The Mortar Cycle


Designation: Light Bombardment
Manufacturer: Krasny Motory
Country of origin: USSR
Trained at: Soviet Barracks

Key features:

• 1,100-horsepower twin-cylinder engine
• Armoured sidecar
• Detachable mortar mount
• Fireproof Molotov chest
• Stunning marsh-green finish



Once the Soviet Union had been defeated, it set up the world’s fastest and most efficient motorised courier service. Anything went – from telegrams, cakes and toiletries to ammunition – all dispatched from town to town and republic to republic via Krasny Motory’s fleet of motorbikes. Whilst other nations scaled back their delivery services and began dabbling in international trade, the Soviet Union persisted with its motorbikes, until the throaty engines of these machines and the soot-black exhaust became synonymous with the sound and smell of any typical Soviet city. Once the war reached the Union, however, the motorbikes became noticeably quieter. On the one hand, supplies became scarce. On the other, the Soviet propaganda machine began filtering all personal communications and only delivered messages on a quarterly basis. In the end, Krasny Motory went out of business as a result of all this. Ironically, its fleet of motorbikes lay unused for months in a number of makeshift hangars, until it was already too late for the Soviet regime to incorporate these assets into its army. But as the Union wallowed in defeat, resistance forces discovered the hiding place of the motorbikes and began converting them into rapid-attack vehicles capable of covering vast swathes of territory in short order. The result is a vehicle known as the Mortar Cycle.


Soviet freedom fighters use Mortar Cycles to bombard their enemies with explosive cocktails and shells, having previously appeared from God knows where.

In some respects, the Mortar Cycle bears little resemblance to the Krasny Motory motorbike, due to all the modifications, upgrades and accessories fitted to turn it into a combat vehicle. As well as its souped-up engine and light armour, the Mortar Cycle features a reinforced sidecar with two weapon compartments. The first is a time-delay box that can safely carry dozens of unlit Molotov cocktails, within easy reach of the sidecar passenger. The second is a detachable mortar which the passenger uses as a stabilised mounting. Because the Soviet army largely ignored the use of mortars during the war, favouring heavy Artillery instead, mortars were a relatively plentiful resource when the rest of the Soviet army collapsed. In practice, these cheap weapons are surprisingly accurate and have a greater effective range than any typical basic defence system.

The capabilities of the Mortar Cycle’s weapons are well known due to the growing number of violent incidents they have caused, as the Soviet resistance is openly intolerant of foreign occupying forces. Mortar Cycles can vastly outclass Allied armoured divisions or pacification units, but they can be highly elusive, and boast even greater top speeds than the Allies’ own armoured personnel carriers.


Although lightly armoured, Mortar Cycles compensate for their slender frames with excellent top speeds and a significant attack range.

Mortar Cycles clearly pose a threat to Allied Forces in the Soviet Union, although the extent of this threat remains a matter of some debate. There are those who say that such a small vehicle is unlikely to inflict the kind of widespread destruction for which the Red Army is famous, and that the Soviet Union has been defeated and demilitarised. And then there are those who have endured an attack by Mortar Cycles. In their desperation to thwart the enemies of the Soviet Union, the Soviet resistance fighters appear to have devised an unusual weapon in the form of the Mortar Cycle. The Allied Forces have increasingly found this to be a thorny problem.


Reconnaissance on the battlefield has at least revealed the following facts about the Mortar Cycles:

• The Molotov burst– Although the Mortar Cycle takes its name from its heaviest weapon, Soviet sidecar gunners tend to favour the use of Molotov cocktails for lightning attacks, as this allows them to fight without slowing down. These men appear skilled at throwing incendiary bottles whilst on the move and are clearly more adept with Molotov cocktails than the typical Soviet Conscript.

-The Mortar Carrier- The Mortar Cycle’s most powerful weapon, which has a greater range, requires the vehicle to come to a halt, allowing it to fire explosive shells with great accuracy. These shells are effective against stationary base defences, although Mortar Cycle crews must fire first.

-Blazingly fast- The most dangerous aspect of the Mortar Cycle is surely its superior speed. In the hands of a skilled Conductor, a Mortar Cycle can literally encircle enemy forces. In theory, at least; in practice, whilst manoeuvring their vehicles at high speeds, Mortar Cycle conductors often race against Soviet Terror Drones to see who is the fastest.

-Fresh and ready from the Barracks - Mortar Cycles are the only vehicles small enough to be assembled and maintained in standard Soviet military barracks. However, a Soviet War Factory must always be in the sector to supply spare parts, fuel and ammunition.