Finally started my new campaign. Where did I go wrong?

[Jay R]

I wrote out a few of the more likely scenarios, but was open to accepting other good plans.

Being open to accepting the PCs' plans isn't enough. You also have to actually accept one of them. Their plans were:

Ok, so the first day the players spend convincing e local sheriff and many of the local farmers to stay and fight for their land and booby trapping the town. The sorceress spends all of her magic making animated objects to defend the town.

The party sends a runner to the nearest city and ask the local king for help, ...

The players try and argue the morality, ho or, or logic of his actions and pull a captain kirk, ....

The lord has a pack of hunting griffons. One player wants to ride them, ....

... then decide to leave and go fight the invaders to their last breath, ...

These were their plans, and you wouldn't accept any of them.

Eventually they give in and wake thr lich...

Note that this was originally your plan, and that you had to reach across the table and tell them to go do it.

A is correct. They were helpless, because everything that used their abilities failed. None of your possible endings required the fighter to draw a sword, or the wizard to cast a spell.

B is correct. They spent lots of time spinning their wheels trying things that couldn't work, without any way to know that they were wasting their time.

C is correct. Everything they tried was ruled out, and they were nudged into your plan. They obviously didn't get enough clues that a druid or dragon might help.

If you are going to let them come up with their own plan, something they should come up with should work. If you have a set plan, or set of possible plans, then they should include their abilities, and they should have more clues to it.