What did the Big Three want?

The Big Three: Lloyd George, Clemenceau and Wilson (l - r)

The conference was initially planned as a pre-meeting of the big three to decide what terms they were going to ask from Germany at an official peace conference, but the pre-meeting quickly became the meeting where the decisions were made.

The problem was the big three had different ideas about what the terms of the treaty should be.

Wilson's aims:

• To end war by creating a League of Nations based on his Fourteen Points.
• To ensure Germany was not destroyed.
• Not to blame Germany for the war - he hated the Guilt Clause.

Clemenceau's aims:

• Revenge and to punish Germany.
• To return Alsace-Lorraine to France.
• No League of Nations.
• An independent Rhineland.
• Huge reparations.
• To disband the German army so that Germany would never be strong enough to attack France again.

Lloyd George:

• A 'just' peace that would be tough enough to please the electors who wanted to 'make Germany pay', but would leave Germany strong enough to trade.
• Land for Britain's empire.
• To safeguard Britain's naval supremacy.