History In the early 20th century, Europe divided itself into two opposing powers, the Triple Alliance was made up of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy formed in 1882. On the other hand, the Triple Entente which was formed in 1907 composed of Britain, Russia, and France. The Triple Alliance Germany was initially a collection of states of which Prussia was the most powerful in industrial, military, and infrastructural terms. After the Prussian statesman Bismarck won a battle against France in 1870 in which he seized an important French industrial area called Alsace-Lorraine, he united with the other German states to form a new powerful German empire. Austria-Hungary was a sprawling country in Central Europe. It was made up of people of different ethic groups such as the Slovaks, Czechs, Serbs, Germans, Poles, and many more. Austria-Hungary was a very socially fragmented country with each ethic group having their own costumes and language. Like Germany, Italy was a collection of states that united together. Germany and Italy had a strong desire to have their own colonies overseas as other countries did like France, Portuguese, and Britain.