Why the Western Theater favored manoeuvre

The Western Theater's mobile campaigns contrasted with repeated clashes along the Washington-Richmond axis. In Virginia, armies could rely more heavily on fixed depots. Western forces operated across greater distances, so supply, communications, and movement demanded more flexible solutions. The Confederacy also concentrated its strongest army near Richmond because the capital and much of its industrial base were there. That concentration protected Virginia but left western territory comparatively vulnerable to Union manoeuvre.