FO's or On Map Guns?

[Mad Russian]

Here are some mortar facts that I found interesting when looking to see about usage.

This is from "Stalin's Keys to Victory: The Rebirth of the Red Army in WWII" by Walter S. Dunn Jr. page 136.

"When the Red Army moved to the offensive, more sophisticated guns and howizters were required. Light and medium mortar production declined by the end of 1942. The heavier mortars were special-purpose artillery pieces and their numbers grew in the final years. During the war new types were introduced, the M1941 82mm, the M1943 120mm, and a heavier model, the M1943 160mm. Production of the 82mm and 120mm mortars increased in 1942. In the first half of the year, 45,485 82mm and 10,182 120mm mortars were made, in the second half, 55,378 82mm, and 15,164 120mm mortars. In 1943 the production of all types of mortars declined to 69,500, and in 1944 only 7,100 were made. Losses on the battlefield were apparently minor. The new mortar regiments used heavy mortars. Later mortar production later provided rifle divisions with heavier mortars and replaced losses. Total production from 1941 to 1945 was 351,800, compared to 79,000 produced by the Germans."

That says alot. The Red Army is always considered manpower heavy by the Germans and the West. When, in actual fact, they were becoming firepower heavy just like everyone else. The SU/ISU assault guns is a primary example of that. So is the increased percentage of SMG's in Soviet Rifle Divisions as the war progressed.

The Soviets out produced the Germans by more than four times as many mortars and the Germans split their production between fronts. Which says we probably don't have enough Soviet mortars portrayed in our scenarios. It also says they could afford to use them for direct fire 4 times as much as the Germans could.

Hope this helps.

Good Hunting.

MR