The Operational Combat Series[0] is famous within the hex-and-counter wargame community for its logistic systems. It deals only with mid-twentieth century conflict. Supply point counters are brought near the front by land,sea, or air transport, and then consumed by troops to fight.

More recently, the Levy and Campaign series[1] tries to seriously address the kind of pre-modern logistical problems that are discussed by the OP. You have to feed your troops, and can get food by hauling it with you (in which case you need to acquire the necessary transport) or by ravaging the local countryside (which has other side effects).

Generally speaking, there just aren't many pre-modern tabletop wargames (World War II is by far a more popular topic), and most of the ones that do exist are "tactical" games that deal only with single battles, and so bypass all the logistical issues.

This thread[2] on boardgamegeek may be of interest, there are probably other similar threads there, too.

[0]: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamefamily/80/series-operatio... [1]: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamefamily/72536/series-levy-... [2]: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2265815/games-about-logisti...

This one [1] is famously detailed. There are 23 pages in the manual dedicated just to logistics. A famous example of the level of detail is that Italian troops require an extra portion of water supplies to cook pasta.

As per the linked article:

> Reviewer Luke Winkie pointed out that "If you and your group meets for three hours at a time, twice a month, you’d wrap up the campaign in about 20 years.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Campaign_for_North_Africa

Eve Online. Try fighting a war without freighters full of fuel, ammo, and replacement ships. Its a full time job by itself.

Battletech, both the tabletop and the last PC game, do a decent job. The former mainly in some of the added rule books (I think Tactical Ops and Strategic Ops in the last edition, before there was one called Tactical Handbook) which even go as deep as covering things like Depot and Factory modifications to military hardware (in that case Mechs) that is generally speaking pretty much in line with how modern military systems are managed. There are some more abstract systems using pool points for ease of book keeping.

The PC game takes some short cuts for ease of use (improvements to the base dropship the merc unit is using) and is assuming spares and consumables are readily available. It is covering the basic principals rather well so.

Logistics (moving trucks with supply, building FOBs, resupplying troops, etc) are essential in Squad. It's a multiplayer action game and the closer that I got to "I feel like I'm in a modern combat and suffering from PTSD." You may also like Foxtrot, it visually isn't realistic but economy and logistics are everything. And Wargame: Red Dragon which is a RTS game and the closer that I got to understanding modern combat meta, equipment and tactics.

War is sad but it's funny that many of the things that I saw on Wargame are also happening on the Russia x Ukraine war. Like suicidal helo rushes, combats quickly protracting, bloody urban combats, advanced tanks being wrecked by cheap ATGM, artillery spam, counter-artillery duels and ammo reserves quickly running out. Though no game ever gets closer to the scale that is real war.

I'm not sure I'd say realistic per se, but Hearts of Iron 4's (WW2 grand strategy game) new logistics system is pretty good IMHO. You need to manufacture enough of each war machine (with the necessary raw materials), then handle supply through railways, supply hubs (and trucks/horses from then on, depending on terrain, type and number of divisions and of course if you have enough trucks) and convoys if supplying overseas.

> Are there any computer or table top war games that deal in a somewhat realistic way with logistics?

ISTR that the big strategic/operational tabletop games of the 1980s often had semi realistic depictions of at least the importance of logistic (at least supply); things like WWII European (or Pacific) Theater of Operations from SPI, Avalon Hill’s Empires in Arms (which I just learned has a still-actuvely-maintained official computer version), etc.

Shadow Empire is a post-apocalyptic 4X/Wargame (with bits of leader and faction management à la Crusader Kings thrown in for good measure).

The logistic parts involve building and maintaining a strategic on-road/rail logistic network (that moves everything necessary for production too, not just food/fuel/ammo for the troops),

and a comparatively simplified, but still critical in success/failure, operational logistics range spreading outwards following terrain from the road and rail hexes. (Limited air supply is available too.)

https://www.wargamer.com/shadow-empire/review

A sillier video-review : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSHuHCrW4KE

Its predecessor, which I hear also has some of this and some kind of 4X mode :

http://armchairgeneral.com/advanced-tactics-gold-pc-game-rev...

(Also would explain why ShEmp still seems to be very WW2-like ?)

Foxhole entrenched is a game to look at

I don't think it's a war game per se, but wars can occur in Dwarf Fortress. And there can definitely be some very detailed logistics involved.

I'm surprised nobody is mentioning Shadow Empire. In my first major war my ineptitude at laying out truck routes was a far worse enemy than the actual enemy. And then the actual enemy, intentionally or not, managed to cut my rail lines a couple times and turn my tank wedge into a wagon fort for a while, luckily I was able to reconnect before they ran out of ammo.

War in Europe - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Europe_(game)

A couple of times I watched friends play a game that had been going on for a few years at that point. Some of the various charts were pinned to 4x8ft sheets of insulation board.

I'm not sure about realism, and it's WW2 instead of premodern, but the board game Race to the Rhine is basically all about logistics.