The Triple Alliance was a defensive pact signed on May 20, 1882 among Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy, under which each member promised support if attacked by another great power. Germany and Austria-Hungary agreed to assist Italy if France attacked it without provocation, Italy agreed to reciprocate if Germany were attacked by France, and Italy pledged neutrality in any war between Austria-Hungary and Russia. Engineered chiefly by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the alliance aimed to preserve stability after German unification and to isolate France from potential allies who might help it reclaim Alsace-Lorraine. Romania secretly adhered to the alliance in 1883, but the pact proved fragile: Italy separately negotiated with France from 1902 and ultimately abandoned the alliance to join the opposing side when the First World War began, by which point the alliance had lasted, at least on paper, until 1915.
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