supply priority

[tonyscrase]

thank you to everyone who has answered my queries

i am playing Torch to Tunisia - Cairo is a national depot and sends the bulk of its freight to Alexandria a level 3 depot.
Alexandria sends by sea freight to :
Sollum (36 hexes away) is sent 4,761 i have given it a priority of 2 max it can receive is 15,000 less 28% damage 10,800
Bardia (37 hexes away) is sent 4,200 i have given it a priority of 3 max it can receive is 15,000 less 35% damage 9,750
Tobruck (45 hexes away) is sent 5,418 i have given that a priority of 2 max it can receive is 15,000 less 19% damage 12,150
Derna (54 hexes away) is sent 2,025 i have given that a priority of 3 max it can receive is 15,000 less 64% damage 5,400
Tolemaide (65 hexes away) is sent 2025 i have given that a priority of 4 max it can receive is 15,000 less 64% damage 5,400)
Benghazi (70 hexes away) is sent 2325 i have given a priority of 4 max it can receive is 15,000 less 60% damage 6,000

I was hoping that the ports i had given priority 4 would receive the most freight are there other factors that determine the amount of freight a depot gets such as size of port, distance from Alexandria, when you change priority does it take some time before the adjustment takes affect.

Also I disbanded a depot that had been getting 10,000 freight from Alexandria I hoped that would now go to the above depots but it does not seem to be the case !!!

THANK YOU

[loki100]

worth bearing in mind there are a number of constraints in the system.

You've focussed on capacity (less damage) which is one but there is a finite amount of transport - either ship or truck. So once that is consumed no more can be moved.

If you are using overland supply you need intermediate depots - but these can be set to #1. If you are using shipping you don't want intermediate depots so that your limited ships go to the locations you need. So I personally would reduce 3 of Sollum/Bardia/Tobruck and Derna to #1 or #0. Keep one at #2 and put your transport aircraft here. Later on reduce all to #0 or #1 but keep Benghazi functioning at #3. This is a good place for both transports and level bombers.

The point about transports is they need to be close to both the front and at a well supplied location. They then add just that little bit more forward lift and you can dump this on an airbase close to the front - whether to a unit/HQ or the empty hex.

Then look at your spearhead. Only move the minimum, say 3-4 brigades per turn, enough to probe and keep in contact. If the enemy stops, these can look for an outflanking move and then move up the rest. You don't want lots of infantry moving till a new front is formed.

The key in this scenario is balancing limited supply by limiting demand but retaining sufficient combat power at your cutting edge. Its not easy. At least on the Algerian side its a matter of time and linking up ports, rails and depots to get an ok situation. Really you are moving up 8A so it can help with the final battle for Tunisia, the pursuit is not a combat operation as such and you will not manage to pull off a large pocket.

With your spearhead, keep an eye on how many trucks the mobile units send back to grab supply. Oddly you might want to reduce their supply priority to 1 or 2 so they do not allocate too many potential MP in gaining supply that they forget to move. So you can have the odd situation of a well supplied unit having little movement as its organic trucks are all off picking up that supply and a less well supplied unit having decent movement as its trucks are present. Remember the % of trucks (less those sent for resupply) sets an upper cap to your movement allowance.

Disbanding a depot doesn't automatically change other things. If it was being supplied by rail then all you are doing is under-using your rail capacity. Even if it was truck supplied, it will take a few turns to shake out the allocated trucks and so on.