The Opposing Forces

When the war began the Central Powers had 11,000,000 men (counting reserves) opposing the Allies' 9,500,000 (also counting reserves). The Central Powers' armies were better equipped. In training and morale, the two sides were about equal.

Germany was the best prepared of any country. It had an excellent system of military training and its army was well-supplied and confident. At the beginning of the war, Germany mobilized an army of 2,500,000 and had reserves totaling 4,500,000.

At the beginning of hostilities, Austria immediately mobilized about 1,000,000 men. By the middle of October, 1914, this number had been increased by another 500,000. Bulgaria and Turkey mobilized their forces shortly after the outbreak of hostilities, but their armies were poorly equipped and poorly trained.

France had the strongest army among the Allies. Not only was it well trained, but many of the troops on active duty were veterans of combat in Africa. The French had an excellent general staff and the morale of the soldiers was high. However, the French were not as well equipped as the Germans. At the start of hostilities, France mobilized 2,000,000 men and had another 2,000,000 in reserve.

The British had a strong navy but a small army. The regular army numbered only 250,000. There were also 700,000 reserves in various stages of training. Britain alone of the belligerents had never adopted peacetime conscription or universal military training.

Russia had a regular army of about 1,000,000 men with 3,000,000 more in reserve. Serbia had an army of some 250,000, with an equal number in reserve. Both Serbia and Russia were poorly equipped. The Belgian army totaled about 263,000 and had no reserves.