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.