In this article, we will conclude our coverage of the games in The British Way by overviewing the British emergency in Cyprus from 1955 to 1959. Cyprus is probably the easiest game in the pack to learn for those new to the COIN series, but will offer a drastically different experience for COIN veterans due to the new counter-terrorism systems already briefly outlined in our article on The British Way: Palestine. In Cyprus, the British faced a small but flexible clandestine terrorist organization known as EOKA (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston, or the National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters), led by Georgios Grivas. In sharp contrast to the previous campaign covered in Kenya, the British in Cyprus were under intense international scrutiny due to efforts by the Greek government to keep the issue raised at the United Nations and the work of local activists who raised complaints about British repression to the newly formed European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

British Repression and Intelligence Gathering:

[I]n Palestine and again in Cyprus there was often a tendency to attempt to make up for lack of intelligence by using the sledge hammer—mass arrests, mass detentions, big cordons and searches and collective punishments. Such operations can do more harm than good and usually play into the hands of terrorists by alienating general opinion from the forces of authority.

Sir Hugh Foot, last British Governor of Cyprus

In the new counter-terrorism system used in the games on Palestine and Cyprus, one of the major constraints on the British player is a lack of intelligence. Historically, the British struggled to collect intelligence over the course of their campaign in Palestine but were able to develop their initially poor intelligence gathering in Cyprus. This intelligence allowed them to grind down EOKA towards the end of the conflict, and at least some argue British forces were on the verge of capturing Grivas when the Zürich agreement brought an end to hostilities in 1959. The major source of intelligence came from interrogations of captured EOKA, since the British informants in the Greek Cypriot community were eliminated or infiltrated by EOKA. Complaints were raised during the conflict over the British use of torture during these interrogations, though the scope of the abuse is contested. The British Interrogate Special Activity allows them to gain one Intel Chit for every two EOKA Cells in Prison and the issue of torture is modeled with a British Capability Card.

In game terms, the British are able to use Intel Chits to remove Underground Cells with Patrol and Assault but also to improve their ability to Search. The British had an enormous force advantage in terms of raw numbers over EOKA but many of their forces were tied down in static defensive positions, or were used in large search operations that the small EOKA cells could often avoid. Normally, British Search can only activate one Underground Cell per three Cubes and must place a Curfew marker. Similar to Palestine, Curfew markers are useful in that they block Recruit and make it harder for Cells to enter spaces, but are also vulnerable to the Propaganda Special Activity. EOKA Cells may use the Propaganda Special Activity at Curfews to shift International Opinion against Britain, costing them Political Will at the Propaganda Round and making it easier for Greece to permit arms shipments to EOKA through the Smuggle Special Activity. However, if the British discard an Intel Chit during Search, they may activate one Cell per Cube and do not place a Curfew, blocking the political costs of their otherwise clumsy Searches.

EOKA’s Strategy in the Mountains and the Towns:

Grivas was determined to launch a twofold strategy against the British in Cyprus. The main struggle was to be in the towns and British military bases at Akrotiri and Dhekelia, where small clandestine cells would launch sabotage operations to wear down British political will. In the towns, EOKA would also focus on staging demonstrations against British repression to win international sympathy, while eliminating any Greek Cypriot police to neutralize the British ability to collect intelligence on the organization. EOKA may use their Infiltrate Special Activity to replace one British Police cube with a Cell and also discard an Intel Chit. This is EOKA’s main weapon against British intelligence gathering, but can be blocked if there are more Police than Cells in a space.

The second part of Grivas’ strategy was to organize a more traditional insurgency in the mountains of Cyprus. Although these mountain groups never managed to come close to reaching the size of insurgencies in other conflicts like Malaya or Kenya, they served their purpose of drawing British forces away from the towns and making it difficult for the British to delegitimize the cells operating in towns as criminals or isolated terrorists. The mountains were also a useful space for storing arms and other supplies collected locally or smuggled from Greece. However, the mountains strategy also posed the threat that if the British managed to clear the mountains of the small insurgency they could declare a major political victory over the movement. If EOKA does not possess an Arms Cache in either Mountain space at the Propaganda Round, the British gain Political Will. Therefore, EOKA must balance using the Mountains as a way of assisting the strategy in the Towns with the need to still protect the Mountains from major British operations.

A Note on the Role of Turkish Cypriots and Intercommunal Violence:

Any readers familiar with the 20^th century history of Cyprus may be wondering whether the intercommunal violence between Turkish and Greek Cypriots played a role in the conflict. These communities did not have significant tensions before the emergency, with many towns having a diverse mix of the two groups. At the beginning of the conflict, EOKA avoided selecting targets that might disrupt the harmony between the Greek majority and Turkish minority. However, tensions began to rise as the British chose to increasingly recruit from the Turkish minority to sustain their police force after the Greek Cypriots in the force rapidly dwindled from desertion, defection, or elimination by EOKA. This led to attacks by EOKA against Turkish police and vice versa, intensifying tensions between communities and periodically sparking riots. These tensions were further increased as British commitment to rule in Cyprus seemed to be declining. This led members of the Turkish community to form paramilitary groups such as Volkan and TMT, some of which were backed by Turkey. Instances of intercommunal violence towards the end of the conflict, contributing to unrest, increased British desire to negotiate an exit.

The British Way: Cyprus handles this dimension of the conflict by having a series of Event Cards devoted to these aspects of the conflict. Although this dimension of the conflict is to some extent incorporated into the action menu of each side, we specifically chose to use events to highlight these aspects for two reasons. First, it is important not to exaggerate the level of control that EOKA and Britain had over sparking specific instance of intercommunal violence. In many instances, community leaders were able to block the escalation and we wanted to avoid essentialist depictions that divisions between the two communities could be deterministically exploited by each armed actor. Second, COIN Events are particularly well equipped with their dual Event format for illustrating that this dimension of the conflict often had the potential to be both a help and a hindrance for each side of the conflict. The one ‘dual capability’ in the game (a mechanic borrowed from Colonial Twilight) emphasizes this point especially well, indicating that while Turkish officers might be less vulnerable to EOKA infiltration, they are also less able to effectively police the Greek majority population of Cyprus.

This concludes our series of InsideGMT Articles on The British Way. We hope these articles gave a general idea of some of the major themes of the pack and each individual game. Reading the articles in chronological order should also give some indication of the flow of the campaign game, as the British attempt to control their exit from colonies all around the world.

---

Previous Articles: 

The British Way: Introduction to the Multi-Pack

The British Way: Palestine

The British Way: Malaya

The British Way: Kenya