The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest running campaign of WWII, without whose victory the Allies could not have won the war. In response, the Allies invested heavily in escort ships, radar, sonar, longer range aircraft, escort carriers and other anti-submarine warfare technologies to protect their convoys. Knowing that Great Britain relied on imports from its overseas possessions to feed and sustain its population, the Kriegsmarine employed commerce raiders like the Graf Spee “pocket” battleship and U-boats to stop the flow of food, ammunition, oil and other supplies to England. A case in point was the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II. Mulberry harbor at Arromanches PLUTO laying pipeline from England to D-Day beachesĪt the strategic level, logistics is arguably even more important. All these measures focused on logistics and gave the Allies a decisive material advantage. The plan also included measures to degrade the enemy’s logistics, such as the Transportation Plan for the strategic bombing of bridges, rail centers, and marshaling yards and repair shops in France. The Allies invested heavily in logistics to make Overlord successful by using floating harbors (the famous Mulberries), executing Operation PLUTO that laid oil pipelines under the English Channel between England and France, investing in air and sealift assets, and so forth. Once Allied troops landed and established a beachhead, it was the Allies’ ability to build up their forces and supplies faster than the Germans that eventually led to the breakout and dash to the Rhine. Therefore, logistics only becomes a factor in a wargame at the operational and strategic level.įor example, logistics was paramount to the success of Operation Overlord - the invasion of France in 1944. That doesn’t make for a very interesting or fun game. If one side has little or no ammunition or other supplies, they’re likely to withdraw from the engagement. The reason is that tactical level engagements, which typically last minutes or hours, are not long enough for logistics to be a factor. Wargames at the tactical level (e.g., at the squad or platoon level) rarely model logistics at all. Tactical, Operational and Strategic Level LogisticsĪdmiral Ernest King, Chief of Naval Operations during WWII, said, “I don’t know what the hell this ‘logistics’ is that Marshall is always talking about, but I want some of it.”Before we get into some examples of game systems and mechanics for modeling logistics, let me make an observation. The company I work for is developing tools that allow the military to more accurately model logistics in professional wargames, which started me thinking about how logistics is modeled in hobby wargames and how that impacts game play. I’ve been playing wargames for over 40 years and to be honest I’ve never really considered the implications of logistics until recently. ![]() The Roman Republic, the Union and the Entente Powers, respectively, had more resources available to them which ultimately affected the outcome of those wars. The same can be said for the Punic Wars, the U.S. The Allies had it coming out of their ears. The Axis powers didn’t have enough logistics. So how do today’s wargames model logistics, if at all?Ī very good argument can be made that logistics won the Second World War. Napoleon famously said, “An Army marches on its stomach.” Some attribute this saying to Frederick the Great. Whoever said it, logistics - that is maintaining an armed force’s supply lines while disrupting those of the enemy - is essential to winning wars. How do wargames model logistics and how does it affect game play? Continue reading to learn more.
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