As this unusual body proved too unwieldy and formal for effective decision-making,
Japan and - for most of the remaining conference - the foreign ministers left the main meetings, so that only the "Big Four"
remained. After Italy left the negotiations (only to return to sign in June) having its territorial claims to Fiume rejected,
the final conditions were determined by the leaders of the "Big Three" nations: United States, France and Great Britain.
Videos On Treaty Of Versailles
This Is A Supportining Video About The Treaty Of Versailles
The "Big Three" that negotiated the treaty consisted of Prime Minister David
Lloyd George of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau of France and President Woodrow Wilson of the United
States of America. The Prime Minister of Italy, Vittorio Orlando, played a minor part in the discussions. Germany was not
invited to discuss the treaty. At Versailles, it was difficult to decide on a common position because their aims conflicted
with one another. The result was an "unhappy compromise". Henry Kissinger called the treaty a "brittle compromise agreement
between American utopism and European paranoia.
