Strangest alliances/coalitions in history

[Kyng]

Over the course of human history, there have been plenty of examples of alliances and coalitions. However, some of these alliances have been rather strange - with traditional rivals being placed on the same side, or good friends finding themselves on opposing sides. So, here's a place to talk about those (and it's not just limited to military alliances: coalitions between political parties, or rival companies working together, or any other context where alliances and coalitions can form, are all fair game for this thread ).

I'll start with the Nigerian Civil War (also known as the Biafra War), which took place from 1967 to 1970. In this war, the Nigerian government received support from the UK, USA, Soviet Union, and Israel (initially) - while the breakaway state of Biafra was supported by France, West Germany, the People's Republic of China, and Israel (from 1968 onwards).

For an explanation of these weird alliances (and, in particular, why the USA and the Soviet Union were on the same side in this war), see the following video:



Basically: Britain supported the Nigerian government because oil; the USA wanted to side with Britain; and the Soviets wanted to improve their relations with one of Africa's most populous nations (in order to gain influence in the region). On the other hand, France supported Biafra because oil (and because they feared that a strong Nigeria could influence their own former colonies); China had just fallen out with the USSR (and supported Biafra in order to oppose them); and Israel wanted to support Nigeria to improve relations with African countries as a whole, but its population empathised with the Igbo people of Biafra, so it ended up supporting both .

Anyway, do you have any more examples?

[JHG]

Well, the Hapsburg Empire fighting alongside the Ottoman Empire in World War I looks ludicrous if one knows of their rivalry. For the same reason, Britain, Russia, and France on the same side also can seem odd.

[Kyng]

Well, the Hapsburg Empire fighting alongside the Ottoman Empire in World War I looks ludicrous if one knows of their rivalry. For the same reason, Britain, Russia, and France on the same side also can seem odd.

Yeah, good point. France and the UK being on the same side seems perfectly normal today - but for most of their history, they were bitter rivals, and it was only with the signing of the Entente Cordiale (in 1904) that they became allies.

Of course, Britain and Russia being on the same side is weirder still. That was an alliance that lasted through two World Wars, then promptly fell apart again, never to come back .

[Kyng]

Here's a fictional example - so, not exactly 'history', but I think it fits the theme of the thread :

Squid Game

In the second episode, the players held a vote on whether the games should continue, or should be terminated. Here's how the main characters voted:

O (Continue)
Kang Sae-byeok (Player #067)
Han Mi-nyeo (Player #212)
Cho Sang-woo (Player #218)

X (Terminate)
Oh Il-nam (Player #001)
Jang Deok-su (Player #101)
Ali Abdul (Player #199)
Seong Gi-hun (Player #456)

The biggest surprise here is 101 voting to terminate the games, alongside Gi-hun and Ali. However, this wasn't a rare show of mercy from 101... he just wanted to assemble a gang, to steal the prize money . Of course, as we saw later on in the episode, this plan failed miserably .

[JHG]

The War of the Quadruple Alliance is odd for sure. France siding with both the Habsburg Empire and Great Britain is weird enough but Spain would usually be considered the Habsburg Empire’s ally.

[JHG]

You'd think that with the Imperial Chinese soldier's rivalry with the Samurai and Ashigaru that China and Japan would always be enemies. You'd also be dead wrong: They were (briefly)on the same side in World War I. The Russian Civil War also had the two Asian realms side with each other due to shared opposition to the Bolshevik government. And less strangely, both fought against Somali pirates.