Central Powers

<p>The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires, were one of the two main coalitions that fought in <a href="/facts/World_War_I/vITTUanQ">World War I</a> (1914–1918). It consisted of the <a href="/facts/German_Empire/lwQutJyN">German Empire</a>, <a href="/facts/Austria-Hungary/9WPUPj0W">Austria-Hungary</a>, the <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Empire/6QvfTRsg">Ottoman Empire</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Bulgaria/8p074GL0">Kingdom of Bulgaria</a>; this was also known as the Quadruple Alliance.
</p><p>The Central Powers' origin was the <a href="/facts/Dual_Alliance_(1879)/vr5YSgoY">alliance of Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1879</a>. Despite having nominally joined the <a href="/facts/Triple_Alliance_(1882)/IhQoVYeY">Triple Alliance</a> before, <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Italy/X5hxYBvF">Italy</a> did not take part in World War I on the side of the Central Powers and later joined on the side of the <a href="/facts/Allies_of_World_War_I/HBo9sw1M">Allies</a>. 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 <a href="/facts/Triple_Entente/pyxyg1cA">Triple Entente</a>. They dissolved in 1918 after they lost the war.
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Central Powers