Against history’s ‘default’ position on Italy’s First World War history – its poor military performance and unjustified demands at the Peace Conference – this study examines the country’s aims and actions through the career of its wartime leader Vittorio Emanuele Orlando.

Representatives of 32 nations attended the Paris Peace Conferences of 1919–1923; their common aim – to achieve a lasting peace – culminated in the Treaty of Versailles and the creation of the League of Nations, but what of the circumstances and aims of each nation? Focusing on individual countries’ delegates, this series examines what the representatives brought to the conference table, what they achieved in negotiation and the consequences of the peace treaties for their country. Slightly off-mint.