Logistics Question...

[Alden]

Its unclear to me just how supply moves over land. There are a couple locations around the map where a decent Port/crummy Airfield hex is adjacent to a decent Airfield/crummy Port. Buna/Dobodura and the two Japanese bases on Admiralty Island are the examples I'm thinking of.

Does it make sense to develop the ports in these pairs for supplying the air base next door? Will that work at all? Like, can I build up the Los Negros port and use it to supply the airbase at Momote? Or should I decide how to use these hexes independantly of each other and deliver supplies directly to Momote?

Had the game for a couple weeks now and I'm playing a PBEM game with an old gaming buddy. We're having a great time with it. I'm Japanese and I thought I'd work up the Airfield/Port on Admiralty on the off chance that I find myself on the defensive someday

And that's why I'm asking.

[gus]

Section 17.3 of the UV manual will set you straight

-g

[Alden]

Well, that's sorta the part that wasn't clear to me. It sounds like the overland supply rules pertain to ground combat units marching along roads or toiling away through remote swamps etc. But what about airplanes?

You need supply overages (I guess you'd call them) at air bases to operate Level Bombers and the manual doesn't really say if these needs will be met by this mechanism.

I guess I'm really asking what's the best, most efficient way to develop Admiralty Island as a fallback position should Rabaul become too hot. I don't like the idea of trying to keep Eleventh Air Fleet in bombs and cigarettes by AP unloading straight onto a Level 0 beach. But if that's what I gotta do, then that's what I gotta do.

Maybe unload the APs in Los Negros and shuttle the supplies to Momote by barge? Seems complicated. But at least I wouldn't have the APs tied down loading boxes into dinghys for days on end that way.

Guess I'll just try it.

Thanks

[wobbly]

The simple answer is: Yes. you will get overland supply from one base to another when they are next to each other or when they are connected by an overland trail (like Buna and Port Moresby).
I am uncertain what type of connection you have between two bases side by side like that but the amount of supplies consumed as a percentage of the whole sent out, in actually getting to the target hex, works like this:

-1% each hex on road
-10% each hex on trail
-50% each jungle hex

these are cumulative reductions with each hex between your supply base and destination hex.
I think (think... don't know) that it is a jungle hex change from a base side by side which means 50% supplies sent are used trying to get said supplies to their location (grognards anyone?). If you send 1000 supplies only 500 will get through to the base.

What dictates the amount of supply sent is an unknown to me. I THINK it depends on the gournd units and ACs at the target hex and their requirements, but I don't know if the game goes:
units need 1000 supplies - I'll send 1000 supplies from next door base but woops 500 are lost in the transition - OR -
units need 1000 suplies - I will send 2000 because I know I will loose half in the transition. (again to the grognards).

In short your idea works perfectly well but is a bit wasteful - you will get the full use of supplies unloaded at the target hex itself. But as you say build a port to offload faster and just heavily stock the place (which opens it to heavy supply loss when a supply hit is registered against it, but that is another story).

[Alden]

Thanks, wobbly

This is, I suspect, the Railroad Tycoon player in me asserting himself ^_^

I have one Construction Battalion dedicated to developing rear area satellite bases during the initial phase of the game and they've got quite a slate of projects. And I guess I could force the Momote port up a couple points. Its a 0 (0) if I remember right so it could go to 3 but I don't have any idea how long that would take. I suppose I'll just wing it and see how things go.