Hi, for the Cover-Up Campaign I am going to make a US 81mm Mortar emplacement somewhere in Europe. The emplacement is going to be a fairly well prepared one and permanent, so I was wondering were would my mortar be used in Europe (as in month/ year and area) for the mortar crew to have ample time to make a permanent emplacement?

Or was there no area of operations were the fighting was static enough to afford the mortar crew to prepare a rather permanent emplacement.?? Forgive my naiveness, I honestly do not know of such a place!

from Company Commander by C. Macdonald... I Company, 23rd INF moved
into Germany for a 9 day stay on the Sigfried line near uttfeld from 4 to 13 Oct '44.
Thats from a quick reread and i believe is correct.. many more instances in that
book that may help you out. Never been a mortar man, but it may not even take
all that long for an experienced crew to set up what would be considered a
permanent position. Good luck

I don't think that too many ETO holes were 'permanent'. Some perhaps a little more elaborate than others. If you stopped to set up, you would dig some sort of hole for basic cover. The longer you stayed, the more you improved on your fighting position. With the exception of Bastogne where there were mortars on the outskirts of the city and until they were withdrawn to within the city, I can't think of too many ETO battles off-hand that were stagnant for more than a few days/hours, but I'm not a WWII Historian.

And of course when you moved out, (situation permitting) you filled it back in.

Bren,

you will find very little permanent mortar pits as the mortar crews always moved along with the frontline troops. You should look for a battle where the infantry had a hard time to capture a city or a situation where they had to dig in for the purpose of defence.

Besides the moving around just behind the frontline infantry it's very dangerous for mortar crews to stay in the same position for a long time..... It can be calculated where the shots came from and a counterattack by enemy arty is what happened in a situation like this (this hasn't changed over the years).

I've been a commander of mortar platoons and a mortar coy for six years .... believe me ...mortarcrews always run around from one place to another, just behind the frontline troops. The only permanent thing a mortar guy has, is his own personal equipment .... unrolling a sleeping bag for the (part of a ) night is as permanent as it gets for them most of the time.

Just my two cents..

Prepared positions are usually only in defensive positions. As you want to use this scene for the cover-up campaign why not situate the mortor in the bottom of a shell crater. THis would give you the option to personalise the surroundings dependant on the time they had been in the hole ie kit, cooking utensils etc.
Just an idea
Robbo

Remember that the crater can't be too deep. The mortar's sight unit has got to be able to see aiming points in the distance.... zo the sight unit has got to be above ground surface

Bren

Why don't you have the US crew setting up in a former German(just captured) trench. Have them getting the mortor ready to attack the next US objective.

Hasty

The first thing that comes to mind would be a position set up to cover the line fighting in the central Italian mountains.

There were established "permanent" mortar positions set up around the roads guarding the harbor towns in Holland and France after the main breakout... so Fall would be a good time frame, in 1944. The two photos I have are from the 2nd Armored Division and show sandbagged pits with sighting slots every other few bags. This then had a rough poured concrete floor and wooden support struts for camoflauge netting on the corners. They were also raised a bit on a what appears to be a man-made hill or mound.

First of all I would like you think for all your two cents (I am quite rich now). I should really
never had said permanent. I like the sounds of Kancali's reference and will see what I can
find on that on the internet, as well as KFMagee's 2nd Armoured Division. I really want the mortar pit to be dug by the crew, as -thanks to KKeefe- I have the specifications of the pit, so
the crater and captured jerry pit are out, but would both make an interesting diorama for
another time, hmmm..... Thanks Eagle, I completly forgot about the mortar's sight unit
having to be above the ground surface. About 4 weeks till Operation Cover-Up Commences!
Thanks again and have some drinks on me.
Erik

simply :
battle of the bulge
ardennes forest with 101st airborne

Not being an expert on WW2 mortors but the modern Britsh 81mm mortor comes with a periscope of about 12-18inches to fix on the sight allowing the actual mortor to be lower in the ground. Maybe someone knows if these were in use in your timeframe.
Cheers
Robbo