France entered World War I when, after mobilizing on 1 August, its government declared war on Austria-Hungary on 11 August 1914. ... France had had a military alliance with Russia since 1894, designed primarily to neutralize the German threat to both countries. Germany had a military alliance with Austria-Hungary. The short-term French reaction after 1871 was Revanchism: a sense of bitterness, hatred and demand for revenge against Germany, and demand for the return of the two lost provinces. Paintings that emphasized the humiliation of the defeat came in high demand, such as those by Alphonse de Neuville.
