separate peace with the Habsburg Empire, especially the last episode with Czernin and Karl, Clemenceau indicated the aims of the French Government. No real interest of France or any other Ally had been neglected. The negotiations could not have led to any satisfactory result, because there had never been any real possibility of concluding an acceptable peace with Vienna and isolating Germany. This was clear from the documentary evidence submitted. Clemenceau accordingly inferred that the only remaining possibility was to proceed to the last extremity against the Habsburg Empire, to support all the efforts of the Austro-Hungarian nations to secure their independence, and thus to accelerate the fall of the Habsburg Empire and, with it, the fall of Germany. The published communiqué on the subject of this meeting shows quite plainly the direction followed by the committee in its deliberations.(43)
(e) Last Attempts at an Agreement with Vienna on the Part of Great Britain and the United States
107
Similar conclusions as to the possibilities of a separate peace with Vienna were reached at this period by Great Britain and the United States, not through the influence of Clemenceau’s policy, but as the result of other events which were no less important, but which concerned these two countries exclusively.
The whole of Lloyd George’s action on the subject of Austria-Hungary in 1917 showed plainly that England would not have hesitated to make an agreement with Vienna if the opportunity had presented itself. This was shown beyond any doubt by Lloyd George’s attitude in the Sixtus of Bourbon incident, his initiative for negotiations in December 1917, and his speech on January 5, 1918. In spite of the fact that the action of General Smuts and the public declarations of Lloyd George had produced no positive result, the Government was convinced in February 1918 that its procedure with regard to the Habsburg Empire was the correct one. When Balfour, on February 13, 1918, replied to a question which Mr. Whyte had asked concerning the negotiations of General Smuts at Geneva, he declared quite frankly that the Government considered it their duty to avail themselves of all means which, while ade-
