[Harshly.
Well, how do you like it?
chief of staff
He's backed down, he's backed down. All the world will be shouting tomorrow how our King has backed down. Christo! To accept defeat before you've begun to fight!
[He turns again to the map.
If this other plan should be frustrated by the enemy's navy, look, we could land here and here and—
[The door opens and the prime minister enters. He is a stern, titanic figure in the sixties, sallow-skinned, gray-haired.
prime minister
[Standing in the doorway.
Good evening, gentlemen. Counting your battalions?