Before they arrived at Versailles the German delegation was expecting to participate in weeks of negotiations with the Allies, determining which lands changed hands, how property damage was paid, and which governments would change. None of this happened. The Germans were kept waiting while the Allies argued bitterly among themselves.

The Americans wanted a settlement based on Wilson's Fourteen Points. These included the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire into separate states based on culture, the creation of an independent Poland, the restoration of the borders of Belgium, France, Romania and Serbia, free trade and movement between nations, international arms reduction and , the creation of an association of nations to deal with future conflicts.

The British and French governments agreed with many of these points but had one major additional provision - Article 231 - "The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies." For this reason Germany was to pay 269 billion Marks in reparations to cover all Allied war losses and damage

The Italians also had additional demands - that Austria-Hungary cede the Trieste region, and the Albanian coast to Italy, along with lands from the Ottoman Empire. The other Allies refused these demands, causing great bitterness in Italy.

The British and French viewpoints dominated the final treaty - with the Germans being given the choice of signing it or facing continued Allied occupation. The US Senate refused to approve the treaty and the USA negotiated its own - much more generous treaty with Germany later.

The major gain for Canada was not in the treaty, but in the negotiations. Canada argued for and won the right to participate in the negotiations and to sign the treaty on its own - not as a colony of Great Britain. It was a major step to full international recognition for Canada as an independent country.