Preste Raud

#### Overview

The Preste Raud was a Hessian built and fielded medium landship. Designed and built by departments of the Hoffnung military though funded by Shirudian loans and investments. Originally built in Grubenderfeld and Zukuntaflow by the Hessian State Defence Office production would later shift to Gosumo. Heavyset of build they were mostly confined to the Hoffnung front during the Great War. A few Preste Raud companies were also deployed at Nordvest and Imania. The aforementioned heavy weight of the Preste Raud was the landship’s main shortcoming, it couldn't keep up with the other, lighter armoured engines deployed by the Dominion at the time. Additionally the landship would suffer in boggy and waterlogged conditions, sinking into mire and frequently needing recovery or in many cases leading to the landship being abandoned or repurposed as a hasty static defence. However it’s shortcomings did not mean the vehicle was a complete failure, the Preste Raud landship was popular among its crews. Performance wise, it was the best landship fielded by the Dominion. With the dominance of field guns and self propelled assault guns in Shuridan and Hessian armies, rotating turret landships like the Raud were invaluable in providing a more mobile fleet to complement these self propelled armoured vehicles.

It seats a crew of five: commander, gunner, loader, driver, assistant driver/bow gunner. The hull contains the engine to the rear with the driver sitting to the front left and the assistant driver sitting to the front right. Within the turret, the commander sits beneath the commander’s hatch while the gunner sits to the left of the gun breech and the loader sits to the right. The ammunition (80 rounds) is stored in open lockers within the turret which would often lead to fires in the case of turret comprise. The later B model would move these lockers below the turret ring for better protection.

#### Armament

The main gun of the Preste Raud is the 75mm Kannone. Fitted with a muzzle brake, the Raud could reliably engage targets at medium distance though it lacked a proper stabiliser of the type that would become commonplace in the later war. The shells usually available include AP, Smoke, HE or HEAT. The bow machinegun, operated by the assistant driver, is a belt fed Z99 7.62 machinegun. A second Z99 sits atop the turret on the commanders pintle mount for added use in fending off enemy infantry. 3,000 rounds of ammunition is usually carried to be split between the two.

#### History and Combat Use

The combat use of the Raud was extensive, though it saw the most service in the armies of the Dominion and the Shogunate. Most battles fought by the Raud were in the Hoffnung, though Nordvest and Imania saw usage as well, mainly supporting the assault guns of shirudan mechanised units. Towards the war’s end the Raud was expected to hold its own against Landships twice their own numbers, often against technologically superior tanks like the Cassidy. However the Alliance made no effort to modernise their landships instead preferring to focus on quantity over quality. Interestingly some Raud’s operated by the department of Arrowheads would engage shirudan G24’s during Hathor’s asserting of power, where the Raud’s would be knocked out by their newer replacements.

#### Variants

Over its service, the Raud had two variants:

* Preste Raud: Original make, with notable weight issues and resulting strain on the engine. Ammunition stored inside turret. Manufactured by Hessian State Defence Office.

* Preste Raud B: Second variant. Introduced in 1805RT. Improved gun sights and internal components. Ammunition stored below turret ring.