The medieval mortar came back into favour during the early 20th century, when infantry found increasingly need for local fire support. When artillery could not deliver this, the mortar became an essential weapon, and by 1939 every army had large numbers available.

This is a set of game pieces for the Zvezda 'Art of Tactic' game system. It consists of two 81mm mortars ('8cm Granatwerfer 34') with two crew each. Although we have shown the pieces separately, which is fine, they can be made up as either separate models for general modelers or else placed together on a single base as seen here. See the sprue image for full details of the parts that go to make up these figures, and note that the box also contains game cards for the unit. Although not primarily a figure set in the traditional sense, the figures are accurate apart from the fact that neither crewman carries a pistol, which would have been very unusual. The sculpting is nicely done, and the various separate arms fit very securely without need for gluing, yet produce two very realistic poses. The mortar too is excellent, so this makes a very usable piece for any German army of the period.