That second supply wagon

[MesquiteThorn]

Sometimes I get a second supply wagon for one of my corps, but I am not sure what I did to get it.

So, what's the secret?

[Lovecheese45]

Captured one from the enemy? When a new corps reinforces, it brings a supply wagon.

[MesquiteThorn]

If it were only that simple. I'm a great thief of enemy supply wagons, but while I can either use their supply or get $$ at a discount for not using the supply, I don't get another supply wagon of my own. At Cold Harbor I've gotten as many as 14 captured supply wagons, which were exchanged for over $200,000. Antietam is another good opportunity to grab enemy supply wagons. I'm talking yank wagons, which by Cold Harbor are exchanged (if full) for $25,000 each. As the campaign progresses, the supply wagons are worth more in exchange--if full--starting at $5,000, then $10,000, and finally by the Overland Campaign, $25,000.

I have a vague recollection from somebody like pandakraut that if you exit one of your supply wagons from the map during a major engagement, then in the next campaign there will be a second supply wagon for that corps. But that hasn't worked every time I've tried it. So, it's more complicated than that.

[nordstern]

If you get random troops by the ai, not your own, they came always with a supply waggon. You can see the difference:
- own have a commander
- captured are marked as so
- freign allies supplies are named supplies, no commander name

[MesquiteThorn]

Correct. What I'm asking about is getting a second supply wagon for one of my own corps, which totals to $70,000 of supply. I thought I could get it in all future battles by withdrawing one of my supply wagons during a major battle, but it doesn't always work. I'm thinking I've forgotten all the actions I need to take.

I'm playing with the mod CustV.1.9.2 with the UIAI Customizations Config file. I'm remembering the modder as pandakraut.

[[〼]シ]

Hi, if i remember correctly then sending your supplies off map in a multi-day battle on the first day should reliably award you with a second supply wagon. have fun

[MesquiteThorn]

Thanks for the suggestion.

So, it has to be a multi-day battle...well, I think the last time it happened was the first day of Chancellorsville, so that theory fits what I did. I always try to win Chancellorsville the first day, so I withdrew my 1st Corps supply wagon as soon as I was sure I was going to capture the farm.

However, I haven't been able to get a second supply wagon for a second corps.

[[〼]シ]

Nice, I like to think that if you assign II or IV to the task of losing their supplies.
Also ghost-carts don't have to be filled to max i believe. A little help?

[MesquiteThorn]

I think you're right about empty wagons, but they will only be refilled for free for the next battle to the level you had them at the start of the battle in question.

Also, if you get a second supply wagon after the multi-day battle, your supply will be displayed as no more than what you had at the start of the previous battle, say $35,000; but that is distributed between two wagons at $17,500 each, so you can fill each wagon with $35,000--displaying a total of $70,000.

[MesquiteThorn]

I can confirm that you will get a second supply wagon for each corps that “Withdraws” its supply wagon from the map before the end of Day 1 in a multi-day battle. Withdrawing your supply wagon(s) will only produce a second supply wagon for a corps if the battle continues for at least two days.

This does not happen if you have a “set up” block to position your initial troops before the battle begins and you right click on the supply wagon to remove it from the initial set up. In that case, your one supply wagon (or two if you already have a second one) will appear with your first re-inforcements.

So, if you win Shiloh on Day 1, it won’t happen. There are pros and cons to extending Shiloh to Day 2 as the CSA, and all things considered, I’d rather keep my one supply wagon rather than fighting a second day. For the CSA, the second day at Shiloh is a ♥♥♥♥♥…mainly because of oddities in the game itself.

If you try it at 2nd Bull Run, you have to withdraw your supply wagon from the Brawner's Farm “diversionary” engagement, which is the only activity on “Day 1”. Then you’d better have a cavalry regiment to go chase down yank supply wagons on Day 2 because you’ll be hurting for supply trying to hold Stony Ridge without a supply wagon. The same goes for Fredericksburg, where there is an initial engagement of CSA sharpshooters trying to harass the yanks trying to occupy the town in the early morning of Thursday, 11 December 1862 (the heavy fighting begins on 13 December). Withdrawing your supply wagon from the corps defending Marye’s Heights is not a problem, though, because you’ve got $100,000 worth of supply stashed behind the stone wall—you aren’t likely to use it all even under the heaviest fighting. [If you’re playing as the yank, then you have plenty of supply wagons and more supply per wagon; so, if you have a supply problem as the yank, you’re doing lots of things wrong.]

Stones’ River is another good battle for the CSA to get an additional supply wagon because you have three corps on the battlefield on Day 1, so one corps withdrawing its supply wagon won’t seriously cripple your battle plans…besides, there are plenty of yank supply wagons to capture and use as your own if you’re short of supply.

Chancellorsville is not a good choice for this ploy because you only have two corps and you need all the supply you can get—and it’s tough to capture yank supply wagons in this battle—I’ve never captured more than 5 yank supply wagons at Chancellorsville, and captured supply wagons empty out much faster than your own. Also, the battle at Salem Church is not considered a subsequent-day to the Chancellorsville battle [by the game developers], although it was the day after the second day of Chancellorsville battle. The fighting at Chancellorsville was 01-02 May and Salem Church was 03 May 1863. So, if you win Chancellorsville on Day 1, you won’t get another supply wagon.

Gettysburg is a good battle to pick up a second supply wagon because you can keep your supply wagon for the first corps engaged and withdraw the wagon coming in with the re-inforcements arriving later in the first day (historically, Ewell’s 2nd Corps). Of course, if you win the battle on Day 1, you won’t get the second supply wagon.

The next multi-day battle is Chickamauga, but I would not want to be without supply there for the second day of the battle—you would have to withdraw your first corps supply wagon on Day 1 when you’re taking the fords and bridges.

Cold Harbor is the last of the multi-day battles before Washington, and getting a third or fourth or fifth set of supply wagons is possible here, as you can pass on winning the battle on Day 2 and win it on Day 3. And, there are LOTS of yank supply wagons to capture. At Fredericksburg and Cold Harbor I’ve captured as many as 14 (or more…), and at Cold Harbor the yank supply wagons have much more supply—the $$ exchange for the unused supply is $25,000 for a full wagon.

So, if you’re attempting this from at least 2nd Manassas (Bull Run), you could have 5 corps with two wagons each by the time you get to Washington.

It appears to me that your troops will use enemy supply before their own, so if you want to exchange the captured supply wagons for $$, then keep them away from your troops.

[MesquiteThorn]

Yikes! I just learned at Chickamauga that if you let one of your two supply wagons straggle (because it's empty) and it's captured, then you WON'T get it back for the upcoming battles--you'll be back to one supply wagon. I'm pretty sure that you will always get one supply wagon with each corps filled with whatever you had at the beginning of the last battle (even if you lost your supply wagon).

Not sure if I saw a glitch in the after-action "Statistics" report for Chickamauga which showed one of three captured yank supply wagons with $33,047...another had $9,000+ (which seems right for 1863 when I expect them to be worth $10,000 when full)...the one that looked almost empty had $3,000+.

Another thing: if you want to capture a supply wagon you have to order the nearby units to "Hold Fire" or else they will kill it and you won't get anything as the game assumes you have destroyed the supply. Obviously, the Ukrainians who designed and developed this game should have known that the CSA would not have done such a thing unless they were raiding in Ohio.