<P> Britain had suffered little land devastation during the war . However, the British wartime coalition was re-elected during the so - called Coupon election at the end of 1918, with a policy of squeezing the German "' til the pips squeak". Public opinion favoured a "just peace", which would force Germany to pay reparations and be unable to repeat the aggression of 1914, although those of a "liberal and advanced opinion" shared Wilson's ideal of a peace of reconciliation . </P> <P> In private Lloyd George opposed revenge and attempted to compromise between Clemenceau's demands and the Fourteen Points, because Europe would eventually have to reconcile with Germany . Lloyd George wanted terms of reparation that would not cripple the German economy, so that Germany would remain a viable economic power and trading partner . By arguing that British war pensions and widows' allowances should be included in the German reparation sum, Lloyd George ensured that a large amount would go to the British Empire . </P> <P> Lloyd George also intended to maintain a European balance of power to thwart a French attempt to establish itself as the dominant European Power . A revived Germany would be a counterweight to France and a deterrent to Bolshevik Russia . Lloyd George also wanted to neutralize the German navy to keep the Royal Navy as the greatest naval power in the world; dismantle the German colonial empire with several of its territorial possessions ceded to Britain and others being established as League of Nations mandates, a position opposed by the Dominions . </P> <P> Prior to the American entry into the war, Wilson had talked of a' peace without victory' . This position fluctuated following the US entry into the war . Wilson talked of the German aggressors who there could be no compromised peace with . However, on 8 January 1918, Wilson delivered a speech (known as the Fourteen Points) that declared the American peace objectives: the rebuilding of the European economy, self - determination of European ethnic groups, the promotion of free trade, the creation of appropriate mandates for former colonies, and above all, the creation of a powerful League of Nations that would ensure the peace . The aim of the latter was to provide a forum to revise the peace treaties as needed, and deal with problems that arose as a result of the peace and the rise of new states . </P>

Name given to the battle lines between russia and germany