The Plan - A play by committee game

Just awaiting one more piece of info and we should be there.

(Also, recovering from a 12 hour day, so apologies for the delay.)

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You are rushed into your department offices, where you are handed your individual ministerial briefings, as well as the standard government reminder that such briefing materials are marked secret and although their contents can be discussed, the documents themselves cannot be shared with any other soul.

As you flick through the pages you see the grand council room being prepared for the arrival of the Grand Marshall, who will chair the meeting. In addition the operational map is being lowered into position. Truly it is a wonder of Freedonia, the large metal backed map dominates one wall and a small army of aides stand ready with magnetised unit markers and long handled brushes ready to simulate the plan of attack…

(Player briefs are incoming to Diplomatic Pouches. The game is effectively paused whilst we await the arrival of the Grand Marshall / you all read your briefings and ask me any technical questions.)

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(Please like this post when you are ready to proceed.)

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You wait sitting in your seats around the circular table for 5 minutes, then ten minutes. An aide, seeking to fill the silence arranges, for your roles to be displayed in front of your places.

Chief of Naval Staff @Chewy77
Chief of Naval Transport @JGD
Chief of Air Staff @DJCT
Chief of the Army Staff @Griffster77
Controller Economic Warfare @RogerBW
Controller of Resistance & Propaganda @TomNowell
Director of Intelligence @pillbox
First Secretary of the Treasury @chrislear

Then you hear footsteps on the stairs below you, as they get closer you can hear the owner is running.

A captain bursts into the room, the shoulder clasp on his tunic is unclipped and his tunic flaps open awkwardly. He seems incredibly relieved to see you all.

“Thank the stars! I have orders from the President!”

(Check your diplomatic pouches)

Err, I thought I was Chief of Naval Transport?

You are! Formatting error it seems!

In other news: an aide was just fired

Well. That does appear to be a comprehensive failure of Intelligence. I’m sure the Director will have his hands full resolving this matter.

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As the Director of Intelligence, I assure you my department upholds the long-lasting tradition of representing the opposite of what our department’s name would suggest (i.e. Ministry/Department of Defense being responsible for offensive military actions)

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I’m willing to be Chief: my current forces aren’t likely to be needed immediately, and I have some ideas about how we could fight this war.

We have superiority in several aspects of military strength: we have far more bombers and sea transports than the enemy and some superiority in infantry and destroyers. The enemy has the advantage in AA brigades, and has a significant submarine force. Those submarines make invading the enemy’s territory very risky, so we need to sink them. Fortunately, there are only a few sensible places for them to be: in the enemy port, off our port waiting for ships to come out, or in transit between the two.

We need to know if the enemy’s AA brigades are concentrated in one or two places, or widely spread, so that we can attack the less-defended targets.

If we invade, the enemy’s port is the worst place to do it. It has heavy artillery defending it, and going anywhere else from there requires crossing bridges that the enemy can easily destroy.

Does the Chief of the Air staff have reconnaissance reports on enemy forces?

(As @JGD suggests, agreeing on a chairperson is our first priority. The president will accept no plan without a chair of the strategic planning committee.)

I will not pretend that anyone in this room is incapable of assuming the role of Chief. I will make it known that I am willing and ready to accept the position.

As the Director of Intelligence, I have access to information that, due to mandated compartmentalization of secrets, cannot be fully disseminated amongst even this group. From that unique vantage point, I am capable of adding additional perspective to the position.

Regarding our current dilemma, I am assured by my sources that the enemy has strategic infantry divisions in defensive positions. However, and more importantly, I have significant intelligence suggesting an offensive plan by the Silvanians via submarine and bombing campaigns, including covert or surprise attacks on Freedonia itself.

I wish I could say more, but right now I must not rule out the potential of information leaking to Silvania and compromising the intelligence assets we may or may not have in-country.

(It should be noted that if anyone wants to private message another player there are no restrictions, other than not sharing your briefing packs.)

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We will of course win the war. Freedonian fighting spirit will prevail. But we must also win the peace. And for that reason our plan for the war must be informed primarily by our economic objectives; in order to keep that in mind most clearly, and to the service of our country, I humbly submit my candidacy as chairman.

I am willing to put myself forward as a candidate to be Chief. Silvania is across the sea, and as Naval Chief, our Navy will be the main tool to obliterate the enemy.
I have some information that needs to be shared as my colleague from Naval Transport may not have been aware of.
Our destroyers are way more efficient than their submarines at sinking enemy targets, and a well guarded convoy could send and invading army that could strike to the relatively easy to take Silvanian capital. I agree with his view on the port, it will be very tough to take from the sea, but with our bomber superiority, it will be easy to take off that bridge and isolate it from the rest of the country.
Freedonia prevails.

[A short address from the First Secretary of the Treasury, Prof. Quincy Adams Wagstaff]

Friends, we are all Freedonians, and Freedonians will never let international criminality prevail. The annexation of Krim by Silvania is a crime not only against that sovereign nation, but against the whole international community. Silvania’s government cannot be allowed to stand.

We are about to embark on a war. It is a just war. I can’t imagine a cause more just. We have the full backing of the great people of Freedonia. But let us take a moment to reflect.

It isn’t only soldiers who know the cost of land invasion.
It isn’t only sailors who know the cost of naval engagement with the enemy.
It isn’t only pilots who know the cost of flying over enemy territory.

We must enter this war. We must win it. And we must show the people of our country that is it worth the price that they will inevitably pay.

I am not a soldier, a sailor or a pilot. I rely on the chiefs of our armed forces to make the decisions worthy of their training and experience.

No, I’m not a soldier, a sailor, or a pilot. I am an accountant. And my training and experience tells me that costs go up by the day. So let’s find a way to win the war decisively, and as quickly as possible.

I am prepared to chair the Strategic Planning Committee with this promise: I will ensure that it is run with a focus on extracting the maximum value from the expertise and experience of all the participants. It is your collective expertise and experience that will rid the world of the criminal Silvanian government. I have absolute faith in every one of you. I will simply do my part to ensure that the cost can be borne by our people.

(If anyone wants their role added to their username as a title send me a pm)

Lt Gen Arthur Lethbridge-Stewart here.

Look its all very kind of you all the put your names forward for the Chair but its quite obvious that the chair so to speak, is mine.

You don’t win a war by flying planes, sailing boats, skulking around or levying tariffs and whatnot. You win them by getting in their face, mano et mano, and making sure their the ones that stay done. Armies take the target and armies hold the target - that gentleman is our objective.

Now, we’ll all be glad for your support - and credit will be given where credit is due - but we all know the Army are the ones that are going to face hell. And if anyone is going to send those boys in, its gonna be me.

Ahem, Air Marshal James Bigglesworth here. I’m afraid that you do actually win wars by flying planes.

We can bomb them out, we can get the ground-lubbers where they need to be, we can protect the fleet, and also we can minimise casualties and critically protect against the opposition with our AA guns.

In particular in the first, critical days, it will be the air wing who are at the forefront.

It’s critical that someone who know what they are doing and who is the first to risk action should be mak8ng the decisions,

I should Chair.

So if you can all just sit down and we can get started.

First I’ll take a report from Intelligence please.

Gentlemen, let me introduce myself. I am Wolf J Flywheel, controller of the department of resistance and propaganda. You are all shouting about your experience and leadership qualities, but the Chair’s role includes the task to present the plan to the President. Therefore it is imperative someone who is skilled in presenting information should take the chair. I humbly submit myself as a candidate for Chair to make sure we are most convincing.