Use of depots: a noob question

[Salarmax]

Dear EAW players,

1.) Still I dont understand the mechanics of depots. I have read in the manual its recommended to build a depot every 5 tiles. But what do they actually do
Are they solely warehouses to dump any incomming supplies?
2.) What is a good strategy in building depots?
3.) I also read there is an important difference between cities and town regarding depots. Towns cannot pass through supplies but cities can. am I supposed to build a depot in every town I conquer?
4.) Is it possible to somehow upgrade my existing depots?

[Stelteck]

1) Depots attract supplys and push it to your troops or to others depots. Use the supply grid view ingame to check where you supply is stored.
But in game supply follow also the railroad path using railroad points.
If you army is too far from a depot, it will not get resupply and will use embedded supply. A normal unit have 2 turns of supply as reserve, and more with supply waggon.
The range of the depot change with weather condition. It is easier to move supply in clear weather than in mud.

2) They are really expansive built the minimum of them. Europe is a civilized contry there is already big town&depots everywhere. You may have issues in remote part like serbia, deep inside russia, etc...

3) Built depot only if you face a supply issue. They are so expansives.
As a temporary solution you can rotate supply waggon to the rear.

4) Yes, but it is so expansive. Do you really have supply issue right now ?

[Shri]

Unless you are fighting too deep in Russia or you have a massive army in the Balkans, avoid building DEPOTS, it is too expensive to build.
In the Western front you do not need it as long as you can capture the BIG towns and the main "Railways lines". The railways are the key to the WW1 battles.
It was said - a WW1 army 50 miles away from its Rail Head was a BEACHED WHALE.

Keep that in mind and it will all work out, use your wagons judiciously, keep 1/2 spare wagons in the rear (on Large cities like Warsaw or Koenigberg) when attacking into Russia and rotate your supply wagons using the RAIL movement.
I use a thumb rule of - 1 supply wagon for 2 corps. In most cases it works.

[Salarmax]

1) Depots attract supplys and push it to your troops or to others depots. Use the supply grid view ingame to check where you supply is stored.
But in game supply follow also the railroad path using railroad points.
If you army is too far from a depot, it will not get resupply and will use embedded supply. A normal unit have 2 turns of supply as reserve, and more with supply waggon.
The range of the depot change with weather condition. It is easier to move supply in clear weather than in mud.

2) They are really expansive built the minimum of them. Europe is a civilized contry there is already big town&depots everywhere. You may have issues in remote part like serbia, deep inside russia, etc...

3) Built depot only if you face a supply issue. They are so expansives.
As a temporary solution you can rotate supply waggon to the rear.

4) Yes, but it is so expansive. Do you really have supply issue right now ?

Thanks for the explanations. Currently I dont have any real supply issues. Sometimes in Russia I need to rotate my supply wagons but thats not a big deal, because my supply cities are not that far behind. I only want to avoid what the Germans and French encountered during their wars