January Content Update: On the Adoption of the New Rifle

ON THE ADOPTION OF THE NEW RIFLE

To my Esteemed Master Truscott,

I greet the news of your continued advantageous position with the greatest of joys. With the situation as unsettled as it has been of late, a great deal of once-certain realities now seem so easily upended, my own circumstances being so very obvious an example. As you may now know, we have had several most direct shocks here in Aetoria over the course of the past few months, not only with the turmoil in the streets following the Duke of Wulfram's Pronounciamento, but with the upheavals which directly affected the membership and the premises of the Shipping Exchange as well. I fear that for the moment, at least, we are consigned to scratch quarters, while our more accustomed seats are refurbished and made once again suitable for human habitation. Perhaps in that regard, it might be seen as even convenient that the current conflict should so disorder the existing patterns of trade, for one could not imagine the utter chaos which might ensue should the Shipping Exchange be obliged to resume full trading without the Shipowners to ride herd over it.

Yet I must regret to inform you that even this is perhaps not the most unpleasant matter I must bring to your attention.

It has been quite some time since we discussed in person the folly of our dear young Master Garing. Though his undoubted genius for mechanickal design cannot help but imbue his suggested new weapon with some degree of merit by virtue of its clever manufacture alone, he has always been prevented from wagering the resources of the corporation upon such an enterprise by the simple fact that insufficient interest has been shown by any appropriate party to render such an expenditure worthwhile. Now, with the country seemingly at war with itself, he has been approached to consider the adoption of what he considers the most successful and efficacious of his designs by multiple involved parties.

While it is not yet written by the Saints that we must now wail and gnash our teeth as our young colleague surpasses us in prominence and carves for himself a place in history, I think it increasingly possible that such a destination might now be feasible for him. Thus, it is in the interest of our own abnegation and obscurity that I enclose the following document, being an analysis drawn up by one of my staff regarding a process by which Master Garing's new rifle might be adopted by any interested party of sufficient resources while minimising the risk to the company and to our own assets. Thus we might take certain precautions, so that if the Saints should will that we die in the obscure shadow of our junior, we will at least die fabulously wealthy.

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The adoption of arm now under consideration (to be referred to henceforth as "the new rifle") makes for several considerable complications, stemming from the fact that its design and intended implementation is of a nature so radically different from the current mode that an army adopting it for general deployment might be considered to be creating from whole cloth an entirely new school of warfare. For centuries now, warfare has progressed along lines drawn by assumptions which seemed stern and unbending: that firelock-bearing infantry cannot fire more than a few times a minute, that such fire is best husbanded in volleys to ensure maximum shock upon the will of the enemy, that likewise such volleys are to be delivered at closest possible range by companies arranged in closest possible order to ensure both proof from the white arms of cavalry and opposing foot. As a result, we have created a means of warfare which requires a certain amount of shot and powder, in which men are ordered a certain way, and officers command to a certain rulebook.

If the implications of the new rifle's capabilities are borne out, it would necessitate a complete rebuilding of these assumptions. Some will prove to be useless entirely, whilst others may instead find themselves more relevant than ever. Unfortunately, given the experimental nature of such an arm, its exact effect upon the established wisdom of battle is yet to be determined. Thus it becomes necessary to introduce the new rifle in a process of stages, to both determine the practickal limits of its function under the conditions of the field, and to test the old assumptions of war in a manner which will allow us to see which may be kept and which must be inevitably subject to revision.

The first stage of such a process must invariably the introduction of the new rifle to a company of evaluation, which may be sent into the field to provide information as to the basic mechanickal function of the weapon under the conditions of battle. Given the current state of affairs, it is unlikely that any interested party would be willing to expend funds to outfit such a unit, their resources being reserved for more reliable means of confronting the current crisis. Thus such a unit will likely have to be supported by the resources of the corporation, and deployed as a supernumeraries attached to the appropriate command possessed of a commanding officer amenable to such experiments. In the interests of minimising expenditure, such a unit will necessarily be as small as possible, while still capable of rendering the evaluations necessary.

These evaluations will at first regard the general function of the new rifle: if it is capable of functioning with equal or superior reliability to firelocks of the current type, whether it is able to sustain the rate of fire and accuracy which has been promised by the prototyping phase, whether its accoutrements and supply of cartridges might be as easily carried and maintained by a single man as those in current use. If these capabilities are established to satisfaction, then might come the time to evaluate the secondary requirements of the new rifle, especially regarding the expenditure and supply of ammunition in sustained action, the development of new means of shooting and reloading, and whether such arms are most efficaciously employed in volley, or in individual fire. The results of such evaluation will not only address long-standing concerns regarding weapons of this type, but will also assess the viability of the new rifle for more general issue.

It ought to be stated as a matter of course, that given the sensitive nature of the new rifle's design at this stage, it would be strongly recommended that this company of evaluation be placed as far from a position of danger as possible whilst still being able to carry out its tasks. A point ought to be made to minimise the risks of the new rifle or its evaluators being taken captive by elements of an opposing force. Given the politickal circumstances of the current conflict, such a development would not help but prove disastrous. However, given the increased range and accuracy which the new rifle is said to possess, the avoidance of such a hazard ought to be well within the capabilities of any competent authority.

Once the initial capabilities of the new rifle have been quantified by the evaluation unit, an effort ought to be made to see the adoption of the arm on a greater scale, with the support and funding of the relevant authorities. Assuming the qualities of the new rifle are sufficiently evident to prove its superiority over weapons of the current type, it ought to be a matter of little difficulty to secure funds and resources for the establishment of an experimental unit within the structure of the regular army, perhaps along the same scale as that of the Experimental Corps of Riflemen established during the late War in Antar. This force would be maintained under military discipline, and its ranks filled by picked marksmen from existing regiments, to be attached to an army currently in the field, and to be applied to its intended purpose at whatever occasion the Commander-in-Chief of that army should see fit.

Such a measure will not only provide more useful intelligence regarding the mechanickal qualities of the new rifle by providing a larger test sample in which imperfections or unexpected qualities may show themselves, but it will also serve to offer some measurement of the new rifle's utility in the hands of those who possess no special background or preparation in its use and maintenance. Through this process, we may determine the rate at which the new rifle malfunctions and must be replaced, as well as determine a means by which soldiers with no prior training may be instructed to use the new rifle most effectively. In addition, use on such a scale will be an ideal means of determining the most efficacious way to employ the weapon on the field, as well as best practises for the transport and supply of both replacement weapons and additional ammunition, which is sure to prove a major consideration if the new rifle is to be adopted in great numbers.

Up until this juncture, the furnishing of arms and ammunition for this enterprise may be a requirement still fulfilled by what is commonly considered artisanal or 'piece' work, with individual rifles and cartridges made up in the traditional manner, one at a time. However, further stages of adoption will necessitate the production of arms and ammunition at a much higher rate. While the processes for such operations are already well established, the physickal reality of implementing such a measure will come at considerable expense. Thus it would be in the interest of the Company to appeal one again to the relevant authorities for the funding to establish the necessary manufactories. However, even if such an enterprise must be funded entirely based on the resources of the corporation, it may yet recoup its outlay in the process of fulfilling the next proposed phase of adoption.

This phase would necessitate the establishment of further companies armed with the new rifle and furnished with ammunition for it. Initially, these companies would be attached to one battalion of foot within each brigade. Subsequently, if this measure should meet with success in the field, such adoption might be expanded to a similar arrangement in a second battalion. Ultimately, this process would conclude with every battalion of foot in the army possessed of a supernumerary company equipped with the new rifle, which might be deployed by their individual battalion commanding officers, or else combined into special purpose battalions by the order of the general officer commanding, in use for some particular exercise. These companies would be trained by those officers and men of the previous experimental force, who would serve as an instructional cadre for new rifle companies. As a result, the tactics and best practises already established would proceed directly into use by these new companies.

Through this process, several objectives may be achieved. First, the new rifle will be tested under varying conditions in service to multiple forces which are themselves possessed of multiple objectives and deployed in multiple environs. This will test the versatility of the new rifle under a great multitude of circumstances. Second, it will familiarise officers throughout the army of the capabilities of the new rifle, as well as its requirements. Given that we estimate that a single company of men armed with new rifles should expend the same amount of powder as an entire battalion armed with muskets of the current type, it would be adviseable to test extensively the ability of the army's ability to furnish, store, and deploy the requisite ammunition - just as it would be wise to test our own ability to produce such munitions at the appropriate scale.

In addition, by committing to a programme of gradual adoption, we will limit the demands on the company's own manufactories, allowing the production of new rifles and ammunition to increase at a relatively steady rate. This will prevent the undesirable possibility that overwhelming immediate demand should necessitate the creation of manufactory facilities which could in turn prove a superfluity once demand is met.

Through this process, the design of the new rifle might be extensively tested and refined in a manner to the satisfaction of both the Company and the relevant military authorities. Although the new rifle's general adoption as the primary arm of the regiments of foot is beyond the scope of this memorandum, the process detailed above ought to provide a firm base of intelligence and confidence with which the Company may pursue that aim, if the circumstances should deem such a course of action feasible or profitable.

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As you will have no doubt surmised, I have provided for myself a copy of the document enclosed and intend to put its recommendations to use when presenting myself before the Queen's Majesty. With the Royalist cause so imperilled, there is little doubt that they will be happy to seize upon any potential advantage that they might be able to trial and profit from without immediate expenditure of funds or trained soldiery. As a result, I believe I will have little trouble prevailing upon Her Majesty - who is known now very broadly to favour the reform of all of the Crown's institutions - to allow us the first step of the procedure enumerated here. The officers of Grenadier Square may normally be of more intractable mind, but based on my discourse with our good Master Garing, I am given to understand that several highly-placed officers have been, for lack of a better term, cultivated as supporters since the time of his sojourn to Antar during the war.

Some of these officers, I have been made to believe, have also ended up on your side of the canal. They may prove of some use in mirroring the process in your own enclosure. If nothing else, they may prove to of value as a conduit to their chief. With the Duke of Wulfram already known to be so enamoured of the advancement of mechanickal industry, it might be of some profit to appeal to him directly from your own offices in Tannersburg. As the majority of our gunworks remain under the control of his forces, you may find it easier to present such an argument than I, if you are able to do so in person.

I look forward to your reply, confident in the knowledge that if we here in Aetoria are incapable of securing some profit from the current crisis, you will.

-James d'al Gutierrez, Baronet.