Allied leaders of World War I facts for kids

Map of the World showing the participants in World War I. Those fighting along with the Allied Powers are in green, the Central Powers in orange, and neutral countries in grey.

The Council of Four (from left to right): David Lloyd George, Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, Georges Clemenceau and Woodrow Wilson in Versailles.

The Allied leaders of World War I were the main political and military figures who led the countries fighting for the Allied Powers during World War I. These leaders made important decisions about the war. They guided their nations through one of the biggest conflicts in history.

Russian Empire

King George V (right) with his first cousin Tsar Nicholas II, Berlin, 1913. They looked very much alike.

Nicholas II – He was the last Tsar of Russia. He led Russia at the start of the war.
Georgy Lvov – He became Prime Minister in 1917. This happened after the Tsar stepped down.
Alexander Kerensky – He was Minister of War and then Prime Minister in 1917.
Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich – He was the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian armies early in the war.
Mikhail Alekseyev – He was a key general and Chief of Staff. He later became Commander-in-Chief.
Aleksei Brusilov – He was a famous general. He led the successful "Brusilov Offensive" in 1916.
Lavr Kornilov – He was a commander who briefly became Commander-in-Chief in 1917.
Nikolai Yudenich – He led Russian forces in the Caucasus region.
Alexander Kolchak – He commanded the Black Sea Fleet.

French Third Republic

Raymond Poincaré – He was the President of France during the war.
Georges Clemenceau – He became Prime Minister and Minister of War in 1917. He was known as "The Tiger."
Joseph Joffre – He was the Commander-in-Chief of the French Army from 1914 to 1916. He helped stop the German advance at the First Battle of the Marne.
Ferdinand Foch – He became the Commander-in-Chief of all Allied Armies in 1918. He was a very important general.
Robert Nivelle – He was Commander-in-Chief of the French Army from 1916 to 1917.
Philippe Pétain – He was Commander-in-Chief of the French Army from 1917 to 1918. He was famous for defending Verdun.
Louis Franchet d'Espèrey – He commanded Allied armies in the Balkans.
Joseph Gallieni – He was the Military Governor of Paris. He helped organize the defense of the city.
Henri Gouraud – He led forces in the Gallipoli Campaign. He later commanded the French Fourth Army.
Édouard Barès – He was the commander of the French Air Force.

British Empire

King George V – He was the King of the United Kingdom and the British Empire.

United Kingdom

H. H. Asquith – He was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom until 1916.
David Lloyd George – He became Prime Minister in 1916 and led Britain for the rest of the war.
Herbert Kitchener – He was the Secretary of State for War. He helped recruit many soldiers.
John French – He was the first Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF).
Douglas Haig – He became Commander-in-Chief of the BEF in 1915. He led British forces for most of the war.
Henry Wilson – He was a key advisor and later Chief of the Imperial General Staff.
Edmund Allenby – He commanded the British Third Army. He later led the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in the Middle East.
Henry Rawlinson – He was a British General. He led the Fourth Army at the Battle of the Somme.
Sir John Jellicoe – He commanded the Grand Fleet (the main British navy).
David Beatty – He later took command of the Grand Fleet.
Winston Churchill – He was the First Lord of the Admiralty (head of the navy) early in the war.

Australia

Billy Hughes – He was the Prime Minister of Australia for most of the war.
William Birdwood – He commanded the ANZAC forces.
John Monash – He was a highly respected general. He commanded the Australian Corps in 1918.

Dominion of Canada

Robert Borden, Prime Minister of Canada

Robert Borden – He was the Prime Minister of Canada during the war.
Sam Hughes – He was the Minister of Militia and Defence.
Arthur Currie – He was a key Canadian general. He commanded the Canadian Corps from 1917 to 1919.

British Raj (India)

Lord Hardinge – He was the Viceroy of India until 1916.
Charles Monro – He was Commander-in-Chief in India.

Union of South Africa

Louis Botha – He was the first Prime Minister of South Africa.
Jan Smuts – He was a general who led forces in the East African Campaign.

Dominion of New Zealand

William Massey – He was the Prime Minister of New Zealand.
Alexander Godley – He led the New Zealand Expeditionary Force.

Dominion of Newfoundland

Edward Morris – He was the Prime Minister of Newfoundland for much of the war.
Arthur Lovell Hadow – He commanded the Royal Newfoundland Regiment at the Battle of the Somme.

Kingdom of Serbia

Peter I – He was the King of Serbia.
Crown Prince Alexander – He was the Regent and nominal Commander-in-Chief.
Nikola Pašic – He was the Prime Minister of Serbia.
Radomir Putnik – He was the Chief of Staff of the Serbian Army.
Živojin Mišić – He was a key Serbian general. He commanded the First Army.

Kingdom of Montenegro

Nikola I – He was the King of Montenegro.
Janko Vukotić – He was the Prime Minister and commander of the 1st Army.

Belgium

King Albert I

Albert I of Belgium – He was the King of the Belgians and their Commander-in-chief. He led his army bravely.
Charles de Broqueville – He was the Prime Minister of Belgium for most of the war.
Gérard Leman – He was the general who commanded the defense of Liège.

Luxembourg

Marie-Adélaïde – She was the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.
Paul Eyschen – He was the Prime Minister.

Kingdom of Italy

King Victor Emanuel III of Italy

Victor Emmanuel III – He was the King of Italy.
Vittorio Orlando – He became Prime Minister in 1917. He was one of the "Big Four" Allied leaders.
Luigi Cadorna – He was the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army until 1917.
Armando Diaz – He replaced Cadorna as Chief of Staff in 1917. He led Italy to victory.
Emanuele Filiberto – He commanded the Third Army.
Paolo Thaon di Revel – He was the Commander-in-Chief of the Italian Navy.

Kingdom of Romania

Ferdinand I – He was the King of Romania.
Ion I. C. Brătianu – He was the Prime Minister of Romania for most of the war.
Alexandru Averescu – He was a key general and briefly Prime Minister.
Constantin Prezan – He was the Chief of the General Staff of Romania.

United States

Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States

Woodrow Wilson – He was the President of the United States. He led the US into the war in 1917.
Newton D. Baker – He was the Secretary of War.
John J. Pershing – He was the Commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in Europe.
William Sims – He commanded all American naval forces in Europe.

Empire of Japan

Okuma Shigenobu, 5th Prime Minister of Japan.

Yoshihito – He was the Emperor of Japan.
Okuma Shigenobu – He was the Prime Minister of Japan from 1914 to 1916.
Kamio Mitsuomi – He commanded the army during the Siege of Tsingtao.
Kato Sadakichi – He commanded the navy during the Siege of Tsingtao.

Kingdom of Greece

Constantine I – He was the King of Greece until 1917.
Alexander of Greece – He became King in 1917.
Eleftherios Venizelos – He was the Prime Minister of Greece. He strongly supported joining the Allies.
Panagiotis Danglis – He was Commander-in-Chief of Greek forces on the Macedonian front.

Kingdom of Hejaz

Hussein bin Ali – He was the King of Hejaz and leader of the Arab Revolt.
Faisal bin Hussein – He was a commander of the Northern Arab Army.
T. E. Lawrence – He was a British officer who helped the Arab Revolt.

First Portuguese Republic

Bernardino Machado – He was the President of Portugal.
Afonso Costa – He was the Prime Minister of Portugal.
Fernando Tamagnini de Abreu e Silva – He was Commander-in-Chief of the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps.

First Republic of Armenia

Hovhannes Kajaznuni – He was the first Prime Minister of Armenia.
Tovmas Nazarbekian – He was a general and Commander-in-Chief of the Armenian Army.

Kingdom of Siam

Rama VI, Vajiravudh – He was the King of Siam (now Thailand).
Phraya Thephatsadin – He commanded the Siamese Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front.

Emirate of Nejd and Hasa

Abdul Aziz ibn Saud – He was the Emir of Nejd and Hasa. He later founded Saudi Arabia.

First Brazilian Republic

Venceslau Brás – He was the President of Brazil.
Pedro Frontin – He was an Admiral and commander of the Brazilian Naval Division.

Republic of China

Yuan Shikai – He was the President of China early in the war.
Li Yuanhong – He later became President of China.