ABSTRACT
The British Foreign Office was staffed before and after the Great War by a tightly knit professional élite. Their general attitudes undoubtedly reflected common backgrounds, shared professional experiences and a strong organizational esprit de corps. Britain’s position vis-a-vis Russia was even more vulnerable. Some have argued that the whole of Britain’s diplomatic revolution should be understood in terms of the government’s concern for the safety of India. The Foreign Office recognised that Germany was a competitor but in ways which were difficult to measure and to meet. Germany had to be decisively defeated to discredit the Prussian military caste; this belief explains Office opposition to a negotiated peace and coloured its discussions of British war aims. Members of the Foreign Office delegation left Paris, fatigued, disgusted and generally disgruntled. Some had come with high hopes for a new Europe and had their illusions badly shaken.
