To His Royal Highness Sigismund Augustus, Holy Swadian Emperor and to the Most Honourable Council of Nobles.
On The Use of Battle Wagons And the Halting of Their Development.
I must urge the continuation of development upon the Battle Wagons, designed and invented by the Ulm Inventor and Engineer Ulrich in my Engineers. We have released a prototype and a Mark I model, and these have seen battle, in accordance with the will of the Emperor and wish for funds to continue our research and development of these weapons of war.
As the Colonel of the Royal Engineers, Master of Engineering at the Ulm University and as commander of the 3rd Ulm Division I believe that these may be used to great effect against the enemy and the discontinuation of their development may cause us dearly. The enemy will not expect the appearance of Battle Wagons and so may flee. These shall slow the enemy; it has happened to us in the Böhemenian Wars. This is to be expected as their deployment against our enemies has been rare. New spring technology allows us to enhance these vehicles so that when they arrive upon the field our most brave troops may leave the wagon with little discomfort and valorously vanquish the foe. The new technology also allows us to place more troops within these battle implements and so carry more troops to the field.
However, this may cause the enemy to realise their use and therefore target these wagons with their mighty artillery, yet wagon formations are mobile enough to avoid the fire of the Aurora Cannon. As we are on the defensive, these would be excellent in providing firing positions for our firelock-men upon the eventuality of an ambush or an assault by a force primarily of cavalry, especially mounted archers. These may also prove useful against the infantry of the Sarranids; no doubt the strong oak planking will server to provide a shield for our landsknechts inside against their many bowmen.
I propose that we develop the idea armoured battle wagons further with the intention of supporting our infantry while laying down heavy firepower from our musketeers. We have seen the Böhmenians pour arrows upon us in their own wagons before; surely we should do the same, but with more advanced technology. These will, of course, act better in fortifications but may be better suited to assault. It may be a wise idea to use these to barricade passes, notably the Unuzduq Pass to the south of the Margravate of Marienburg.
Ideally I propose a military alliance with either Murond or our brothers in the Imperial State, and to gain access to their technology to improve our Battle Wagons further. The ability to use more advanced tempered steel plating, strong and thick yet light, would be greatly appreciated, as would Haelmarian Breech-loaders, like the Bofors 40mm. However, we have continued development of the Battle Wagon despite this lack of funds and technology and have completed the following prototypes (including the Mark I) with great effort:
Mark I: Standard Battle Wagon design. 6-horse drawn.
Mark II: Standard Battle Wagon with new springs and horse protection.
Mark III: Mark II Battle Wagon with steel wheels and a larger calibre cannon.
Mark IV: Mark III Battle Wagon with additional armour. 12 horse drawn.
Mark IV Mobile Artillery: Standard Mark IV Battle Wagon but with the Wagon transformed into either a mobile Mortar position or a mobile Howitzer position.
Mark IV Command Post: Very heavily armoured Mark IV, 20 horse drawn with excellent springs and an observation turret for commanders. Can be deployed with detachable steel supports and the Firing Gallery has been cleared for a map room. Two heavy-calibre repeating rifles have been added as additional protection.
As shown, we have designed Battle Wagons for all purposes, yet we lack a Battle Wagon that is truly self-moving and fully protected against everything the enemy can throw at us. Gunther-Piedmont and Murond Air Compression Technology may provide us with the ability to propel these beasts by themselves, as currently the horses are very exposed towards troops and their weapons. We dearly need advanced steel technology so I beseech Your Majesty or the Most Honourable Council to fund our research on it, which would hamper the construction of these Battle Wagons, or to assign funds to the Ironmongers and Blacksmiths Guilds to research it or to acquire the technology from one of the more technologically advanced nations we are not at war with. Once again, we require funds to acquire weaponry and resources to continue the construction of these weapons. I hope your decision benefits the most glorious Holy Swadian Empire,
Graf von Fulburg-Magdeburg
General of the 3rd Ulm Division, Colonel of the Swadian Engineers and Master of Engineering at Ulm University.