Quote:
Originally Posted by ArmySGT.
To slow to keep up and to vulnerable to opportunists. A desperate hungry man could shoot one cow and there is little you could do about it. A desperate and hungry village could stampede or scatter a herd and take several head for themselves.
This, also cows moving at 10 miles per day are going to be outpaced by unit movements that can be 100 miles away in a single day. That would leave them further vulnerable to bandits.
Last, cattle drives of the American Old West were either from winter to summer graze or to market. That market could be hundreds of miles away, but the cowboy expected only to be on the trail for a few months then home with a good purse.
Civilian cattle drivers in T2K might sign on indefinitely because it does mean they eat. However, can you expect them to cross borders and enter an area that might be hostile to them?
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That is why you would also have your logistics tail (made of mostly ox or horse drawn wagons?) moving with the herd. The few trucks that you would have left in your logistics would be making "runs" to the various units "in need" from your logistics train AS IT MOVED.
Most armored columns using modern fuel can only move about 150 km per load of fuel (with a 24 to 48 hr combat reserve). Units moving on BioDiesel or Ethanol would be hard pressed to move 100km on the same load of fuel. Assuming one move per week on average (the time for a large mobile still to "regenerate" your fuel capacity); The cattle drivers would just "catch up" to the forward element as it was preparing to move again. On a historical note; This is also about the same speed of both Russian and German Supply trains during the later years of WW2.
Another very important element in Logistics would be trains. Diesel Electric trains can easily be converted to run on natural gas and "cracked" coal oil. Their large carrying capacity and speed would make them strategic targets to be taken intact where ever they could be secured. An Army could move it's entire logistics tail in one move. This would allow large movements with full support.