the Entente, which then counted seven members. . The entrance of the British Empire brought Nepal into the war.

On 23 May 1915, Italy entered the war on the Entente side and declared war on Austria; previously, Italy had been a member of the Triple Alliance but had remained neutral since the beginning of the conflict. In 1916, Montenegro capitulated and left the Entente, and two nations joined, Portugal and Romania.

On 6 April 1917 the United States and its American allies entered the war. Liberia, Siam and Greece also became allies. After the October Revolution, Russia left the alliance and ended formal involvement in the war, by the signing of the treaty of Brest Litovsk in November effectively creating a separate peace with the Central Powers. This was followed by Romanian cessation of hostilities, however the Balkan State declared war on Central Powers again on 10 November 1918. The Russian withdrawal allowed for the final structure of the alliance, which was based on five Great Powers:
 * 🇫🇷 French Republic
 * British Empire
 * 🇺🇸 United States
 * undefined
 * undefined

[[france|🇫🇷]] France

 * Raymond Poincaré – President of France
 * René Viviani – Prime Minister of France (13 June 1914 – 29 October 1915)
 * Aristide Briand – Prime Minister of France (29 October 1915 – 20 March 1917)
 * Alexandre Ribot – Prime Minister of France (20 March 1917 – 12 September 1917)
 * Paul Painlevé – Prime Minister of France (12 September 1917 – 16 November 1917)
 * Georges Clemenceau – Prime Minister of France (From 16 November 1917)
 * Joseph Joffre – Commander-in-Chief of the French Army (3 August 1914 – 13 December 1916) and Marshal of France
 * Robert Nivelle – Commander-in-Chief of the French Army (13 December 1916 – April 1917)
 * Philippe Pétain – Commander-in-Chief of the French Army (April 1917 – 11 November 1918)
 * Ferdinand Foch – Marshal of France, Supreme Allied Commander (26 March 1918 – 11 November 1918)
 * Milan Rastislav Stefanik – General of French Army, Commander of Czechoslovak Legions
 * Georges Thenault – Commander of the Lafayette Escadrille

[[united kingdom|🇬🇧]] British Empire

 * George V – King of the United Kingdom, Emperor of India
 * H. H. Asquith – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Until 5 December 1916)
 * David Lloyd George – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (From 7 December 1916)
 * Horatio Herbert Kitchener – Secretary of State for War (5 August 1914 – 5 June 1916)
 * William Robertson – Chief of the Imperial General Staff (23 December 1915 – February 1918)
 * John French – Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force (4 August 1914 – 15 December 1915)
 * Douglas Haig – Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force (15 December 1915 – 11 November 1918)
 * Hugh Trenchard – Commander of Royal Flying Corps – (August 1915 – January 1918)
 * Winston Churchill – First Lord of the Admiralty – (1911 – May 1915)
 * Arthur Balfour- First Lord of the Admiralty – (May 1915 – December 1916)
 * Edward Carson – First Lord of the Admiralty – (10 December 1916 – 17 July 1917)
 * Eric Geddes – First Lord of the Admiralty – (July 1917 – January 1919)
 * "Jackie" Fisher – First Sea Lord – (1914 – May 1915)
 * Henry Jackson – First Sea Lord – (May 1915 – November 1916)
 * John Jellicoe – First Sea Lord (November 1916 – December 1917)
 * Rosslyn Wemyss – First Sea Lord (December 1917 – November 1919)

[[canada|🇨🇦]] Dominion of Canada

 * Robert Borden – Prime Minister of Canada (1914–18)
 * Sam Hughes – Minister of Militia and Defence (1914 – January 1915)
 * Joseph Flavelle- Chairman of Imperial Munitions Board (1915–19)
 * 🇬🇧 Julian Byng (June 1916 – June 1917) Canadian Corps commander
 * Edwin Alderson – Commander of the unified Canadian Corps of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (26 January 1915 – September 1915)
 * Arthur Currie – Commander of the unified Canadian Corps of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (June 1917 –)

[[australia|🇦🇺]] Commonwealth of Australia

 * Joseph Cook – Prime Minister of Australia (until 17 September 1914)
 * Andrew Fisher – Prime Minister of Australia (17 September 1914 – 27 October 1915)
 * Billy Hughes – Prime Minister of Australia (from 27 October 1915)
 * John Monash – Commander of the Australian Corps (all five Australian infantry divisions serving on the Western Front) (May 1918 –)
 * William Holmes – Commander of the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (August 1914 – February 1915)
 * Henry Chauvel – Commander of Desert Mounted Corps (Sinai and Palestine) (August 1917 –)

British India

 * Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst – Viceroy of India 1910–1916
 * Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford – Viceroy of India 1916–1921
 * Austen Chamberlain – Secretary of State for India
 * John Nixon commander of the British Indian Army (active in the Middle East)

Union of South Africa

 * Louis Botha – Prime Minister of South Africa
 * Jan Smuts – Led forces in South-West Africa Campaign and East African Campaign, later member of the Imperial War Cabinet

[[new zealand|🇳🇿]] New Zealand

 * William Massey – Prime Minister of New Zealand
 * 🇬🇧 General Sir Alexander Godley – Commandant of New Zealand Military Forces (to October 1914); Commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force
 * Major General Sir Alfred William Robin – Quartermaster-General and Commandant of New Zealand Military Forces (from October 1914)

Russia

 * Nicholas II — Russian Emperor, King of Poland, and Grand Prince of Finland. (Until 15 March 1917)
 * Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich – Commander-in-chief (1 August 1914 – 5 September 1916) and viceroy in the Caucasus
 * Alexander Samsonov – Commander of the Russian Second Army for the invasion of East Prussia (1 August 1914 – 29 August 1914)
 * Paul von Rennenkampf – Commander of the Russian First Army for the invasion of East Prussia (1 August 1914 – November 1914)
 * Nikolai Ivanov – Commander of the Russian army on the Southwestern Front, (1 August 1914 – March 1916) responsible for much of the action in Galicia
 * Aleksei Brusilov – Commander of the South-West Front, then provisional Commander-in-Chief after the Tsar's abdication (February 1917 – August 1917)
 * Lavr Georgievich Kornilov – Commander of the South-West Front, then Commander-in-Chief (August 1917)
 * Aleksey Kuropatkin – Commander of the Northern Front (October 1915 – 1917)
 * Nikolai Yudenich – Commander of the Caucasus (January 1915 – May 1917)
 * Andrei Eberhardt – Commander of Black Sea Fleet (1914–16)
 * Aleksandr Kolchak – Commander of Black Sea Fleet (1916–17)
 * Nikolai Essen – Commander of Baltic Fleet (1913 – May 1915)

Serbia

 * Peter I – King of Serbia
 * Crown Prince Alexander – Regent, Commander-in-Chief
 * Nikola Pašić – Prime Minister
 * Radomir Putnik – Field Marshal, Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army
 * Živojin Mišić – General / Field Marshal, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army, Deputy Commander of First Army, later Chief of General Staff
 * Petar Bojović – General / Field Marshal, Commander of First Army, Deputy Chief of General Staff, later Commander of First Army
 * Stepa Stepanović – General / Field Marshal, Commander of Second Army
 * Pavle Jurišić Šturm – General, Commander of Third Army
 * Dragutin Gavrilović - Major

Montenegro

 * Nicholas I – King of Montenegro
 * Serdar Janko Vukotić – Commander of 1st Montenegrin Army
 * Crown Prince Danilo II Petrović-Njegoš – In the staff of the 1st Montenegrin Army
 * Brigadier General Krsto Zrnov Popović – In the staff of the 1st Montenegrin Army, Aide-de-camp to Serdar Janko Vukotić
 * General Anto Gvozdenović – King's Aide-de-camp
 * Divisional General Mitar Martinović – Commander of several detachments in the Montenegrin army ( Drina and Herzegovina detachments together in 1914–1915, Kotor detachment in 1916 )

Greece

 * Eleftherios Venizelos: Prime minister of Greece after 13 June 1917.
 * Constantin I: King of Greece, he retired from the throne, without formally resigned.
 * Alexander: King of Greece, he became King of Greece after his father retired from the throne.
 * Panagiotis Danglis: Greek general in the Hellenic Army.

[[belgium|🇧🇪]] Belgium

 * Albert I of Belgium – King of Belgium (23 December 1909 – 17 February 1934)
 * Leon de Witte – Belgian commander at the Battle of Haelen (1914)
 * Theophile Figeys – Belgian general in the Hundred Days Offensive

Italy

 * Victor Emmanuel III – King of Italy
 * Antonio Salandra – Prime Minister (until 18 June 1916)
 * Paolo Boselli – Prime Minister (18 June 1916 – 29 October 1917)
 * Vittorio Emanuele Orlando – Prime Minister (from 29 October 1917)
 * Luigi Cadorna – Commander-in-Chief of the Italian army
 * Armando Diaz – Chief of General Staff of the Italian army
 * Luigi, Duke of Abruzzi – Commander-in-Chief of the Adriatic Fleet of Italy (1914–17)
 * Paolo Thaon di Revel – Admiral of the Royal Italian Navy

Romania

 * Ferdinand I – King of Romania
 * Constantin Prezan – Chief of the General Staff of Romania
 * Alexandru Averescu – Commander of the Romanian 2nd Army, 3rd Army, then Army Group South

[[united states|🇺🇸]] United States

 * Woodrow Wilson – President of the United States/Commander-In-Chief of the U.S. armed forces
 * Newton D. Baker – U.S. Secretary of War
 * John J. Pershing – Commander of the American Expeditionary Force

Japan

 * Emperor Taishō – Emperor of Japan
 * Ōkuma Shigenobu – Prime Minister of Japan (16 April 1914 – 9 October 1916)
 * Terauchi Masatake – Prime minister of Japan (9 October 1916 – 29 September 1918)
 * Hara Takashi – Prime minister of Japan (29 September 1918 – 4 November 1921)

[[portugal|🇵🇹]] Portugal

 * Bernardino Machado – President of Portugal (until 12 December 1917)
 * Afonso Costa – Prime Minister of Portugal (until 15 March 1916; then again 25 April 1917 – 10 December 1917)
 * António José de Almeida – Prime Minister of Portugal (15 March 1916 – 25 April 1917)
 * Sidónio Pais – Prime Minister of Portugal and War Minister (11 December 1917 – 9 May 1918) and President of Portugal (from 9 May 1918)
 * José Maria Norton de Matos – War Minister (until 10 December 1917)
 * João Tamagnini Barbosa – Interim War Minister (9 May 1918 – 15 May 1918)
 * Amílcar Mota – Secretary of State for War (15 May 1918 – 8 October 1918)
 * Álvaro de Mendonça – Secretary of State for War (from 8 October 1918)
 * Fernando Tamagnini de Abreu – Commander of the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (CEP)
 * José Augusto Alves Roçadas – Commander of the Portuguese Forces in Southern Angola
 * José Luís de Moura Mendes – Commander of the Portuguese Forces in Eastern Africa (until June 1916)
 * José César Ferreira Gil – Commander of the Portuguese Forces in Eastern Africa (from June 1916)
 * Sousa Rosa – Commander of the Portuguese Forces in Eastern Africa (from 1917)

[[thailand|🇹🇭]] Siam

 * Vajiravudh – King of Siam
 * Chakrabongse Bhuvanadh – Commander of Siamese Expeditionary Forces in Western Front.

[[brazil|🇧🇷]] Brazil
See main Article: Brazil during World War I
 * Venceslau Bras – President of Brazil
 * Admiral Pedro Frontin, Chief of DNOG (Brazilian Expeditionary Fleet)
 * General Napoleão Felipe Aché, Chief of Brazilian Military Mission in France
 * Dr. Nabuco Gouveia – Chief of the Brazilian Medical Delegation

Personnel and casualties
These are estimates of the cumulative number of different personnel in uniform 1914–1918, including army, navy and auxiliary forces. At any one time, the various forces were much smaller. Only a fraction of them were frontline combat troops. The numbers do not reflect the length of time each country was involved. (See also: World War I casualties.)

Summary of Allied declarations of war on Central Powers
The following table shows the timeline of the several declarations of war among the belligerent powers. Entries on a yellow background show severed diplomatic relations only, not actual declarations of war. Unless stated otherwise, declarations of war by and on the United Kingdom include de facto declarations by and on other members of the British Empire.

Special case: Insurgent nationalities
Four insurgent nationalities, which voluntarily fought with the Allies and seceded from the constituent states of the Central Powers at the end of the war, were allowed to participate as winning nations to the peace treaties:
 * 🇵🇱 Poles
 * Czechoslovak Legions: armed by France, Italy and Russia
 * Kingdom of Hejaz: armed by Britain in Arabia
 * 🇦🇲 Armenians: seceded from Russia and fought against Ottoman Empire.