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On July 28 Austria declared war against Serbia.  Russia responded by a partial mobilization against Austria.  August 1 Germany declared war on Russia.  The Belgian government sent an ultimatum to Germany demanding that Belgian neutrality be respected.  Germany refused and Britain declared war on Germany that same day.  Italy remained neutral until May 23, 1915.  Italy broke with the Triple Alliance and declared war on Austria-Hungary.  Turkey, Japan and the U.S. were drawn into the conflict. Japan, which had made an alliance with Great Britain in 1902, declared war on Germany. The United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, after the sinking of the Lusitania.  This is how the opposing sides looked.

The Allies	The Central Powers
Great Britain	Germany
France	Austria-Hungary
Russia	Bulgaria
Italy	Ottoman Empire
United States
Japan
Belgium

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