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Wednesday, July 10, 2024

The Turkish Problem and the Cold War

In mid-May, I received an email from Richard L. asking if I would be interested in participating in a multi-player, map-based strategy Zoom game.  Richard would share none of the details beyond saying that there would be six strategic commanders, four ground commanders, and two umpires.  The game would be played on 07 July with an 0600 start time for me on the West Coast.  Richard knows I am an early riser so thought the early start would be no problem.  He was right and I happily accepted the invitation.

On the day of the scheduled game and about an hour before start time, the six remote players received briefing packets describing the situation and their roles in the exercise.  The incident to be gamed was the 1974 Greco-Turkish crisis when a Greek junta-sponsored coup was launched by the Cypriot National Guard.  The goal was to depose Archbishop Makarios III (President of Cyprus) and place Nikos Sampson in his place.

The six Strategic Commanders (Remote Players) would assume the roles of:

  • General Phaedon Gizikis, President of Greece
  • Jim Callaghan, UK Foreign Secretary
  • Archbishop Makarios III, President of Cyprus
  • Bülent Ecevit, Prime Minister of Turkey
  • Andrei Gromyko, USSR Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • Henry Kissinger, US Secretary of State
In the room there are four Ground Commanders playing:

  • Nikos Sampson, Greek Appointed Commander
  • Air Marshal Sir John Aiken, British and NATO Commander
  • Lt. General Dewan Prem Chand, UN and other Commander
  • Lt. General Nurettin Ersin, Turkish Commander
Being the token American in the group, Richard assigned me the role of Henry Kissinger.
Each of the remote players had objectives to attain, the main goal for the USA and USSR was to prevent the situation from escalating into a Hot War while backing the “correct” government.

While the remote players could see the Cyprus map with troops moving around, we could not hear any of the table discussions as dice were rolled, units were picked up and removed, and new units added onto the board.  For the Strategic Commanders it was a bit of a tense guessing game as dispatches flew in Zoom Chat.

Who could be trusted and who was telling the truth?

After overseeing each turn on the operational map, Richard would return to interview one of the Strategic Commanders and provide news and updates.  During the crisis, Richard Nixon was impeached and resigned from office.  Kissinger (me!) was hauled before a Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs to answer questions about what I knew and when did I know it.  In the end, Kissinger kept his position and stayed on under the newly appointed President Gerald Ford.  Whew!
Much of our simulation followed the historical events quite closely.  Uncannily so in many situations and quite surprising.  In the end, the UN deployed troops on the ground to separate the Greeks from the Turks, British nationals were successfully evacuated, the island was partitioned, and order restored.  The USA and USSR did not intervene directly but the USA's reluctance to intervene on behalf of Greece gave the Greek government grist for withdrawing from NATO.

Very interesting game and situation in which Richard handled seamlessly throughout.  With no time to prepare and information coming in as if through a fire hose, the Strategic Commanders were forced to think quickly and live with those decisions.  Under a constant barrage of questions from the press, other governments, and the US Senate Committee, decisions were made without fully understanding the real situation down on the ground.  Immersive game.   

Hats off to Richard for organizing and pulling off such an ambitious endeavor.  Well done and really good fun.  Still in awe of his organizational skills.  Not something I have ever experienced at the wargaming table and something I would enjoy tackling again.  

54 comments:

  1. What a different event and not a Sumerian battle cart in sight. Your report is clear and succinct - hopefully in keeping with how you played in such a confusing whirlwind. I'm glad you kept your job under the new president.
    Stephen

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    1. No Sumerian battle cars in this game! The situation in both diplomacy and fighting on the ground were fluid from the start. News reports were coming in fast and furious. A tense situation for all involved. I am happy to report that Kissinger was wholeheartedly endorsed to stay on in the new administration.

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  2. Sounds like an interesting (and exhausting at 0600) experience - I'm a morning person too, but I'm not sure I'd be able to handle the Cyprus crisis that early in the morning

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    1. I bet you could handle the early start time, MJT! The game was certainly worth making time in my day for this unique experience.

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  3. Very cool. Very different from the usual play. A nice AAR (with photos ) to commemorate the occasion. Now you can retire to rural CT and fence off your berry patch from the locals.

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    1. I agree! Very different from any game in which I have participated. Having no idea of the situation or my role beforehand added an element of surprise and tension as I tried to assess and respond. Great fun!

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  4. Well that sounds unusual and fascinating. A fantastic and tension rich experience no doubt.

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    1. Both unusual and fascinating, for sure! The Rejects would enjoy something like this, I have no doubt.

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  5. That is a remarkable project - fascinating just to ponder what the planning and organisation would require. My humble compliments to all involved. Thanks for describing this game - my head is spinning nicely for the rest of today!

    It does bring back to mind the eternal question familiar to all international statesmen: I wonder who's Kissinger now?

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    1. I really cannot fathom how Richard actually pulled this together and pulled it off so successfully. The whole affair was a remarkable effort. Who is Kissinger now? In the US, I know who he is not.

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    2. There was an urban myth that Anthony Crosland, Callaghan's successor as Foreign Secretary, took Kissinger to a Grimsby Town football match during some shuttle diplomacy to solve a matter of great importance. Crosland was MP for Grimsby at the time. Sadly, that myth has been debunked.

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  6. Looks like that would have been quite an experience Jon - and probably one that was enhanced by the zoom technology - if you had all been in the same place and same time zones etc and just separated by being in a different room, for example, I don't think the situation would have had the same "feel" and impact?

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    1. Keith, this simulation was quite the unique experience, for sure. I am not sure how this could have been executed to the same effect without Zoom. Brilliant job by Richard to make this fascinating game possible. For me, the session was stressful especially knowing that reporters and government officials would be asking pointed questions with no time to consider my answers beforehand.

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  7. Sounds a brilliant day, Jon! And well done for not getting the sack!

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    1. Brilliant game, for sure, Ray! Very happy to keep my job as Sec. of State!

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  8. Very cool. That sounds like one of those ALL day board games that I still love but never get to play anymore.
    did it take all day?

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    1. No, Richard kept to a strict timeline. We played to a conclusion in about three hours. Quite an impressive feat!

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  9. An interesting conflict, seldom gamed. Balkan Dave is one of the few that have tried (I think a chap called Mike Slack may have gamed it as well.)

    https://balkandave.blogspot.com/p/cyprus-1974.html

    Neil

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    1. A conflict I have never seen gamed and a conflict I knew very little about until game day. Love the Mikes quote on Balkan Dave's post on this crisis.

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  10. Well that was an interesting read and looks like it was a very interesting game to take part in. Something that wee bit different.

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    1. Something a wee bit different, for sure. Very interesting concept and a great educational lesson.

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  11. What an interesting idea, and obviously really well thought-out by the host, it sounds like your experience was a pretty good simulation of what the real Henry K was up against!
    Some years ago I lived in an area of London (Harringay) which was home to communities of both Turkish and Greek Cypriots, many of whom had arrived as refugees in 1974. They seemed to get on surprisingly well - local gossip said they united in dislike of Kurdish people who had arrived later. 'Twas ever thus, it seems..

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    1. The concept was interesting, for sure, and very well executed by Richard. I am still in wonder as to how he actually pulled this mammoth effort off successfully. I enjoyed your refugee anecdote. The enemy of my enemy...

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  12. A splendid leveraging of technology, this game style. My parents were both immigrants, and my mother was originally from Cyprus (a long story). I didn't know much at the time (I was 15--and there was no 24/7 news in those days), but I recall my mother being quite animated in discussions with my father over these goings on then.

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    1. If only we could replay that tape to hear those discussions.

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  13. What a great idea for a game. Lots to consider in there and it sounds like the scenario gave a real insight into the events that unfolded. Even though I hadn't reached double figures at the time it is an event that has remained with me.

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    1. I agree! Richard did a terrific job creating and coordinating this whole affair. Amazing job, really. I have a much better understanding of the dynamics of this situation having played the game.

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  14. Something very different and quite fascinating.

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    1. We are in complete agreement. Fascinating exercise.

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  15. Sounds like a great and unique experience. I imagien it takes great skill to develop such a game without having a boxed game to fall back on. What a great hobby this is. Richard

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    1. Richard set the stage perfectly and then tossed all 10 players into the fray. Great experience, for sure. Makes me wonder if I could pull off something similar.

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  16. Sounds like great fun Jonathan.
    I guess Mr Kissinger also had to get up early for the real thing as well. No bike ride for him that day 😁

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    1. The simulation was great fun, indeed. I did get the bike ride in after the game...

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  17. Excellent stuff and certainly something different from the norm, and all done and dusted within 3 hours: very impressive! There is news footage of an ITV news reporter (IIRC) doing a piece to camera as the Turkish paratroops begin descending and advance past hime, which must have been a bit of a surprise!

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    1. The game was excellent, indeed. Now, that tv footage would be something to see.

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    2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb7wrbXfh_o

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    3. Thanks for the video, Steve. Fascinating to watch an airborne invasion with such calm and matter-of-factness.

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  18. An impressive looking battle and I’m sure a lot of effort to run no doubt 👍

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    1. I cannot even imagine the effort put in to pull this off.

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  19. A fantastic looking game, the invasion of Cyprus in 1974 was the first war I was in.

    Willz.

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    1. Willz, you may have enjoyed this simulation very much. Or, maybe not!

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  20. Excellent and unusual sounding game, like Dave above I was born in Haringey and was still living there at the time, I don't remember the two communities getting along so much as mutually ignoring each other? I'm sure he's right about their reaction to the arrival of a further wave of Kurdish migrants!
    Best Iain

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    1. Interesting to see that you and Dave grew up in the same area. Have you ever gamed with each other?

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    2. Hi Jonathan, no it's a pretty densely populated part of London I moved to go to secondary school when I was ten, it was a couple of years later I started gaming with miniatures!
      Beat Iain

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  21. That's an impressive design and organisational feat by Richard.

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  22. Nice to see a game like this. I’ve run/played a lot of political/diplomacy/military games over the years and they are very enjoyable. But yes, a huge amount of research and organisation, a lot of ours involve 60+ people and a full day’s gaming.

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    1. Having 60+ people participate in a game is amazing unless “60+” is age of participants rather than number of participants.

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    2. That's 60+ people. If you'd like to know more, take a look at https://megagamemakers.uk/Makers/125/
      and take a look at any of the links in my list of games. 1494 and Renaissance & Reformation may interest you.

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  23. Sounds like a fabulous experience. I was fortunate enough to play in a 19th century Kriegspiel game which had some similarities. It's fascinating to me that wargaming can contain such diverse applications, especially as another post is talking about what people dislike. Rules lawyers would be appalled by the lack of control!

    I'm also lost in admiration for those who have the ability to put on something like this.

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    1. The experience was a new one for me. The game was tense with no one on the Zoom knowing exactly what was happening down on the ground. Everyone got a chance to role play a bit which was fun. Massive undertaking by Richard. I do not know how he managed it.

      I think wargaming has something to offer for almost everyone. And, if we are not careful, we might learn something.

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