Supply and Attrition
Commonwealth E20 :: [ARCHIVE] COMMONWEALTH E20 :: Background and Gameplay :: Military Rules and Forces
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Supply and Attrition
by TLS Sat Sep 23, 2017 4:42 pm
General Supply requirements
Armies and Fleets are essentially mobile cities, and consume massive quantities of food.
Supplying armies
A unit of 2,500 men will consume 360 tons of food a season, or 4 tons a day. An army of 50,000 men will consume therefore 80 tons a day (7,200 tons a season) but the much larger problem is that this force will have approx 30,000 horses and oxen. Feeding these animals will require therefore 58,000 tons of fodder in a season, or 645 tons a day, which is simply beyond the primitive transportation network of this period to handle if an army is moving. Thus an army must have grazing land, which works out to be 600 acres a day (54,000 acres in the course of a season).
In short, to feed itself, an army must disperse to smaller encampments that are widely spread out (in otherwords, split up into small towns), move constantly (in the process stripping its line of march of two thirds of its food and fodder supplies in the process), or once it stops moving, build up magazines (in effect factories) which can supply it once it stops moving. These magazines must have access to adequate roads and rivers to move the required supplies.
Otherwise the Army starts suffering attrition, with its animals gradually stripping away (in effect cavalry, lancers and infantry are reduced to light infantry as all but the lightest artillery pieces are abandoned, and the horses die off).
Stripping the land clean
If an army uses the same line of march twice, or another army follows the same line of march as its opponent, the land is stripped clean. In addition to creating considerable (and in some cases, massive) hardship for the local civilians, this means that the land can only provide 1/3 of its previous bounty, and the pursuing army thus gets only half of the supply value of that land. Which requires it to either move more slowly (as it has to spread out in order to enlarge the area for foraging) or suffer attrition from inadequate supply
The problem becomes more severe during winter, when fodder has to be provided as grazing is not available, or during sieges, when an army must remain in place. As a general rule, Armies do not conduct winter campaigns unless there is no other choice. Hence the reason armies go into winter quarters.
If forced to campaign during winter, or if an army is conducting a seige, then during the second month it is out of supply. It can be placed back into supply if within 50 miles of a magazine (or friendly fortress), or if it encamps.
Encampment
An army that encamps cannot move, or launch attacks but may conduct seiges and defend itself. In effect the army is sending out foraging parties, and relying on what transportation is available to move up fodder and food. However, it still suffers attrition if more than one brigade is located within 20 miles of another brigade. In peacetime this is why the Army is scattered about the entire country in garrison (making supply possible) and why armies frequently spread out and encamp during winter.
the effects of being out of supply
An Army that is out of supply suffers 3 times the normal rate of attrition
It is highly recommended that players keep this in mind if they don't want to see their armies literally melt away even before they conduct the risky business of battle. Also players will note that building magazines can be critical.
Armies and Fleets are essentially mobile cities, and consume massive quantities of food.
Supplying armies
A unit of 2,500 men will consume 360 tons of food a season, or 4 tons a day. An army of 50,000 men will consume therefore 80 tons a day (7,200 tons a season) but the much larger problem is that this force will have approx 30,000 horses and oxen. Feeding these animals will require therefore 58,000 tons of fodder in a season, or 645 tons a day, which is simply beyond the primitive transportation network of this period to handle if an army is moving. Thus an army must have grazing land, which works out to be 600 acres a day (54,000 acres in the course of a season).
In short, to feed itself, an army must disperse to smaller encampments that are widely spread out (in otherwords, split up into small towns), move constantly (in the process stripping its line of march of two thirds of its food and fodder supplies in the process), or once it stops moving, build up magazines (in effect factories) which can supply it once it stops moving. These magazines must have access to adequate roads and rivers to move the required supplies.
Otherwise the Army starts suffering attrition, with its animals gradually stripping away (in effect cavalry, lancers and infantry are reduced to light infantry as all but the lightest artillery pieces are abandoned, and the horses die off).
Stripping the land clean
If an army uses the same line of march twice, or another army follows the same line of march as its opponent, the land is stripped clean. In addition to creating considerable (and in some cases, massive) hardship for the local civilians, this means that the land can only provide 1/3 of its previous bounty, and the pursuing army thus gets only half of the supply value of that land. Which requires it to either move more slowly (as it has to spread out in order to enlarge the area for foraging) or suffer attrition from inadequate supply
The problem becomes more severe during winter, when fodder has to be provided as grazing is not available, or during sieges, when an army must remain in place. As a general rule, Armies do not conduct winter campaigns unless there is no other choice. Hence the reason armies go into winter quarters.
If forced to campaign during winter, or if an army is conducting a seige, then during the second month it is out of supply. It can be placed back into supply if within 50 miles of a magazine (or friendly fortress), or if it encamps.
Encampment
An army that encamps cannot move, or launch attacks but may conduct seiges and defend itself. In effect the army is sending out foraging parties, and relying on what transportation is available to move up fodder and food. However, it still suffers attrition if more than one brigade is located within 20 miles of another brigade. In peacetime this is why the Army is scattered about the entire country in garrison (making supply possible) and why armies frequently spread out and encamp during winter.
the effects of being out of supply
An Army that is out of supply suffers 3 times the normal rate of attrition
It is highly recommended that players keep this in mind if they don't want to see their armies literally melt away even before they conduct the risky business of battle. Also players will note that building magazines can be critical.
TLS- Admin
- Posts : 731
Join date : 2017-09-19 -
Naval Supply
by TLS Sat Sep 23, 2017 4:42 pm
Supplying fleets
Navies of the day do not need fuel, which means in theory they can sail around for years at a time with only occasional stops to make minor repairs. The wind after all is continually available, while wood can be found most anywhere and a ship has its crew who can do most of the work needed.
In practice however, this is not as easy as it looks. Food storage is a problem, and most food and water goes bad after a few months even with proper care and adequate or even superior efforts to preserve it.
Fleets therefore must put into port periodically to replenish supplies, or they can live off captured supplies taken from enemy ships (one naval or merchant unit will supply enough food to replenish one naval unit). In some cases, navies can also be resupplied by merchant flotillas that provide a steady stream of food and water from home ports.
For game purposes, a naval unit can stay at sea for 2 seasons before it must check for supply status. It can be resupplied by a merchant flotilla, or it must make port. It can immediately return to sea but this does mean that there are potential strategic effects (for example, if you are blockading an enemy port, if your fleet has to send ships home to replenish than that blockade is less tight, and potentially the enemy can slip away or even overwhelm the remaining blockaders).
Scurvy is however the bigger problem. A naval unit that remains at sea for a third season not only is living on short rations of bad food and worse water, but is suffering serious disease issues... particularly scurvy. Each month of that season then it must make a check (50%) to determine whether the unit is disrupted. A naval unit can suffer one disruption for every two levels of its defense rating before being eliminated (so big ships with big crews can remain at sea longer because they can absorb more casualties... although this is pretty hard on the survivors and worse on the rest).
Effects of disruption
Disrupted naval units have their attack and defense strengths halved (personnel casualties reducing the number of men who can shoot, and the number of men who can fix damage and sail the ship).
Supplying naval facilities
Because of the primitive nature of land transportation, naval facilities must have a water supply line to a major city. This can be river or canal but is usually coastal or even oceanic waters. If no supply route exists, than a naval facility can only conduct repairs and cannot build ships. If located in a major city a naval facility remains in supply as long as the major city does.
Navies of the day do not need fuel, which means in theory they can sail around for years at a time with only occasional stops to make minor repairs. The wind after all is continually available, while wood can be found most anywhere and a ship has its crew who can do most of the work needed.
In practice however, this is not as easy as it looks. Food storage is a problem, and most food and water goes bad after a few months even with proper care and adequate or even superior efforts to preserve it.
Fleets therefore must put into port periodically to replenish supplies, or they can live off captured supplies taken from enemy ships (one naval or merchant unit will supply enough food to replenish one naval unit). In some cases, navies can also be resupplied by merchant flotillas that provide a steady stream of food and water from home ports.
For game purposes, a naval unit can stay at sea for 2 seasons before it must check for supply status. It can be resupplied by a merchant flotilla, or it must make port. It can immediately return to sea but this does mean that there are potential strategic effects (for example, if you are blockading an enemy port, if your fleet has to send ships home to replenish than that blockade is less tight, and potentially the enemy can slip away or even overwhelm the remaining blockaders).
Scurvy is however the bigger problem. A naval unit that remains at sea for a third season not only is living on short rations of bad food and worse water, but is suffering serious disease issues... particularly scurvy. Each month of that season then it must make a check (50%) to determine whether the unit is disrupted. A naval unit can suffer one disruption for every two levels of its defense rating before being eliminated (so big ships with big crews can remain at sea longer because they can absorb more casualties... although this is pretty hard on the survivors and worse on the rest).
Effects of disruption
Disrupted naval units have their attack and defense strengths halved (personnel casualties reducing the number of men who can shoot, and the number of men who can fix damage and sail the ship).
Supplying naval facilities
Because of the primitive nature of land transportation, naval facilities must have a water supply line to a major city. This can be river or canal but is usually coastal or even oceanic waters. If no supply route exists, than a naval facility can only conduct repairs and cannot build ships. If located in a major city a naval facility remains in supply as long as the major city does.
TLS- Admin
- Posts : 731
Join date : 2017-09-19 -
Special Notes
by TLS Sat Sep 23, 2017 4:43 pm
Ammunition
Notice that ammunition requirements are ignored. That is because armies and navies simply do not shoot that much during a campaign. They have enough on hand to fight a couple of battles, which is likely more than they will need during the course of that campaign. Thus resupplying them rarely is a problem.
Should it be necessary, than a special note or rule will be created for that campaign if multiple battles are fought.
Naval depreciation
Wooden ships wear out, especially in tropical waters where marine organisms find wood to be delicious. Naval units that operate in tropical waters suffer damage checks each season that they do so. There is a 10% chance that a naval unit will suffer sufficient damage to become disabled and have to return to a naval facility for repairs. A second check is made, and a 20% chance exists that the naval unit has been damaged beyond repair and is eliminated.
Copper bottoms solve this... about 70+ years from now. Marine paint does even better... 140 years from game start.
The perils of the tropics
Land and Naval units that are from temperate countries suffer three times the rate of normal attrition when operating in the tropics due to disease vectors. Yellow Fever and Malaria can fell whole ships crews and wipe out regiments . Thus naval units check for disruption two seasons a year (Monsoon season in Asia and Africa, during Spring and Summer in the Americas), and Land units suffer three times the normal chance of being shattered by disease (check during the same months).
Nearly half the men sent to the Caribbean or India died in the first year after arrival, and in some particularly hellish parts of the African coast, the chances of survival to retirement where less than 10% for a European well into the late 19th Century.
On the other hand, troops from the Tropics (or Desert / Dry Temperate) serving in Temperate regions must make attrition checks during the winter, and have three times the normal chance of being shattered.
Players will note when researching that campaigning in the tropics was very frequently limited to the times when it was relatively safe to do so.
Special Rules: Operating in the Wilderness
In Wilderness areas, the desert, arctic, or mountain regions, armies cannot forage. Infantry, Cavalry, and Lancers cannot carry enough fodder to operate and are thus out of supply when operating in these regions except during spring if operating in the steppes (American Great Plains and various Praire regions count for this purpose). As the desert, forest and arctic are not known for their vast expanses of grasslands, foraging for fodder is not possible in those areas.
Light Infantry, and fixed units like fortifications and forts however either can stockpile enough food, or carry enough to remain in supply to operate. If able to trace a line of communications by water (river or canal or lake) back to a seaport, port or major city, these units remain in supply unless placed under seige.
2,500 men cannot hunt enough food to survive in the wild.. at least not for long.
As natives as a general rule do not have ports, seaports or major cities, this means that native warriors can only fight for one season before they return home (disband).
Notice that ammunition requirements are ignored. That is because armies and navies simply do not shoot that much during a campaign. They have enough on hand to fight a couple of battles, which is likely more than they will need during the course of that campaign. Thus resupplying them rarely is a problem.
Should it be necessary, than a special note or rule will be created for that campaign if multiple battles are fought.
Naval depreciation
Wooden ships wear out, especially in tropical waters where marine organisms find wood to be delicious. Naval units that operate in tropical waters suffer damage checks each season that they do so. There is a 10% chance that a naval unit will suffer sufficient damage to become disabled and have to return to a naval facility for repairs. A second check is made, and a 20% chance exists that the naval unit has been damaged beyond repair and is eliminated.
Copper bottoms solve this... about 70+ years from now. Marine paint does even better... 140 years from game start.
The perils of the tropics
Land and Naval units that are from temperate countries suffer three times the rate of normal attrition when operating in the tropics due to disease vectors. Yellow Fever and Malaria can fell whole ships crews and wipe out regiments . Thus naval units check for disruption two seasons a year (Monsoon season in Asia and Africa, during Spring and Summer in the Americas), and Land units suffer three times the normal chance of being shattered by disease (check during the same months).
Nearly half the men sent to the Caribbean or India died in the first year after arrival, and in some particularly hellish parts of the African coast, the chances of survival to retirement where less than 10% for a European well into the late 19th Century.
On the other hand, troops from the Tropics (or Desert / Dry Temperate) serving in Temperate regions must make attrition checks during the winter, and have three times the normal chance of being shattered.
Players will note when researching that campaigning in the tropics was very frequently limited to the times when it was relatively safe to do so.
Special Rules: Operating in the Wilderness
In Wilderness areas, the desert, arctic, or mountain regions, armies cannot forage. Infantry, Cavalry, and Lancers cannot carry enough fodder to operate and are thus out of supply when operating in these regions except during spring if operating in the steppes (American Great Plains and various Praire regions count for this purpose). As the desert, forest and arctic are not known for their vast expanses of grasslands, foraging for fodder is not possible in those areas.
Light Infantry, and fixed units like fortifications and forts however either can stockpile enough food, or carry enough to remain in supply to operate. If able to trace a line of communications by water (river or canal or lake) back to a seaport, port or major city, these units remain in supply unless placed under seige.
2,500 men cannot hunt enough food to survive in the wild.. at least not for long.
As natives as a general rule do not have ports, seaports or major cities, this means that native warriors can only fight for one season before they return home (disband).
TLS- Admin
- Posts : 731
Join date : 2017-09-19 -
Making War pay for War
by TLS Sat Sep 23, 2017 4:45 pm
Foraging - armies always forage and loot, but if properly supplied they don't go out of their way to do so. Usually they stick to the easy to grap like small livestock, fences to burn for firewood, valuables left unhidden, and rarely do they rape. If properly supplied and reasonably disciplined. However, supply lines get overstretched, and sometimes the mission is more important than proper supply lines.
At that point, armies forage. When foraging, they remain in supply but at a cost of increasing attrition (checked every season instead of every two seasons) and at a higher rate (3 brigades for every 10 suffer shatter results) from desertion, irate locals killing them, accidents, and skirmishes with enemy skirmishers. For every 10,000 men foraging, there will reduce the resources of the territory they are marching through by .25 points for that year. This is casual foraging. (that damage is one time only for the year)
Deliberate foraging is also called scorched earth tactics. Attrition remains the same, but damage is inflict at the rate of .5 points for every 5,000 men for that year (that damage is inflicted every season).
Once an army reaches 50,000 in size, it can choose instead to reduce the tax base.... which means its burning barns, stealing most of the local domestic animals, burning or harvesting the fields, destroying mills and the like. At that point, 1 million people have no tax value for that year in the area affected (up to that number, if fewer live there than that don't suffer additional penalities) This also means a population loss during the winter of 10% of that population to starvation, exposure and disease. Their government can stop that by spending 1 point per million people to feed and house them during the winter.
In game terms, deliberate foraging eliminates the tax value of one WIF Europe hex in a season, or half a hex (in other words it takes two seasons to do it) in WIF Asia type hexes.
Sacking – the European laws of war forbid a sack if the city, fortress or fort surrenders without a fight or after offering pro forma honorable resistance or resistance ends when a breach is created. HOWEVER if the defenders refuse to surrender at that point, OR the city is taken by assault, then the attacking army gets 3 days of mayhem. Rape, pillage, slaughter, armed robbery, theft, arson and other horrors occur. That city then loses its resource value for up to 5 years, and the attacking army gets that in immediate income (the spoils of war as it were).
Cities on the WIF map are worth 2 points as a general rule, while certain cities are worth more. All capitals are worth 5 points, except for Rome, London, Stockholm, Vienna, and Costantinople, which are worth 10. The Chinese capital, should it be sacked, or Kyoto, would be worth 20 as would Mecca.
A sacked capital regains its value at .25 points a year until it is once again 'pretty'. Assuming of course the owner doesn't invest money in it again. Basically this means that the treasury, art, fine decorations, objects de art, fine furniture, banks and anything else you can think of have been stolen. Actually twice that much damage is done, but it is pilfered by the soldiers.
Deliberate Sacking- this is when a political point is being made, or intentional terror is intended. The city is destroyed, and reduced to 50% of its prewar size. The missing 50% are dead. Those that aren't dead fled but eventually make their way back. The city produces double its normal income from looting, plus provides no income for the owner from 5- 10 years. This needless to say will be considered a war crime, and the first instance reduces the prestige of the nation who did the atrocity is reduced by one. That prestige loss remains for until the referee determines otherwise. This kind of sack takes one month. The locals will fight back, so the army conducting the sack suffers normal attrition while doing so (2 brigades per 10 shattered) . There is a 50% chance it will shatter the national morale of the defending nation, in which case all units are considered shattered as men desert to go home and take care of families, or simply think the war is lost. It also has a 50% chance of creating 1 replacement unit for every 5 brigades remaining to the defender, as the population is thoroughly angered.
Destroying a city- as in conducting a Carthage. This literally destroys a city, and takes as season. 10% of the population escapes, the rest die. The city has to be rebuilt from scratch (place an outpost which eventually grows if you add things to it). The locals will fight back desperately, and inflict high attrition (4 brigades per 10 shattered). The city yields triple is normal sacking value. This is considered appalling by the civilized world, so take an immediate loss of two prestige levels. It also might just make the enemy surrender right then (50%, all units simply disintegrate as morale collapses) or enrage them (50% all units are considered elite for the remainder of the war when fighting the enemy who did this atrocity, plus 3 free replacement brigades per 10 brigades remaining).
You do war crimes at your peril. Its not just soft heartedness that created rules to war, but utility.
At that point, armies forage. When foraging, they remain in supply but at a cost of increasing attrition (checked every season instead of every two seasons) and at a higher rate (3 brigades for every 10 suffer shatter results) from desertion, irate locals killing them, accidents, and skirmishes with enemy skirmishers. For every 10,000 men foraging, there will reduce the resources of the territory they are marching through by .25 points for that year. This is casual foraging. (that damage is one time only for the year)
Deliberate foraging is also called scorched earth tactics. Attrition remains the same, but damage is inflict at the rate of .5 points for every 5,000 men for that year (that damage is inflicted every season).
Once an army reaches 50,000 in size, it can choose instead to reduce the tax base.... which means its burning barns, stealing most of the local domestic animals, burning or harvesting the fields, destroying mills and the like. At that point, 1 million people have no tax value for that year in the area affected (up to that number, if fewer live there than that don't suffer additional penalities) This also means a population loss during the winter of 10% of that population to starvation, exposure and disease. Their government can stop that by spending 1 point per million people to feed and house them during the winter.
In game terms, deliberate foraging eliminates the tax value of one WIF Europe hex in a season, or half a hex (in other words it takes two seasons to do it) in WIF Asia type hexes.
Sacking – the European laws of war forbid a sack if the city, fortress or fort surrenders without a fight or after offering pro forma honorable resistance or resistance ends when a breach is created. HOWEVER if the defenders refuse to surrender at that point, OR the city is taken by assault, then the attacking army gets 3 days of mayhem. Rape, pillage, slaughter, armed robbery, theft, arson and other horrors occur. That city then loses its resource value for up to 5 years, and the attacking army gets that in immediate income (the spoils of war as it were).
Cities on the WIF map are worth 2 points as a general rule, while certain cities are worth more. All capitals are worth 5 points, except for Rome, London, Stockholm, Vienna, and Costantinople, which are worth 10. The Chinese capital, should it be sacked, or Kyoto, would be worth 20 as would Mecca.
A sacked capital regains its value at .25 points a year until it is once again 'pretty'. Assuming of course the owner doesn't invest money in it again. Basically this means that the treasury, art, fine decorations, objects de art, fine furniture, banks and anything else you can think of have been stolen. Actually twice that much damage is done, but it is pilfered by the soldiers.
Deliberate Sacking- this is when a political point is being made, or intentional terror is intended. The city is destroyed, and reduced to 50% of its prewar size. The missing 50% are dead. Those that aren't dead fled but eventually make their way back. The city produces double its normal income from looting, plus provides no income for the owner from 5- 10 years. This needless to say will be considered a war crime, and the first instance reduces the prestige of the nation who did the atrocity is reduced by one. That prestige loss remains for until the referee determines otherwise. This kind of sack takes one month. The locals will fight back, so the army conducting the sack suffers normal attrition while doing so (2 brigades per 10 shattered) . There is a 50% chance it will shatter the national morale of the defending nation, in which case all units are considered shattered as men desert to go home and take care of families, or simply think the war is lost. It also has a 50% chance of creating 1 replacement unit for every 5 brigades remaining to the defender, as the population is thoroughly angered.
Destroying a city- as in conducting a Carthage. This literally destroys a city, and takes as season. 10% of the population escapes, the rest die. The city has to be rebuilt from scratch (place an outpost which eventually grows if you add things to it). The locals will fight back desperately, and inflict high attrition (4 brigades per 10 shattered). The city yields triple is normal sacking value. This is considered appalling by the civilized world, so take an immediate loss of two prestige levels. It also might just make the enemy surrender right then (50%, all units simply disintegrate as morale collapses) or enrage them (50% all units are considered elite for the remainder of the war when fighting the enemy who did this atrocity, plus 3 free replacement brigades per 10 brigades remaining).
You do war crimes at your peril. Its not just soft heartedness that created rules to war, but utility.
TLS- Admin
- Posts : 731
Join date : 2017-09-19 -
Commonwealth E20 :: [ARCHIVE] COMMONWEALTH E20 :: Background and Gameplay :: Military Rules and Forces
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