GMC Supply is a United States Support unit. It forms the standard supply truck for the American division, replenishing depleted ammunition when placed in proximity of nearby units. It can also be used to transport infantry and some anti-tank guns. Several hundreds of thousands of these trucks were made during the war, significantly contributing to Allied advances into enemy territory by ensuring that tanks didn't ran out of fuel, guns kept firing and that troops got fed.
Overview[ | ]
"Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics."
- Gen. Robert H. Barrow, USMC (Commandant of the Marine Corps)
The role of logistics is an unglamorous and often overlooked yet vital part of warfare. Logistics is what keeps an army on the move and stocked with enough shells, guns and other equipment. Indeed, logistics problems contributed to the eventual German defeat in the Second World War: the North-Africa campaign saw Rommel's Afrikakorps woefully undersupplied and the vast steppes of the Eastern front posed enormous problems for the Germans. The same constraints also applied to the Allies. The invasion of Normandy posed logistical challenges of an unprecedented scale, and logistics would continue to hamper the Allied advance into the European mainland.
General Motors company (GMC) manufactured enormous quantities of trucks in the course of the Second World War. The GMC CCKW was the mainstay US supply truck throughout World War 2 and also saw extensive service in the Korean war. It gained lasting fame for its role in the Red Ball express during August up to November 1944, a continuous convoy of trucks that helped supply the Allied divisions to sustain their advance as no main harbours were yet available for use to unload supplies. Over 800 000 of these trucks were produced during the war and they came in many variants.
GMC CCKW served as the primary logistic vehicle of the US Army. Unlike their German counterparts which depending on which type of division had varied amount access to motorized transport, the American Army's logistic system was fully motorized.
The Armored Infantry and Tank Battalions each have a Battalion Supply and Transport Platoon in the Service Company. The Tank Battalion had 29 2 1/2 Ton Trucks while the Armored Infantry had 9 2 1/2 ton trucks. The Administration, Mess & Supply Section of the Armored Infantry and Tank Companies has few 2 1/2 ton trucks.
In the Infantry Division 2 1/2 Trucks were in the Quartermaster Company and Light Maintenance Company at the Divisional level. At the Regimental Service Company there is 2 1/2 ton Trucks to transport men and material.
Strategy[ | ]
The supply truck is a straightforward-to-use unit, replenishing units that have run out of ammunition when the truck is placed nearby. It is most often used in divisions that place a heavy emphasis on artillery and/or air, as those units are usually the first to deplete their ammo and are rather supply-hungry. It must be noted that supply trucks CANNOT replenish infantry squads as in restoring their squad size, nor can they provide repairs on vehicles (unless enabled by mods).
Supply trucks can also be used to ferry infantry and tow anti-tank guns, much like armoured personnel carriers can. When a truck is not in close proximity of friendly units and runs into an enemy unit, that truck will be captured by the enemy and be lost to the player (unless he manages to kill the enemy unit(s) and recapture the supply truck).
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