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In manual it says support squads are "ground elements that provide the administrative and logistical backbone required for a unit to operate effectively". HQ units usually have as many as vehicles as they have support squads. why do they need these if they don't provide supply using these vehicles? (afaik supplies are distributed with vehicles in motor pool).

Also, why higher HQ (corps, army HQ) have too many ground support squads? for example, in the scenario "road to leningrad" 16th army HQ has almost 500 support squads. is this historically accurate? it seems kinda exaggrated as divisions also have supports squads too.

From my understanding support units is the way all those elements that do not have a direct combat role are modeled in the game.

For example, in a 41A Soviet Rifle Div approx 55% of the personel are in support unit. This covers Medical, Veterinary, Bridging, Security, Bakery, Signals, HQ, Supply etc.

Not sure this helps...

My best guess is that support units help succeeding leadership roll.

A badly support unit will fail leadership roll more (With direct consequences on combat and logistic ability). How much i do not know.

As a soviet, you quickly learn to play without decent support..... [:D]

Yes the manual gives the exact formula where lack of support squads reduces leaders ratings checks.

Higher level HQs can "lend" their support squads to lower levels - so having extra in higher HQs is not necessarily a bad thing.

I see, it's an abstraction then. The game represents TOE very realistically, that's why i've asked.

One more question though, about vehicles in units, do these vehicles come from motor pool? again, in "road to leningrad" in turn 1 hq units have more vehicles than they need and combat units are short of vehicles. after turn 2 they seem to give away these vehicles because in "supply details" window there's a minus sign to "vehicles received". but there are more combat units than the HQ, so not enough excessive vehicles in HQ units. so does the rest come from motor pool?

Yes - the motor pool is in effect the leftovers not taken into units and which then get used for logistics.