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Old 03-07-2022, 04:05 PM   #1
lugaid
 
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Default [Mass Combat] Logistics and Guerrilla Warfare

Current events (which we will not be discussing here, I trust) have inspired the ACOUP blog to talk about Protracted Warfare and how weak forces can combat stronger forces. It also got me thinking about the roleplaying possibilities involved, which can be demonstrated in, for one example that's been on my mind, the "Operation Desert Pasta" short episode of the anime series The Saga of Tanya the Evil/Yōjo senki. However, looking at the Mass Combat rules, there doesn't seem to be a lot of support for unconventional warfare, only a note that logistics forces require a "clear supply line" back to the origin of the supplies. Anyone have any suggestions on how to handle such matters in Mass Combat?
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Old 03-07-2022, 04:21 PM   #2
Michael Thayne
 
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Default Re: [Mass Combat] Logistics and Guerrilla Warfare

I have thought about getting rid of the logistic force, and treating each $1000 of supplies as having 1 WT that must be moved by transport units. Details here. Though even this may be too abstract for your purposes. Realistically, a guerrilla force might be able to access plenty of small arms and ammunition but not jet fuel or replacement vehicle parts.
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Old 03-07-2022, 04:29 PM   #3
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Default Re: [Mass Combat] Logistics and Guerrilla Warfare

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Originally Posted by Michael Thayne View Post
I have thought about getting rid of the logistic force, and treating each $1000 of supplies as having 1 WT that must be moved by transport units. Details here. Though even this may be too abstract for your purposes. Realistically, a guerrilla force might be able to access plenty of small arms and ammunition but not jet fuel or replacement vehicle parts.
That's an interesting suggestion. I think that there should be more than just transport in a logistics force, though. Also, to a certain extent the abstraction is helpful, so that shouldn't need to be changed much. Perhaps a solution should look toward temporarily converting the logistic-abstract values to mass combat-abstract ones by some means.
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Old 03-07-2022, 04:31 PM   #4
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Default Re: [Mass Combat] Logistics and Guerrilla Warfare

Also, perhaps in your suggestion to get rid of a separate logistics force it could be something like an amount of logistics capacity equal to the starting wealth of a given TL per WT instead of a fixed value across TLs.
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Old 03-07-2022, 05:02 PM   #5
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Default Re: [Mass Combat] Logistics and Guerrilla Warfare

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Also, perhaps in your suggestion to get rid of a separate logistics force it could be something like an amount of logistics capacity equal to the starting wealth of a given TL per WT instead of a fixed value across TLs.
The reason not to do this is it will crash your logistic costs as TL increases, since the cost of transport units mostly doesn't increase with TL. You could maybe double $ per WT at TL6 when motor vehicles first appear, but that's as far as I would go. Sure ammo is expensive but you still need to haul a lot of fuel and other things that don't have a particularly high value per unit weight.

(Though possibly my $1k per 1 WT is too low—it works if you assume the "typical" distance from supply points is about a week. YMMV on that assumption though.)
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Old 03-07-2022, 07:35 PM   #6
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Default Re: [Mass Combat] Logistics and Guerrilla Warfare

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Originally Posted by lugaid View Post
Current events (which we will not be discussing here, I trust) have inspired the ACOUP blog to talk about Protracted Warfare and how weak forces can combat stronger forces. It also got me thinking about the roleplaying possibilities involved, which can be demonstrated in, for one example that's been on my mind, the "Operation Desert Pasta" short episode of the anime series The Saga of Tanya the Evil/Yōjo senki. However, looking at the Mass Combat rules, there doesn't seem to be a lot of support for unconventional warfare, only a note that logistics forces require a "clear supply line" back to the origin of the supplies. Anyone have any suggestions on how to handle such matters in Mass Combat?
For conventional warfare, I would suggest a few different options.

First, you can have pre-positioned magazines for logistical supply. This option is most useful if you expect to be on the defensive against invaders. Magazines were usually spaced three days march apart and had supplies for that duration. As three days march was the usual interval for troops baking fresh bread for rations, it would be reasonable to assume that the magazines would hold not just powder and ball for ammunition but flour and water for bread, ovens for baking, and possibly cheese and wine/beer as well. Magazines don't have an attached Logistic Force being resupplied by a more generally located Logistic Force but this means that they are undefended and if the enemy gets to your magazines first, they can use them for their resupply. If land changes hands, your magazine could be the enemy's magazine in the next war.

Second, you can have a baggage train. The baggage train is your Logistic Force and it travels with you. However, unless you have a Logistic Force that resupplies your baggage train, that's all you have, and when you run out of supplies, you're out of supplies and need to return to your campaign base/home. On the plus side, the enemy can't really cut your supply line if it's fifty yards from the front of your supply line to the rear of your combat troops.

Third, you can cut loose from your supply line entirely and go raiding/guerilla. You're free of the need to defend a supply line and can make better time with a smaller force, but you're limited to the supplies you brought with you which is going to be more limiting than even a baggage train.

Fourth, you can try foraging. It's not likely that you'll want to try this for ammunition, but for fodder, rations, water and firewood, it's possible. The downsides are that you're going to move more slowly (Napoleonic figures indicate that troops would spend half of their day on foraging activities in such a case), and you can't collect what isn't there. If the locals have hidden their produce or you've set the local forest alight, there won't be rations or firewood respectively to forage. As well, once you've foraged through an area, that's it for that campaign season. There's nothing left to forage on your return if you have to retreat through the place that you descended on like a plague of locusts earlier.

Fifth, you can try a suggestion from Donald Featherstone's Wargame Campaigns. Lines of supply are identical to lines of retreat, therefore as your troops advance, you need to garrison locations to act as forward supply bases. Generally, supply bases will be a day's journey apart. You need a line of supply bases connecting to either Market Towns (which are source locations for rations, fodder and other commodities likely to be associated with such places) or Factory Towns (sources for ordnance, ammunition, and other similar commodities). Usually, Factory Towns and Market Towns will be separate entities, a Market Town which is also a Factory Town would be a treasure. Different towns would produce different quanties of logistic goods. Market Towns and Factory Towns will generally be safe and in your own territory. As long as you aren't invaded, any supply bases within your own country should be regarded as safe and not require a protective garrison. Supply bases along your line of supply need some protective garrison but as the bases move forward, supply bases to the rear may find their protective force reduced or even withdrawn to points further forward. Any enemy attack on a forward supply base cuts the supply line for all points forward until the combat is resolved with the supply base retaken. Surrounded combat troops have no line of retreat and so are cut off from their supply lines by definition. A unit cut off from its supply line is not necessarily lacking in supplies, but until the supply line can be reopened, they are limited to the supplies they had when the line was cut, and those may be consumed not only by themselves but by a requirement to keep supplying the sharp end as long as possible.

You could use all five within a game, though any given unit would only be using one of the possible options at any given time.

Last edited by Curmudgeon; 03-08-2022 at 06:12 PM.
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