Supreme War Council

The Supreme War Council was a central command created by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George to coordinate Allied military strategy during World War I. It was founded in 1917, and was based in Versailles. Lloyd George had grave concerns regarding the strategy of Sir William Robertson, chief of the Imperial General Staff and Sir Douglas Haig, the Commander in Chief of the British Expeditionary Force, in response to the Allied losses at the Somme and at Passchendaele.

Following the Italian defeat at the Battle of Caporetto, in which the Germans and Austro-Hungarians surprised the Italian forces, Lloyd George proposed the formation of the Supreme War Council. Each Allied nation would appoint a senior military officer to sit on the council.

The council was created in November 1917. The French representative was Ferdinand Foch, later replaced by Maxime Weygand and Joseph Joffre. The British were represented by Robertson, later replaced by Sir Henry Hughes Wilson. Italy was represented by Luigi Cadorna, and Tasker H. Bliss represented the United States.