Initial Impressions of Supply and Fuel Strategies (and Impact to Naval Strategy)
Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2026 5:46 pm
It's pretty clear the initial Naval Strategies for both sides will center on the Strait of Gibraltar; specifically moving the Army of Africa or stopping it from being moved. Secondarily, securing/attacking Mallorca. Those are pretty clear early focal points. This will probably keep both sides busy for the first 3-ish months.
In the long-run however, what is the focal point of Naval Strategy? At some point the Army of Africa will be in Spain (removing that as an objective).
For the Nationalists, there are some units that have to be moved over the ocean; Canarias units, but mostly importantly all the CVT units from Italy.
The Republicans don't have anything to move (other than an evac from el Norte if you want to do that).
So, the long-term focus for both sides is SUPPLIES and FUEL. It was historically for sure, as both sides needed supplies and fuel to keep the war going.
My question is this: Does either side really need alot of supply and/or fuel, above what is available at-start or produced in Spain?
On FUEL, my frame of reference is WITP-AE; there's no fuel burn in WiS from industry, so it's only going in oil-fired ships. For both sides, that's mostly the Navy. There's a decent amount of Naval Fuel in Spain at-start, so I don't foresee needing a ton for either side. (Republic has zero production, so I would probably go get some anyway from Russia just in case)
For SUPPLIES, there is a fair amount of supply production in Spain at-start. Now, it's possible that as the armies get larger the supply burn will skyrocket, so there's the answer. But in the initial going, I don't global supply stocks are declining.
For the designers and testers, I am curious if you seeing big supply and/or fuel burn. IMO, there SHOULD be deficits that both sides need to fill; that would conform to the actual Spanish Civil War. But wondering if that's true or not in game terms?
In the long-run however, what is the focal point of Naval Strategy? At some point the Army of Africa will be in Spain (removing that as an objective).
For the Nationalists, there are some units that have to be moved over the ocean; Canarias units, but mostly importantly all the CVT units from Italy.
The Republicans don't have anything to move (other than an evac from el Norte if you want to do that).
So, the long-term focus for both sides is SUPPLIES and FUEL. It was historically for sure, as both sides needed supplies and fuel to keep the war going.
My question is this: Does either side really need alot of supply and/or fuel, above what is available at-start or produced in Spain?
On FUEL, my frame of reference is WITP-AE; there's no fuel burn in WiS from industry, so it's only going in oil-fired ships. For both sides, that's mostly the Navy. There's a decent amount of Naval Fuel in Spain at-start, so I don't foresee needing a ton for either side. (Republic has zero production, so I would probably go get some anyway from Russia just in case)
For SUPPLIES, there is a fair amount of supply production in Spain at-start. Now, it's possible that as the armies get larger the supply burn will skyrocket, so there's the answer. But in the initial going, I don't global supply stocks are declining.
For the designers and testers, I am curious if you seeing big supply and/or fuel burn. IMO, there SHOULD be deficits that both sides need to fill; that would conform to the actual Spanish Civil War. But wondering if that's true or not in game terms?