During the 1930s and continuing into World War II, Germany and Italy were allied under the name of the "Axis", referring to their central geographic position in Europe and, in their view, their central position in world supremacy. Later, Japan also joined this "Axis" alliance.
Italy
The Alliance was known as the "Axis" Powers
The Axis.....It was also known as the Tripartite Pact.
Rome-Berlin
became known as the Rome-Berlin Axis.
The Axis (vs. The Allies = US/Brits)
Prior to World War 1, the alliance between Germany, Austria, and Italy was known as the Triple Alliance, which formed into an alliance between Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire.Prior to World War 2, Austria and Germany unified into a single German state in a process known as Anschluß, or unification.
That was an alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan, also known as the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis.
Germany, Japan and Italy
It would be Germany, Italy, and Japan
The main Axis countries wereGermanyJapanItalyHungaryRomaniaBulgaria... and the other countries which they controlled.
Germany never left the Triple Alliance. The Triple Alliance was destroyed because Italy opted out of the agreement once World War I rolled around. After that, Germany's only ally was Austria-Hungary, as it had been before the Triple Alliance. This alliance is known as the Dual Alliance. Italy remained neutral when World War I broke out in 1914. However, the Italians had a secret military alliance with France ever since 1902, and France was a major enemy of Germany. So you could argue that the Triple Alliance actually crumbled in 1902, but was made public in 1914.