The harsh realities of supply in the Far West

[DrPostman]

Here's a great article on the The Battle of Glorieta and gives a stark
description of just how perilous the supply situation was for the CSA
out there, as well as for the Union. It helped me to understand why
supply is so huge a problem out there in the game.

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/glorietapass/glorieta-pass-history-articles/glorietaalberts.html

[Durk]

Thanks for sharing this. Excellent article. For those who head out West, the Glorieta Pass battlefield is now very accessible.

[Taillebois]

"Sibley was poorly suited to the task. A heavy-drinking dragoon officer, his soldiers came to describe him as a “walking whiskey keg,” or a dreamer prone to let the morrow take care of itself."

Sounds like my kind of guy. Good read thank you, and again shows the importance of supply; and actually being able to find your enemy.

[B0rn_C0nfused]

"(General Sibley) Why is the rum gone?"-Captain Jack Sparrow.

[Pocus]

Thanks for the link, this kind of stuff always interest me. War is mostly about logistic anyway

[minipol]

I agree. That's why I like the West in the game. You need to plan far ahead to construct depots, get wagons before you march some troops north (as the CSA)

[Gray Fox]

From the Wiki:

"Supply Production Modifiers
The base production of countryside (Regions) is modified by the following factors:

Military Control (MC). Basic region supply is modified by the %MC of the region
Loyalty.
[Advanced Supply] Supply production is multiplied according to the Loyalty percentage of the region plus 50%. The equation is: [Loyalty + 50%] X [base # of supplies produced]. For example, if a region is completely loyal (i.e. 100% loyalty) the base supply production in the region would be multiplied by 1.5.
[Simple Supply] If loyalty is <50%, then multiply by 0.5
National Morale. [Advanced Supply games only] For every two NM above 100, the amount of supplies produced by a supply source is increased by 1%. For every two NM below 100, the amount of supplies produced by a supply source is reduced by 1%.
Development (applied only to the regions inherent, terrain-basic supply generated)
Wild = 50%
Cleared = 100%
Developed = 200%
Rich = 300%
Transportation Level (added to basic region supply value)
None = +0
Track = +0
Road = +1 (in AJE, is coded as Track)
Major Road = +3
Bonus to AI if difficulty set on "Hard"
The supply generated by Structures is modified by:

Besieged Structures. Structures that are besieged by enemy forces do not produce supply points. Supply points previously accumulated are retained (and consumed by the friendly forces being besieged).
Blockade. Ports that are blockaded by enemy naval vessels do not produce supply points. Supply points previously accumulated are unaffected by naval blockade and may be distributed (by land) normally.
AI difficulty level "

[DrPostman]

After reading what they went through I believe that supply is accurately
depicted for both sides, or at least close to accurate in the game. I like
the fact that you have to plan ahead. As the Union one of the first things
I buy is a full supply wagon in LA along with a flatboat to build a depot
and send one on with troops down South. Almost every turn after that
I build at least one more wagon to send South so I can get my logistics
chain going. Coming South from Denver seems like it takes much longer
and supplies out of Denver are very limited, and forget about building a
chain from the Midwest to the Far West!

In the game I think the South has better logistics at the start than the
Union does, and I usually end up taking Denver eventually. I try to take
Yuma and burn the stockade down so Athena is stymied in that direction.
One game I was even able to take San Fransisco with the help of some
supplies sent from the Gulf with a couple of escorted transports. LA with
a depot became a launching point for taking the rest of the gold fields.
I just wish there was a way to capture at least some of the Federal fleet
in San Fran! They always escape.

For both sides I spend almost all my RDGs on improving the Far West so
that the supplies can flow much easier.

[NormanMeek]

The linked article is interesting, but the more interesting part of the campaign to me was the retreat of the CSA soldiers following their defeat. With Fort Craig blocking their line of retreat to El Paso, they had to leave the Rio Grande valley and travel through very remote and mountainous terrain, worrying about a surprise attack the whole way. A large number of them died on the way from exposure, starvation and the lack of water, and for those that survived, their trek across west Texas towards San Antonio was then plagued by poisoned springs and wells, as well as hostile Indians. A book about this was published not too long ago based on long lost newspaper accounts (from the 1880s) published in Texas by a survivor. It is a fascinating read because very little of the region has changed much since these events happened, and you can still see the remnants of Ft. Craig and, with a 4wd, travel parts of the CSA retreat route through the mountainous NM wilderness and see exactly what they faced.