Re: WWI, is the term "Allies" a retronym?
score:17
Yes, at the start of the war. No, by the end.
It's an interesting question because the "Allies" were the "Entente Cordiale" of the UK and France and later the "Triple Entente" when Russia joined. They were formed to counter the "Triple Alliance" of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.
At the start of the war, yes, using the term "Allies" would be an anachronism. They were "the Entente". But by the end of the war, the coalition fighting the Central Powers were referred to as "the Allied Powers" in part because the Triple Alliance collapsed (Italy remained neutral and then declared war on Austria-Hungary) and there were just so many nations fighting the Central Powers most of whom were not members of the Entente.
The Great War YouTube channel, which I highly recommend, covers this a bit in an Out of the Trenches episode The Trench Coat - Entente or Allies?
The term "alliance" was very deeply embedded into the 19th century. Nowadays it's been replaced by the word "collation". There was the Dual Alliance, the Franco-Russian Alliance, there was even an Austro-Serbian Alliance.
At the time of The Great War allies fought allies, you're right, but in hindsight, mostly from a popular standpoint, it was easier to distinguish the two sides. Since the Triple Alliance broke up and the Triple Entente drew in more and more and more countries to their cause it was easier to simplify the term.
One example is that the United States was not technically an "ally" but rather an "associated power" who declared war on Germany for violating their neutrality. They wished to avoid "foreign entanglements" and so did not want to get involved in a European alliance.
The countries fighting the Central Powers are referred to in treaties as "The Allied Powers" or "The Allied and Associated Powers". For example there are...
- "Treaty of Peace between the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany" (aka the Treaty of Versailles)
- "Treaty of Peace between the Allied Powers and Austria"
- "The Treaty of Peace Between the Allied Powers and the Ottoman Empire" of 1920.
- "Treaty between the Principal Allied and Associated Powers and Bulgaria and Protocol"
- "Treaty of Peace between the Allied and Associated Powers and Hungary"
Upvote:-1
I would say that it was a retronym. Before the war, it was Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy against the Triple Entente of Britain, France and Russia. Italy deserted the Triple Alliance at the beginning of the war, and later joined the Entente, which made it four against two. It would have been four against four if you only count two more later joiners, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire on the German side, which became the "Central Powers."
But a bunch of smaller nations, Belgium, Luxembourg, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Greece, Japan, and ultimately the United States, aligned with the Entente, when they were attacked by, or went to war with one or more of the Central Powers.
Because it was a case of four against "everyone else," the "everyone else" became known as the "Allies." (The U.S. became an "Associated Power" rather than a full Ally, because it declared war on only Germany and Austria-Hungary, remaining technically neutral against Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire.)
More post
- 📝 What was the attitude of leaders of the Ionian Greeks towards Persia?
- 📝 Does anyone have an example of the Tamil elephant symbol?
- 📝 What are some other celebrated military failures, besides Gallipoli?
- 📝 Is whig history generally considered to be 'bad' history?
- 📝 Why was the Gilgamesh flood tablet such a sensation?
- 📝 What did the Russian ambassador to Japan do during his trip to London?
- 📝 Which European Languages are not Indo-European?
- 📝 Korean DMZ Soldiers
- 📝 In which situation is the broadside more preferable than every gun firing on their own time?
- 📝 Why did Cao Cao slaugther the inhabitants of towns?
- 📝 What is the proper terminology for the changes that occur in a text throughout history?
- 📝 Is the photograph "England’s Revenge in India" real, staged, or fake?
- 📝 Did Imperial Japan choose to ally with Nazi Germany because of ideological similarity?
- 📝 What cultures have had a lasting effect on Sicilian culture?
- 📝 When was the last time there were border controls, customs, or border patrols inside what is now the contiguous US?
- 📝 Presidents of the French Tribunate from 1799 to 1807
- 📝 Were taiko drums used to determine village sizes?
- 📝 Why, and how, was the Catholic Church in Spain reactionary in the early 20th century?
- 📝 Are there churches that belong to the German Armed Forces?
- 📝 How could the Roman sestertii/sesterces be converted into modern terms (say 2017 US$)?
- 📝 What were the differences between the Waffen SS and the Wehrmacht in their role during the war?
- 📝 Was there a US state where video games were banned by accident?
- 📝 Were the events in Nemmersdorf a PR stunt of the Nazi propaganda?
- 📝 Why did the United States decide to cross over the 38th parallel to North Korea after they attacked South Korea?
- 📝 What language did Nazi German occupying forces speak in France?
- 📝 What do "roses" represent in the history of Protestant vs Catholic conflict?
- 📝 Why did the Romans change Europe's language, but the barbarians didn't?
- 📝 Where, exactly, was the "Sudetenland?"
- 📝 Is the expression "Seal of" on the Seal of the POTUS redundant?
- 📝 Are there any underground cities known except those found in Cappadocia?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 When did the term "Nationality" first come into use? How did ancient civilizations refer to themselves? By ethnicity?
- 📝 Why did the term "Byzantine Empire" enter common usage instead of "Eastern Roman Empire" or "Roman Empire"
- 📝 The WWI Christmas truce of 1914 resulted in no consequences, in spite of clear warnings against such beforehand - why were there no courts-martial?
- 📝 Where did the term "Middle Ages" come from?
- 📝 Is There A Term For The Old Maps That Had Lines Connecting Pin-Wheels?
- 📝 What's the correct term for a waitress in the Middle Ages?
- 📝 Was it not clear to the WWI allies that they were over-reaching with the treaty of Sevres?
- 📝 Can anyone identify the regiment and rank from this WWI photograph?
- 📝 Since the inception of the United States, has the term "America" ever referred to something more than simply "the United States"?
- 📝 When and how did the term "Nazi" start replacing the term "Germans" in the context of WW2?
- 📝 Is there a term for the principle of preferring earlier statements over later statements made by historical eye witnesses?
- 📝 Did the Weimar governments publish revelatory WWI documents?
- 📝 Re: WWI, is the term "Allies" a retronym?
- 📝 Were union disputes the only reason for low female employment in WWI German factories?
- 📝 How did the British Army unit size and structure in WWI change from 1915 to 1918?
- 📝 Are these Polish WWI or WW2 uniforms? And any idea on the shorter gentleman's military decoration (cross?) on left shoulder?
- 📝 What is the proper term for the "year 0"?
- 📝 Which town or village in Britain lost the greatest percentage of men in WWI due to "Pals Battalions"?
- 📝 Where did the term "Radical Republican" come from?
- 📝 How long did Adolf Hitler serve on the front lines as an infantryman in WWI before becoming a courier?
- 📝 When the term "president" was used the first time?
- 📝 Can anyone confirm the identity of these WWI uniforms?
- 📝 What group is identified by the term "Egyptians" in the Flushing Remonstrance?
- 📝 Was the Bosnian Crisis the trigger to WWI and not the assassination?
- 📝 Is it true that Serbia was offered "Great Serbia" instead of Yugoslavia at the end of the WWI by Allies?
- 📝 What is the term for a person who surveys the land and relays messages from a noble to his governed village?
- 📝 Was the term 'renaissance' used during said period?
- 📝 Why didn't the WWI Allies attack through the Vosges Mountains after 1915?
- 📝 Is the term "chainmail" historically accurate, or a modern invention?
- 📝 Did allied soldiers in the WWII Pacific Theater use the term 'flak' for anti-aircraft guns?
