The Supreme War Council was a central command created by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George to coordinate Allied military strategy during World War I. It was founded in 1917, and was based in Versailles. The council served as a forum for preliminary discussions of potential armistice terms and peace treaty settlement conditions.

Lloyd George had grave concerns regarding the strategy of Sir William Robertson, chief of the Imperial General Staff, and Sir Douglas Haig, the Commander in Chief of the British Expeditionary Force, in response to the Allied losses at the Somme and at Battle of Passchendaele.

Following the Italian defeat at the Battle of Caporetto, in which the Germans and Austro-Hungarians surprised the Italian forces, Lloyd George proposed the formation of the Supreme War Council at the Rapallo Conference of 5–7 November 1917. Each Allied nation would appoint a senior military officer to sit on the council.

The French representative was Ferdinand Foch, later replaced by Maxime Weygand and Joseph Joffre. The British were represented by Robertson, who resigned and was replaced by Sir Henry Hughes Wilson. Italy was represented by Luigi Cadorna and Tasker H. Bliss represented the United States.

A council of war is a term in military science that describes a meeting held to decide on a course of action, usually in the midst of a battle. Under normal circumstances, decisions are made by a commanding officer, optionally communicated and coordinated by staff officers, and then implemented by subordinate officers. Councils of war are typically held when matters of great importance must be decided, consensus must be reached with subordinates, or when the commanding officer is unsure of his or her position. The classic council of war includes a discussion and then a vote, often taken without the senior commander present to influence or intimidate the subordinates. The tradition in such meetings is that the officers vote in reverse sequence of their seniority, with the junior officers voting first.

A variation on the traditional council of war is one in which the subordinates vote, but the results are considered merely advisory to the overall commander, who then makes a final decision. Such a meeting was held on July 2, 1863, during the Battle of Gettysburg, in which Major General George G. Meade, commanding the Union Army of the Potomac, convened his Corps commanders and staff to discuss whether they should withdraw from the battlefield or, if not, whether they should attack Robert E. Lee's Confederate army or await his attack. Historical evidence indicates that Meade had already determined to stay and await Lee's attack, which occurred on July 3, the disastrous attack known as Pickett's Charge. But Meade formed consensus in his staff and improved their confidence by encouraging a two-hour discussion and vote, which fortunately resulted in the outcome he was seeking.