When the First World War began in August 1914, Europe possessed some of the most powerful armed forces the world had ever seen. The major powers had spent decades preparing for a conflict that many believed was inevitable.
Yet comparing the military strength of the various countries is surprisingly difficult. A country's standing army, its trained reserves, its ability to mobilize, and its navy all tell different stories. Britain, for example, had a relatively small army but possessed by far the world's most powerful navy and could draw upon the resources of a global empire. Russia had enormous manpower but faced serious problems with transportation, organization, and equipment.
For the purposes of this article, "largest military" means the combination of army manpower, mobilization potential, and naval strength at or immediately before the outbreak of war. By that measure, the five most important military powers were Russia, Germany, France, Austria-Hungary, and Britain.
The order, however, depends on what one chooses to emphasize.
You may also be interested in The Top Five Militaries at the Outbreak of World War II
1. Russia: The World's Largest Army
If the question is simply which country had the largest army in 1914, the answer was the Russian Empire.
Russia had an enormous population—more than 150 million people—and operated a system of universal military service. Its peacetime army was already enormous, while its trained reserves provided an even greater pool of manpower.
Estimates of the Russian army's size vary depending upon whether one counts only active forces or includes trained reserves. One commonly cited estimate puts the peacetime army at approximately 1.4 million men, with roughly 2.8 million first-line trained reservists. Russia could ultimately mobilize vastly more.
This was the fundamental strategic advantage of Russia.
It had men.
The problem was getting those men to the battlefield.
The Russian Army
Russia's army was undergoing a major modernization program before the war.
The government recognized that the army needed:
- More modern artillery
- Better communications
- Improved transportation
- More machine guns
- Better mobilization procedures
- Improved officer training
The Russian Great Military Program of 1914 was particularly ambitious. It would have substantially increased Russian military strength over the following several years. German military planners were increasingly concerned that the Russian Empire would eventually become overwhelmingly powerful if given enough time.
The irony was that Russia went to war before many of these reforms were complete.
The Russian Navy
Russia's navy was much less impressive than its army.
The Russian fleet had been devastated by its defeat against Japan in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905.
Russia subsequently rebuilt its naval forces, but the fleet was divided between the Baltic and Black Seas, with no easy way to combine the two.
In 1914 Russia possessed approximately:
- 10 pre-dreadnought battleships
- 10 cruisers
- 25 destroyers
- 22 submarines
It therefore ranked well below Britain and Germany in naval power.
Russia's Strength and Weakness
Russia's military paradox was simple:
It possessed enormous potential but had difficulty converting that potential into effective combat power.
Its transportation system was inadequate for the enormous distances involved.
The Russian Army also suffered from shortages of artillery shells, rifles, machine guns, communications equipment, and other supplies.
Nevertheless, Germany and Austria-Hungary could not ignore Russia.
Russia's ability to mobilize millions of men was one of the fundamental facts shaping the strategy of the First World War.
2. Germany: Europe's Most Powerful Military Machine
If Russia had the largest army, Germany arguably possessed the most formidable overall military system on the European continent.
Germany entered the war with approximately 3.8 million men available in its mobilized army, making it the second-largest army after Russia.
Germany's advantage, however, was not simply numbers.
It was organization.
The German Army
The German Army had been carefully developed during the decades following German unification in 1871.
It possessed:
- An extensive reserve system
- Highly trained officers
- An effective General Staff
- Excellent mobilization planning
- Modern artillery
- Strong logistical organization
- A sophisticated railway network
- A tradition of professional military planning
The German military system was designed around the assumption that Germany might have to fight France and Russia simultaneously.
This created an enormous strategic problem.
Germany needed to defeat one enemy quickly before the other could fully mobilize.
That assumption was central to the famous Schlieffen Plan and the German invasion of Belgium in August 1914.
German Artillery
German artillery was particularly impressive.
Germany had invested heavily in heavy artillery, including 150-mm guns that could provide substantially greater firepower than many of the lighter weapons emphasized by other armies.
The German Army had approximately 400 150-mm pieces at the beginning of the war, compared with roughly 104 French 155-mm field guns.
This would become increasingly important as the war developed into trench warfare.
The German Navy
Germany also possessed the world's second-largest modern battle fleet.
The Kaiserliche Marine, or Imperial German Navy, had been dramatically expanded under Kaiser Wilhelm II and Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz.
Its primary purpose was to challenge Britain's naval supremacy.
By 1914 Germany possessed approximately:
- 15 dreadnought battleships
- 5 battle cruisers
- 22 pre-dreadnought battleships
- 40 cruisers
- 90 destroyers
- 115 torpedo boats
- 31 submarines
Britain nevertheless maintained a substantial numerical advantage.
The Anglo-German naval arms race was one of the most important military developments before the First World War.
Germany's Overall Position
Germany was probably the most militarily sophisticated continental power in 1914.
Its problem was strategic rather than military.
Germany was surrounded by potential enemies.
France was to the west.
Russia was to the east.
Britain dominated the seas.
Austria-Hungary was Germany's principal ally but was considerably weaker.
Germany therefore had to win quickly or face a prolonged war against a coalition with greater overall resources.
3. France: A Smaller Country with a Huge Army
France ranked third among the great European military powers.
The French population was considerably smaller than Germany's and vastly smaller than Russia's.
Nevertheless, France maintained a very large army.
The French Army had approximately 850,000 active personnel in 1914, following a major expansion in response to German military growth.
With reserves and mobilization, France could put several million men into uniform.
One commonly cited estimate places the French Army's mobilization strength at approximately 4 million men in 1914.
Three Years' Service
One of France's most important military reforms occurred in 1913, when the government extended compulsory military service from two years to three.
This substantially increased the number of trained soldiers available to the French Army.
The change was controversial domestically, but French leaders believed it was necessary because Germany's population and military resources were increasing faster than France's.
The French Army
The French Army was highly motivated but possessed a distinctive military philosophy.
French military thinking emphasized offensive spirit, or élan.
The French Army believed that morale, aggression, and determination could compensate for some technological disadvantages.
The opening battles of 1914 would severely challenge that assumption.
French troops attacked repeatedly in colorful uniforms and suffered enormous casualties against German machine guns and artillery.
The experience would eventually contribute to a transformation of French tactics.
The French Navy
France also possessed a significant navy.
In 1914, the French fleet included approximately:
- 4 dreadnought battleships
- 6 semi-dreadnoughts
- 14 pre-dreadnoughts
- 28 cruisers
- 81 destroyers
- 75 submarines
It was considerably smaller than Britain's fleet and somewhat less powerful than Germany's.
But France did not need to defeat Britain at sea.
Its navy's principal strategic responsibilities included the Mediterranean and protecting communications with France's colonial empire.
France's Strategic Position
France's military problem was Germany.
The Franco-German frontier was relatively short and heavily fortified.
France therefore developed a defensive system along the frontier, while simultaneously preparing for an offensive into Alsace-Lorraine.
When war came, however, Germany's invasion through Belgium changed the strategic situation completely.
4. Austria-Hungary: A Great Power with a Surprisingly Weak Military
Austria-Hungary was one of Europe's great powers and possessed a substantial military.
It nevertheless presents a problem for anyone trying to rank the largest armies.
Its military establishment was smaller and less efficiently organized than those of Russia, Germany, or France.
Austria-Hungary maintained roughly 450,000 active soldiers, with a much larger reserve and mobilization system. Other estimates give approximately three million troops available for the initial mobilization.
The Dual Monarchy had another problem:
It was not a unified nation-state in the same way as France or Germany.
Its armed forces had to operate within an extremely complicated political structure.
There were:
- The common Imperial and Royal Army
- The Austrian Landwehr
- The Hungarian Honvéd
Different languages were spoken throughout the empire, and the army had to manage national, linguistic, and political divisions.
The Army
Austria-Hungary's army possessed some capable formations and commanders, but its mobilization and logistical systems were problematic.
It also had to prepare for multiple possible enemies.
Its most immediate concern in 1914 was Serbia.
But Russia could intervene on Serbia's behalf.
That meant Austria-Hungary potentially faced a war against both Serbia and Russia.
This is exactly what happened.
The Austro-Hungarian Navy
The Austro-Hungarian Navy was relatively small.
It was designed primarily for the Adriatic Sea rather than for global power projection.
Its major vessels included modern battleships and smaller cruisers and destroyers, but it could not compete with Britain's Royal Navy or Germany's High Seas Fleet.
Its geographical position also constrained it.
The Adriatic could be effectively controlled by the Allied naval forces operating from the Mediterranean.
Why Austria-Hungary Matters
Austria-Hungary may not have been one of the world's strongest militaries in absolute terms, but it was one of the most important.
The entire First World War began with the Austro-Hungarian decision to attack Serbia following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Austria-Hungary's military weakness therefore had consequences far beyond its actual strength.
5. Britain: The World's Greatest Navy
Britain presents the greatest challenge to a simple ranking.
If we looked only at armies, Britain would not make the top five.
If we looked at navies, however, Britain was unquestionably number one.
The Royal Navy was the world's largest and most powerful fleet.
In 1914 it possessed approximately:
- 22 dreadnought battleships
- 9 battle cruisers
- 40 older battleships
- 121 cruisers
- 221 destroyers
- 73 submarines
Another 13 dreadnoughts and other major vessels were under construction.
This was an extraordinary concentration of naval power.
The Two-Power Standard
For decades, British naval policy had been guided by the principle that the Royal Navy should be at least as powerful as the fleets of the two next-largest naval powers combined.
Germany's rapid naval expansion challenged that assumption.
The resulting Anglo-German naval race became one of the defining arms races of the years before 1914.
Britain responded by constructing large numbers of dreadnoughts and battle cruisers.
The result was that Britain entered the First World War with an enormous naval advantage.
Britain's Army
The situation on land was very different.
Britain did not maintain a huge conscript army like France, Germany, Russia, or Austria-Hungary.
The British Army consisted primarily of professional soldiers.
The British regular army had approximately 250,000 personnel, supplemented by roughly 250,000 Territorial soldiers and approximately 200,000 reservists. This provided about 700,000 trained personnel, but only a fraction could immediately be deployed to France.
The original British Expeditionary Force sent to France was therefore tiny compared with the armies of the continental powers.
But British military power cannot be understood by looking only at the regular army.
Britain possessed the resources of the world's largest empire.
India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and other imperial territories would eventually provide enormous numbers of troops and resources.
More than three million soldiers and laborers from across the British Empire and Commonwealth served during the war.
Britain's Real Military Weapon: The Empire
Britain's strength was therefore global.
It possessed:
- The world's largest navy
- A global network of bases
- A massive merchant fleet
- A worldwide empire
- Major financial resources
- Access to imperial manpower
- Control of important sea routes
Britain could therefore fight a very different kind of war from Germany.
Germany had to win quickly.
Britain could potentially fight a war of attrition.
That distinction would eventually prove decisive.
Comparing the Five
A simple ranking can be misleading because these powers possessed different kinds of military strength.
| Rank | Power | Major Military Strength | Principal Weakness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia | Largest manpower and enormous mobilization potential | Logistics, equipment and command |
| 2 | Germany | Best-organized continental military and powerful army | Vulnerable to a two-front war |
| 3 | France | Large, well-trained army and substantial reserves | Smaller population and naval inferiority |
| 4 | Britain | World's dominant navy and global empire | Small army at the outbreak of war |
| 5 | Austria-Hungary | Large multinational army and significant industrial resources | Organization, mobilization and political divisions |
There is, however, an argument for putting Britain ahead of France or Austria-Hungary if overall global military power is being measured.
Likewise, Germany could reasonably be considered the strongest overall military power despite having fewer men than Russia.
The important point is that military strength cannot be reduced to the number of soldiers standing in barracks in July 1914.
The Naval Arms Race
One of the most important developments before the war was the transformation of naval warfare.
The introduction of the British battleship HMS Dreadnought in 1906 revolutionized naval competition.
The new ship rendered many existing battleships effectively obsolete as measures of first-line naval strength.
Germany responded with its own dreadnought program.
Britain responded by building more.
The result was an accelerating arms race.
By 1914 Britain had a significant numerical advantage in dreadnoughts, but Germany's fleet was powerful enough to pose a serious threat.
The German fleet was particularly dangerous because it was concentrated in the North Sea.
Britain therefore adopted a strategy of blockade and containment rather than immediately seeking a decisive fleet battle.
The Arms Race on Land
The land arms race was equally significant.
Germany expanded its army.
France responded.
Russia began a massive military expansion.
Austria-Hungary increased its military spending.
Governments increasingly believed that failing to prepare for war would leave them vulnerable.
This created a dangerous feedback loop.
One country's defensive preparations looked offensive to another.
France saw Germany's military expansion as a threat.
Germany saw Russia's growing army as an existential danger.
Russia saw Austria-Hungary and Germany as threats to its influence in Eastern Europe.
The result was an increasingly militarized Europe.
The Fifth Power: The Ottoman Empire
One important qualification should be made to the list.
The Ottoman Empire possessed a substantial military but generally would not be placed in the top five overall at the beginning of the war.
Its army was significant and would eventually mobilize approximately 2.9 million men during the conflict.
But the Ottoman military had serious problems with modernization, logistics, training, and equipment.
Its navy was also relatively weak.
Nevertheless, the Ottoman Empire would become extremely important once it entered the war in November 1914.
It would force the Allies to fight major campaigns at:
- Gallipoli
- Mesopotamia
- Palestine
- Sinai
- The Caucasus
Thus, military size and military importance were not always the same thing.
What About Italy?
Italy was another major European power that deserves consideration.
It possessed an army of approximately 1.25 million personnel in 1914 according to commonly cited figures.
Its navy was also substantial.
But Italy's military effectiveness was questionable.
Italy initially remained neutral despite being a member of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary.
It eventually entered the war on the Allied side in 1915.
Its entry added another major army to the conflict but did not fundamentally change the balance of naval power.
What About the United States?
The United States had enormous economic and demographic potential but did not possess one of the world's largest militaries in 1914.
The U.S. Army was tiny by European standards.
The United States had approximately 200,000 soldiers and sailors combined in its military establishment, depending on the method of counting.
The U.S. Navy was more significant and was becoming an important world fleet.
But America was not yet a major military power on the scale of Britain, Germany, France, Russia, or Austria-Hungary.
That would change dramatically after 1917.
The Great Irony of 1914
The five largest military powers illustrate one of the great ironies of the First World War.
Europe had prepared for war so extensively that the major powers believed preparation would prevent defeat.
Instead, military planning contributed to the rapid escalation of the July Crisis.
Once mobilization began, governments became increasingly reluctant to stop.
Russia mobilized.
Germany responded.
France mobilized.
Germany declared war.
Britain entered the conflict after Germany invaded Belgium.
Within days, much of Europe was at war.
The enormous armies that governments had spent decades creating were suddenly set in motion.
Which Military Was Actually the Strongest?
If we separate quantity from quality, the answer becomes more interesting.
Largest Army
Russia
Russia had the greatest manpower and mobilization potential.
Best Continental Army
Germany
Germany had probably the most sophisticated army in Europe in terms of organization, training, artillery, logistics, and operational doctrine.
Best Navy
Britain
The Royal Navy was unquestionably the world's dominant naval power.
Best Combination of Army and Navy
This is more difficult.
Germany probably possessed the strongest combination of modern land and naval forces among the continental powers.
But Britain had the greatest global military reach because its naval supremacy was combined with the resources of the British Empire.
Greatest Long-Term Potential
Russia and Britain had enormous potential because of their populations, territories, imperial resources, and economic bases.
Germany's problem was that it needed to win before the advantages of its enemies could be fully brought to bear.
Why the First World War Became So Destructive
The five major powers possessed something that previous generations of military planners had never seen on this scale:
industrialized mass warfare.
They could combine millions of soldiers with:
- Machine guns
- Heavy artillery
- Railroads
- Barbed wire
- Modern rifles
- Chemical weapons
- Aircraft
- Submarines
- Battleships
- Industrial ammunition production
- Telegraph and telephone communications
The result was a fundamental transformation of warfare.
The armies were too large for nineteenth-century battlefield tactics.
The weapons were too powerful for traditional formations.
And the industrial economies were capable of sustaining fighting for years.
The First World War therefore became a conflict in which military power was measured not merely by the size of an army but by a nation's ability to mobilize an entire society for war.
Conclusion
At the beginning of the First World War, the world's most important military powers were Russia, Germany, France, Britain, and Austria-Hungary.
Each possessed a very different kind of military power.
Russia had the largest army and the greatest pool of manpower.
Germany possessed arguably the most effective continental military, supported by an increasingly powerful navy.
France maintained a huge conscript army and had deliberately expanded its forces in response to Germany.
Britain possessed the world's greatest navy and a global empire capable of providing enormous additional resources and manpower.
Austria-Hungary possessed a substantial multinational military but was hampered by organizational, political, and logistical problems.
The crucial point is that none of these powers was overwhelmingly dominant.
That is what made the international system so dangerous.
Russia could overwhelm Germany with manpower if given enough time.
Germany could potentially defeat France before Russia fully mobilized.
France could resist Germany with a massive army and powerful alliances.
Britain could use its navy to blockade Germany and bring the resources of the empire into the war.
Austria-Hungary could challenge Serbia but risked becoming involved in a much larger conflict with Russia.
The First World War was therefore not a war between one overwhelmingly powerful nation and several weaker opponents.
It was a collision between multiple military giants, each possessing enough strength to make the conflict enormously destructive.
And when those military giants began mobilizing in July and August 1914, Europe discovered a terrifying truth: the ability to wage a massive war did not necessarily mean that anyone knew how to stop one once it had begun.
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