Flames of War: Hungarian 81mm and 120mm Mortar Platoons (Late-War) - FOW HU705

Flames of War: Hungarian 81mm and 120mm Mortar Platoons (Late-War)

Mortars are ideal support weapons for the infantry. They can be called on to give instant support against assaulting enemy. On attack they can bring fire down on the enemy positions to keep their heads down, while your infantry approaches to assault.

During the years after the First World War the Hungarian Army used the 17M and 18M Skoda mortar they had inherited from the Austro-Hungarian Army. In 1936 the State Weapons Factory at Diósgyör started to produce the 36M 81.4mm Mortar based on the modern French Brandt design. The Brandt 81.4mm mortar proved a popular weapon with many countries with it also being adopted by France, USA, and Romanian among others. In 1939 the design underwent some minor modifications. This was designated the 36/39M.

A number of captured and German supplied mortars were also used through out the war, as they were able to fire the standard Hungarian 81.4mm Mortar ammunition. Among them were Dutch, Czech, Yugoslav, and Soviet medium mortars.

Each Infantry battalion had available a mortar platoon of four medium mortars, with an additional 1-2 mortar platoons available from the regiment.

The 120mm M43 mortar was a Soviet designed mortar based on the earlier 120mm obr 1938 mortar. The 120mm obr 1938 was in fact the first 120mm mortar developed by any country for their armed forces. After the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, the 120mm obr 1938 proved to be far too demanding to manufacture on a Soviet war industry that was already struggling to keep up with demand.

The M43 retained the stamped circular base plate and two-wheel carriage of the 120mm obr 1938 but featured large shock-absorbing cylinders. During the fighting on the Don in 1942 the Hungarian were able to capture a number of 120mm Soviet mortars. The Hungarians were impressed with this weapon and similar mortars used by the Germans. They soon began to make their own, giving their infantry added heavy support in the front line.

This pack contains four 81mm Mortar Teams and four 120mm Mortar Teams.