PA54: Battle of Rossbach - Cannon (mortar) 40mm Scale Mould

Mortars are short cannons that fire over the head of their own troops into enemy formations and have explosives that may explode on impact or if on a fuse, shortly after. These are useful for attacking enemies hiding behind hills or walls. The shells in the 18th century would be very primitive and unpredictable. Poor weather could easily result in shells not exploding at all while at other times they explode prematurely causing more risk to the artillery men than the targets.

This black rubber mould allows you to cast hundreds of these types of cannon, and you should be able to cast about 3 of these approximately, perhaps more, from a single bar of metal.

The battle of Rossbach was fought on November 5th 1757 between the Prussian army of Frederick the Great and the combined armies of France and the German Empire under Soubize.

When the allied commanders noticed the Prussians moving back from their previous positions to behind a hill they mistakenly believed thy were retreating even before the battle begun and recklessly advanced to overtake and destroy them. The Prussians realising the allies error, prepared their cavalry and artillery just out of sight of the allies over the hill crest. As the Franco-German army surged up the hill, they were suddenly met by the Prussian cavalry at full gallop and the roar of artillery fire, which threw them into disarray. Despite valiant attempts by the French cavalry to halt the now advancing Prussian infantry and rank their own troops, the battle was lost and Prussia won the day.