The League of Nations: creation and collapse

The League of Nations was established through the Covenant embedded in the Treaty of Versailles and the conference's other peace treaties, becoming the first permanent international organization dedicated to collective security. Wilson considered it the most important achievement of the entire conference. Its main organs were a General Assembly of all member states, a Council with permanent and non-permanent members, and a permanent Secretariat headquartered in Geneva. Article 10 of the Covenant, its central provision, committed members to respect and preserve the territorial integrity and political independence of other members against external aggression, but the League's only tool against aggressors was collective economic and diplomatic sanctions, since it possessed no military force of its own.