Generalship Programme Wargame, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst​

The challenge our client faced

Based on the success of the first wargame to be run on the Army Generalship Programme in 2023, it was requested that Vedette continue to run wargames for the 2-star general course. The aspiration for this wargame was to move away from the real-world environment of constant competition with a focus on Deterrence and reassurance, and to switch focus to provide insights into modern, divisional, high intensity warfighting.

How Vedette responded:​

Based on the successful development and delivery of a brigade warfighting wargame to the Army Brigade Commanders’ Course in Dec 23, a small team of experienced Vedette subject matter experts designed a scenario a within the attempted Ukrainian counter-offensive of summer 2023. The proven and validated Rapid Campaign Analysis Toolset (RCAT) was used as the engine to drive the wargame. To provide both realism, currency and insights into the prevailing stalemates in Ukraine, Vedette used open-source intelligence with a focus on a Ukrainian division, equipped with Western armoured capabilities, fighting a Russian reinforced regiment in a defensive belt – all based on historically known laydowns. We then conducted rigorous design and playtesting, validated by external experts with experience of the operating environment. The wargame was then delivered, at tempo, over the period of one day.​

The results

The wargame achieved what was requested and was in keeping with the evolving requirement for the use of wargames in training, development and understanding global challenges. The RCAT system is being developed to deliver such realistic wargames across the Army and is now sufficiently developed to be able to run insightful wargame insights for any division or brigade within the Army, as attested to by the audience. Well received by the course attendees, it brought starkly to light the nature of fighting in Ukraine and the wargame system will be used on future courses.​