Supply depots are a type of

military installation A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

used by militaries to store battlefield supplies temporarily on or near the

front lines ''Front Lines'' is a 1994 computer wargame for MS-DOS developed and published by Impressions Games. Gameplay ''Front Lines'' is a wargame with a turn-based play system, using vehicles. Reception In ''PC Gamer US'', William R. Trotter calle ...

until they can be distributed to military units. Supply depots are responsible for nearly all other types of materiel, except

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

. Supply depots are usually run by a logistics officer who is responsible for allocating supplies as necessary to units who request them. Due to their vulnerability, supply depots are often the targets of enemy raids. In more modern times, depots have been targeted by long range artillery, long-range missiles, and bomber aircraft, due to the advantage that disrupted logistics can give to a

belligerent A belligerent is an individual, group, country, or other entity that acts in a hostile manner, such as engaging in combat. The term comes from the Latin ''bellum gerere'' ("to wage war"). Unlike the use of ''belligerent'' as an adjective meaning ...

force. Types of supply depots include base, station, forward, and reserve supply depots.

See also