Commentary When World War I came to an end, Germany was humiliated by the Treaty of Versailles, yet boasted that it had not been conquered, or even invaded. Externally, the treaty would require that the blame fall to it for starting the war; internally, it would gloat in the triumph of not suffering the cataclysmic fates of its neighbors—fates for which it was very much responsible. The Allied Powers were aware of the two options placed before them in November 1918: continue the war against Germany or accept an armistice. Describing it as a mere choice, however, does not do justice for the weighty decision that had to be made. By war’s end, America had suffered 117,000 dead after only six months of fighting (more than half were non-combat deaths). The militaries of the Allied and Central Powers suffered much more. France suffered 1.4 million, Britain nearly 1 million, Italy 650,000, …