Soviet Army Weapons Teams

Soviet Army Weapons Teams

Infantry weapon teams are an important component of any Bolt Action army, providing great tactical flexibility to your force. Sniper teams, mortar teams and flamethrower teams are among the most common weapon types, presenting the opponent with numerous challenges to overcome.

The sniper became synonymous with the Red Army, particularly during the bitter sieges of Stalingrad and Leningrad. In bombed-out buildings and basements, "sniper schools" were established where successful snipers passed on their skills to a growing number of students - many of them women. Soviet propaganda highlighted successful snipers and promoted a doctrine of "sniping" in the troops. Snipers used scopes on a Moisin-Nagant 1891/30 bolt-action rifle or, less commonly, on a Tokarev SVT-40 automatic rifle. A variety of ammunition was used, including tracer and armour-piercing ammunition. Soviet snipers were available at company level and operated in teams or sometimes alone. Individual Red Army soldiers often had a sniper with a scope to compensate for the lack of long-range weapons caused by the large number of submachine guns used. Soviet snipers became known for their field craft, stealth and patience. The most successful snipers each killed hundreds of enemies - around 500 was the highest number achieved by a single sniper.

The standard light mortar used by the Russian infantry during World War II was the 50mm Infantry Mortar Model 1940 (50-PM 40), a cheaper version of the earlier Model 1938. The 50mm mortar was considered a "company" mortar, in contrast to the heavier 82mm battalion and 120mm regimental mortars. The 50mm mortars were initially assigned to individual teams at platoon level, but later they were more often grouped at company level for mass deployment. The weapon was easy to transport and could fire high explosives or smoke bombs over a distance of more than 800 metres.

The Soviets made extensive use of flamethrowers, including the static FOG-1 types, which were dug in to cover bunkers and trenches. Due to inadequacies in the development of other credible anti-tank weapons, Red Army doctrine placed great emphasis on the use of flamethrowers as anti-tank and anti-infantry weapons. In 1943, special motorised anti-tank flamethrower battalions were even formed. By far the most commonly used Russian flamethrowers were the man-portable ROKS types. The ROKS-2 had a tank that looked like an ordinary backpack and a nozzle that resembled a rifle so as not to attract unpleasant attention on the battlefield.

Includes the following Warlord Resin Plus™ figures:

2-man sniper team
2-man light mortar team
2-man flamethrower team