It is not surprising that, of the Central Powers who took part in the First World War, Imperial Germany has received the lion’s share of historical attention. The Central Powers joined the First World War at different times, following their individual national interests. Given this staggered descent into war, it was predictable that the Central Powers would fail to work out a coherent joint plan of attack. Scholarly neglect of the war efforts of the smaller Central Powers has been redressed to some extent over the last two decades. This is an extract from a special feature on the Central Powers at war from the August/September 2025 issue of Military History Matters magazine.