League of the Three Emperors
After the founding of the German Reich in 1871, German Chancellor Bismarck created the 1873 League of the Three Emperors, or "Dreikaiserbund", between Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany. In 1878, the League collapsed due to competing Austrian and Russian aims in the Balkans, with Germany and Austria-Hungary forming the 1879 Dual Alliance. This became the Triple Alliance in 1882 with the addition of Italy.