[Iris7]

Thinking about the Army's logistics needs on this Geronimo operation, I went to Purina for data.

At 100 degrees fahrenheit, an 800 pound horse requires, on a daily basis and a "moderate" rate of work, eight pounds of forage and eight pounds of grain. Water requirements at 100 degrees are 14.5 gallons per day. This is 120 pounds of water per horse per day. Total is 136 pounds per horse per day if you can't get good water.

If you carry the horse's needs in wagons, a two ton load (big wagon) is 14.7 horse-days. Guessing, we will say this is twenty mule days. Four mules on the wagon means that the wagon and mules will use up all the supplies in five days, with none left for other purposes.

[SAMWolf]

The problem has been somewhat alleviated by motorization but even in modern war, the fuel and vehicles used to deliver the supplies is sometimes a hinderance to combat operations. Rommel found that out when he had to truck supplies from Tripoli to Egypt in WWII.

[colorado tanker]

Iris, your calculations support the old saying, "amateurs talk tactics but professionals talk logistics."