Showcasing WitE2 #3 - Logistics08 Jan 2021
In this glimpse at the forthcoming War in the East 2 we are going to look at logistics. Arguably WitE2 has the most complex and realistic logistic model in any wargame depicting large scale ground combat. This post will only skim over the basics so feel free to ask if you want to know more.
WitE2 tracks individual people, vehicles, aircraft and weapons across the battlefield as well as the different elements of logistic supply. The difference in WitE2 is that there is much less abstraction than ever before. The system is a development of that seen in WitW but it has been significantly improved with a number extra tweaks to give the player more control. Let’s explore…
ProductionAt the top of the logistics tree is the production system where mines and oilfields produce resources that are converted by factories into the means to wage war. These are the vehicles and aircraft to equip the forces and the ammunition, fuel and supplies required to support them. The factories are located in their historic locations and produce against historic rates. The output of production accumulates in pools for onward distribution. The game has a number of screens where you can follow production.
The Supply GridThe WitE2 supply grid links the pools to forward depots by train and ship. The final link from the forward depots to units is by truck or horse. The movement of that supply is tracked as freight. Freight represents the capability to move the different elements through the system. When freight is received it is converted into the required elements.
The big difference in WitE2 from WitE is the fidelity in the movement of freight through the supply grid. Freight is tracked by individual ton to specific locations.
RailwaysThe vast majority of freight is initially moved by rail. WitE2 has a new feature: some of the rail lines having single track whilst others are double (shown as a thicker candy stripe). Double rail can handle more freight without congestion. The capacity of the rail system is provided by railyards. When there is increasing congestion – showed by the lines changing colour from green, through yellow and orange to red then more railyard resource is required to move a similar level of freight. The movement of units along rail lines adds to this congestion. This therefore limits the amount that can be moved in a turn along any given rail line. The rail network is no longer a source of almost limitless supply.
DepotsFreight moving through the supply grid is stored at depots. The capacity of the depot depends on the size of the railyard and/or port co-located in the hex. Depots receive, store and distribute freight to units. Depots can be seen on the map as triangular symbols. The number in the triangle is the supply priority whilst the bars on top show received in the last turn (green), on hand (blue), sent out (red) and capacity (black).
Resupplying UnitsUnits look to get freight from nearby depots. The majority of freight is moved to the unit from the depot by truck. The further a unit is from a depot and the greater its need, the more trucks are required to service this final supply loop. Depots have an allocation of trucks to do this but if there are not enough then units will use their own trucks to help out. In doing so this can reduce the mobility of the unit in the following turn (in addition to any penalties incurred by having insufficient supplies or fuel). You can see which units are drawing supply from the depots with the freight shipment view. Red Lines are depot to unit, white are depot to depot by rail and blue are depot to depot by ship.
You can also see detail at the unit level.
Managing LogisticsSo now we have explained the basic building blocks of the system we can now look at how players need to master logistics to benefit their operations. Although the game handles most of the logistical detail the player can affect logistics in WitE2 using a number of tools. Much like we have tried to demonstrate in our very first showcase here too there are a number of trade offs to be made and decisions are not binary.
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Rail Repair. As hexes change ownership the rail lines become damaged. The player has control of a number of manual rail repair units which allow control of rail repair. Choosing which rail lines to repair first is an important choice during an advance. Opening new depots close to the front line is important to ensure units remain sufficiently supplied.
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Depot Creation/Disbandment. The player can create new depots to handle freight. Choosing the best locations is a key skill and needs to planned with your rail repair strategy. Conversely holding locations that are most suitable for depots can help delay advances by impacting your enemy’s logistics. You can build depots by clicking on the build depot triangle on the top bar.
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Supply Priority. The player can set relative priorities for depots and units to help distribute freight in support of operations. It is extremely unlikely that there will be sufficient freight to meet the demands of all units. Choices will have to be made between who should be prioritised to receive what is available. There are 5 levels of priority and the screenshot below shows the ability to highlight the unit supply priority with bright green borders showing the highest and red the lowest priority.
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Unit Placement. Where units are located relative to depots, the surrounding terrain and the number and type of units present are very important as freight in forward depots is finite. This means that large formations cannot be supplied in areas with poor infrastructure that limits the number of depots that can be created and their relative size. Also if the terrain for truck resupply is a challenge this will be costly too – trucks benefit from the new roads. Working alongside the rules for gaining Command Preparation Points the setting up of an offensive is now much more than just ensuring units are within a set distance of a working rail line.
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Use of HQs and Rail Repair Units. Co-locating some HQs with depots can boost their capacity whilst a co-located Rail Repair Units that has not moved in the turn will attract freight but at a cost to other depots. Using an HQ too means that the capacity of the depot is boosted to process freight and prioritise that depot (even more than its notional priority). So in an advance there is a real trade off in balancing the use of a rail repair units in their two functions. The choice for the player is between having a depot operating with significant capacity against repairing rail behind the advancing forces. A tension that is felt in the number of trucks required to deliver the final loop against the freight they need to carry. This tension applies just as much to German blitzkrieg tactics in 1941/42 or Soviet deep battle in 1944/45. In the screenshot you can see the effect this co-location in the depot at the end of the yellow rail line in Jablonowo: handling significantly more freight.
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Facility Repair. The repair by construction battalions of railyards, ports, factories and rail (an automatic process) can improve logistics.
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Air Resupply. Limited supply can be flown if sufficient freight and aircraft are available. The resupply GUI has been completely re-designed to make it much easier to use- it is often as simple as just clicking on a target hex and the mission will be executed. To help with this, airbases are marked so you can easily see them and, usually, you are better off targeting these locations as more freight will be safely received that way.
Finally, if all of this talk of logistics has filled you with horror rather than anticipation the game includes AI support to help you manage depots…we’ll cover this in more detail in a later showcase when we look at AI functionality in more detail.