112 e lusive v ictories
Wilson and the Allied leaders agreed on an armistice, to go into eff ect
on November 11.
As the end game proceeded, Wilson encountered surprising diffi -
culties from two of his key subordinates. General Pershing, heretofore
so reliable an instrument of the president’s will as to need almost no
direction, suddenly objected that an armistice would be premature and
that the war should continue until unconditional German surrender.
Although the cause of his abrupt deviation from administration policy
remains unclear, it seems reasonable to suppose that one source lay in
his frustration at the AEF’s failure to achieve a decisive battlefield
victory. Th e AEF had started to demonstrate improved prowess in its
fi nal combat operations, but by that point the Germans had com-
menced their withdrawal all along the front. Under pressure from
Washington, which deemed his stance inconsistent with the president’s
avowed desire not to humiliate Germany, Pershing backed down and
accepted the armistice terms.
Meanwhile, when the fi rst German peace feelers arrived, Wilson
again sent Colonel House to Europe to act as a go-between with the
Allied governments. By this point the two men were no longer so close,
and House appears to have been uncertain about exactly what Wilson
wanted, beyond the Fourteen Points and a democratic regime in Berlin.
House was surprised to discover that the British and French did not
embrace his superior’s peace conditions or an international league to
sustain them. Hard negotiations were needed to gain their acceptance
of the Fourteen Points, and that came only with important reservations
attached. Of particular concern to the president, House agreed to let
the Allied military commanders set the military terms of any armistice,
failing to appreciate how these would have lasting political ramifi ca-
tions and an impact on peace talks. An angry Wilson turned on his
emissary, convinced he had given away far too much and determined
that he should not be permitted to negotiate the fi nal peace treaty.
For all the last-minute disputes, though, Wilson secured what he
needed. Both sides had agreed that the peace conference would proceed
according to his agenda. The German government had toppled,
replaced by a new civilian-dominated provisional regime that claimed
to speak for the German people. Berlin had accepted terms that would
make it impossible for Germany to resume fi ghting, so all the leverage