Supply Base Questions

[simovitch]

For scenarios with land-based SEP's it may be best to keep your bases close to your troops. one drawback is moving your bases require a few hours to redeploy and they will not dispatch supply columns unless they are stationary and deployed. Also you put your bases in more peril the closer you move to the front.

For airlanding and airdrops it's probably always best to keep the bases close to the SEP.

If the SEP is drying out then I believe it's time to move the bases close to a better SEP. The question is how does the AI determine which SEP will the unit draw supply from? To answer that I have to defer to Arjuna...

[alaric99x]

Thank you.  I'll change my procedures regarding bases.

[simovitch]

Hmm, I may be spouting off too soon. I'm playing Maltese Cross and the 7th Flieger Div. Base (the first link in the supply chain) has not received any supply yet - and it's D2 20:00.

It keeps telling me 'resupply on the way' but it never arrives at the base, which is right next to the SEP. Consequently all the other FJ bases are getting sucked dry.

I'll post this on the beta forum.

Edit: well, it seems to be getting some supply at around 23:00 hrs (about 9 tonnes) which is about all the capacity it has, less the manpacks out on deliveries. So it's working OK but it does seem like slim pickings for the FJ...

[BK6583]

Well hmmm too. ALL of my FJ supply bases have been receiving and delivering supplies from D1 (2000 hrs) up until the present (D2 - 0912). SEP1 does only supply 80% overall. As I said before, it's the big rounds for the mortars and arty that are slim pickings - but they are receiving these rounds - just not very much of them. I'm back to the broader question - does the 7th Flieger Div cease receiving supplies when D3 arrives and SEP2 takes over completely? And to repeat - I'd sure like a little employment advice for supply bases that receive supply 100% from air delivery and have to haul everything by foot (supply bases with trucks I understand is a diiferent matter).

[simovitch]

I noticed in my game that 7th Flieger switched over to the active SEP on D3.

It seems to me that the only Base that would benefit from staying close to an airdrop SEP is the senior base in the chain, i.e. 7th Flieger Div Base. Otherwise the other bases with manpacks would follow the same mechanics as one with trucks, (only slower delivery since they are on foot, I would think)

I'm still guessing at the idea that there is a virtual time lag between 7th Flieger manpacks travelling to the SEP to pick up supplies and travelling back to Base to distribute them, hence proximity to the base would be a real benefit.

Hopefully Dave will chime in and sort through this for us.

[Arjuna]

By and large there is no difference between an airborne Base and all the other Bases except for the paucity ( or more acurately the non-existence ) of trucks. The FJ Bases relied on a few motorcycles and a lot of manpacks. But manpacks don't deliver much and take a long time to do so because these guys are on foot and carrying heavy loads. So while a motorised Base may deliver its supplies to its drawing units in around an hour or so, it will take several hours ( depending on terrain and distance ) for the FJ Base to deliver its supplies.
 
Further, any Base that draws from an airdrop or airfield SEP must first transport the supplied from the SEP to the Base before then delivering those supplies forward to its drawing units. So for a FJ Base drawing from an airdrop SEP it's a double whammy. It must use its precious transport capacity to haul those supplies twice - ie from the SEP to its depot and then out to the drawing units. This could day all day if there is any distance involved. Remember foot units average 2kph and then there is loading and unloading.
 
For FJ Bases drawing on an airdrop SEP I would recommend positioning the Base as close to the SEP as possible.
 
The algorythm for allocating Bases to SEPs is quite complex. I'm not going into the detail now. Suffice to say that Bases will tend to draw on their senior Base ( eg a Regt Base will draw on its organic Div Base ). However, if there is an SEP close by there is a strong likelihood they will instead draw directly from it. This is not guaranteed, though as other candidate Bases may end up using the SEP's capacity.
 
I hope that helps.