To start with, lets talk about the setting. I am not going to get into all the specifics, because lets face it, your going to have to buy the beautifully put together book for yourself to read all the juicy details, but as the title of the game suggests, it is set in 1947. The timeline diverges from our in 1944, when testing of atomic weapons opens a Rift in the fabric of space. The Americans then nuked Dresden, causing another Rift. Both the Germans and Americans begun to develop advance Rift-tech from researching these Rifts, although they developed different technologies. The Soviets demanded access from the US and when denied, they left the Allies, essentially creating a third power block.D-Day still goes ahead and after initial success, the advance is bogged down by the German use of Rift-tech. The Americans bring in British scientists to help with their own research and one of them is a Soviet spy who feeds the Soviets information. For the next few years, the frontline waivers back and forth as the Axis and Allies unleash waves of new tech, with the battleline eventually settling near the River Rhine. Meanwhile on the Eastern Front, Romania joins the Soviets at the start of 1945, Finland leaves the Axis, but fails to stop the German forces in Finland pull out, this eventually leads the Soviets to attack Finland and take it over. The Soviets continue their advance on the Eastern front although at a lot slower pace due to the German Rift-tech. Budapest falls in mid-1946 and Hungary surrenders, although a lot of their military escapes into Germany.
In the Middle-East, Soviet and Allied forces begin to fight for control of Iran and the oil reserves there, which causes Turkey to join the Axis with promises of German technology. Turkey and the Soviets fight a series of border skirmishes, but in general the fighting in the Middle-East comes to a defensive stand-still as the fight in Europe drains resources and supplies. In the Pacific, the Allies continue to make advances, until new Japanese submarines with Rift-tech begin to inflict massive casualties to the Allies. Japan begins to deploy reanimated corpses to fight in the deep jungles of New Guinea, dragging out the battle there against Australian forces. The US fail to take Iwo Jima and China seeks aid from the Soviets after relations with the US fail apart.
The winter of 1947 is the harshest and brings the fighting in Europe to a stand-still, while the Middle-East and the Pacific are both locked in their own stalemates. The end of winter is where Konflikt 47 takes place...
K47 uses a modified Bolt Action ruleset. One of the big changes are those of reactions. In a 'normal' game of BA you can react by going down, using an ambush, defensive fire when assaulted or potentially using recce to escape. In K47 there are new reactions, but to do any reaction other then Go Down, you must pass a reaction test, which is essentially an order test. You also can't have had an order used on the unit so far in the turn. Failing a reaction test gives you an extra pin, so there is a risk attached to reacting!
One of the new reactions is Escape!, allowing a unit that is being assaulted to make a run move to put as much distance between the two as possible. Another is Firefight, which allows you to shoot back at an enemy unit simultaneously if they are shooting at over 20" away with a Fire order. The reacting unit also uses a Fire order. Units can also Run to Cover if fired at by an enemy 20"+ away, which gives them a Run move that must place at least 1 model into cover from the attacking enemy. The Ambush order has been changed too. You can change your Ambush order to any of the reactions with a successful reaction test, failure leaves them still on Ambush.
K47 introduces a host of new weaponry. First of is the Rifle Grenade, which is essentially a shorter range light mortar that does D2 HE. The Allies get access to Tesla weaponry, which gets a single shot that either is super effective against armour or does essentially 1D6 HE against infantry. The downside to the Tesla Cannon is it has a fairly modest range. The Soviets get access to Zvukovoy Proyektor that fires a shockwave out in a line. Any unit under the line are hit on a 4+ and take a 1D3 HE hit and D3 pins. Vehicles hit suffer the 'Crew Stunned' damage result. Meanwhile the Germans get access to the Schwerefeld Projektor, which gets 2 shots with +4 pen, but gets a pen bonus when shooting at heavy armour armour. Any unit hit by the Schwerefeld Projektor can't run on it's next order dice either. There is also the Dual-weapon Pack, which is a combination of an SMG and a sawn-off Anti-tank Rifle. You pick how you wish to fire it each turn, but both systems have shorter ranges then their normal counterparts.
Another area where there are changes to the standard rules is in the Assault section. Once combat is joined, after reactions, the combatants must decide to either fight in hand-to-hand combat or fire point blank. The attacking player decides first. If either side chooses to fire point blank, they act first. If both choose this option it is simultaneous. Only small arms can be used and is conducted exactly like if you did an Advance order, including adding a pin and taking a morale check if you lose half your models. Note you do not remove your pins in K47 when you assault. After firing point blank, if either play chose to fight hand-to-hand they do so simultaneously, unless they are down or assaulting a unit behind an obstacle (then they attack last). If they inflict any casualties, they also cause a pin. The losing side of the combat is not instantly destroyed, but instead makes a morale check, counting all pins on them. If they fail, they are destroyed, but if they pass, the winner of the combat has the option to continue fighting. If they choose this, future rounds are only fought with hand-to-hand. Combat continues until one side is defeated, or the winner (or in the case of a drawn combat, one player) decides to consolidate out of the combat. Consolidation is an advance move, starting with the losing side first, that must take them out of 1" of other units.
As you can see, assaults have changed quite considerably. Without having play-tested it yet, my first impression is that I don't know if the changes are really worth the extra level of complexity. I could be wrong, but one thing I enjoy about assaults is that they are often quick and bloody affairs where the luck of the dice can turn against you in an instant, and thus they carry with them a weight of high risk for high reward. I am looking forward to play a few games of K47 to see how it plays out.
K47 also introduces Walkers as a new vehicle type. They essentially move like tracked vehicles as far as cross terrain types, but move at 12" with 2 turns at an Advance and 18" with 1 turn with a Run order. They also have an armour value of one less then a comparative vehicle. So a heavy walker will be armour 9+ instead of 10+ like a heavy tank. To counter this, when you shoot at a walker you never get a bonus to penetrate if your in it's side or rear arc. No matter which direct you shoot a walker from it uses it's full armour value.
Vehicle assaults have also changed, with a unit assaulted by a tank now taking 1d3+1 pins if they fail their morale check instead of being destroyed and then you roll 1D6 per pin received, on a 4+ a model is removed as well. Artillery is only destroyed on a 4+. Walkers assaulting infantry on the other hand fight an assault as normal, with 2 attacks, plus 1 for each fist, while the infantry need 6s to strike back as it is a moving vehicle. There are also rules for walkers fighting vehicles, but you'll have to grab your own copy of the rules for that, because now I am going to go into some of the new K47 units available.
Firstly, in the K47 rulebook there are army lists for Germany, the Soviets, the British and the US. The Germans get '2' new national rules in addition to their existing 2. The first, Fatherland Resurgent, lets them ignore 1 pin marker for order checks to Advance if they have 5 or more men in an infantry squad. The other 'new' national rule is just the rules for Schurzen, so I would not really consider this much of a national rule.
These are the guys in heavy armour and each of the 4 major powers have their own version. The German ones have Assault Rifles, are Slow (4" advance/8" run), Resilient (need 6s to kill them from shooting attacks) and are Large Infantry (takes up 2 slots per man in transports). You can get these guys in squads, as well as a Panzerschrek team. The next cool new squad is the Fallschirmjager Falcon Squad, which are jetpack equipped heavy armour infantry. They have Assault Rifles, are Resilient and have the Flight special rule, which allows them to move 12" with Advance and 18" with Run, over intervening terrain. Next are SS Shocktroopers who are Fanatics, Tough (which lets you ignore damage from weapons with less then a +2 pen, on a roll of 5+, roll for each casualty) and have IR Vision for night fighting.
Then we come to the Totenkorp zombies. These are Tough and have a rule called Horror, which effectively gives -1 morale to all units within 6" of them. They are Slow and ignore pins and morale checks, but they have no weapons. Next are the Schreckwulfen. These are a cross between human and canine DNA, to effectively make Werewolf type creatures of myth. These have the same Horror affect as the zombies, are Tough, have the Tooth and Claw special rule (3 attacks in hand-to-hand), are Large Infantry, and are Fast (8" Advance, 16" Run). Last one the list of cool new infantry units are the dreaded Nachtjager. A mix of bat, reptile and human DNA, they look very close to some kind of vampire monstrosity. These guys are like Schreckwulfen with Flight and the Strong special rule (+1 pen in hand-to-hand, and each additional hit against a vehicle adds +2 pen instead of the normal +1, also grants Tank Hunter).
The choice of vehicles is from most of the normal late-war tanks, with the only change being a Panzer IV with one of the new Schwerefeld Projektors on it. That is until you get to the walkers. There is the Super-heavy Thor, with a heavy howitzer, light autocannon and MMG. The Thor, which is a Heavy walker with a super-heavy AT gun, light autocannon, MMG and the Tough special rule (ignores damage on a 5+) when shot from the front arc. And last but not least, the Spinne Light Panzermech, which has a light AT gun with co-ax light autocannon, Dual Directional Recce and is Agile (gets 1 extra turn during it's movement).
After the Germans, are the Americans. They too get a new national rule called Plentiful Supply. This allows all infantry team weapons to reroll 1s to hit. The normal US infantry squads get access to Rifle Grenades, while their Heavy Infantry squads come with Assault Rifles. The Heavy Infantry are Large, Resilient and have IR Vision. They can also have a Heavy Bazooka Team in the same armour. The US answer to the Fallschirmjager Falcon Squads, are the Firefly Jump Infantry. These are veterans with the Flight rule and equipped with SMGs. They are not as armoured, but one man can be given a flamethrower!
Again the US tank choices are fairly common, although with a new M4A9 Sherman, which mounts a Tesla Cannon in it's turret. For walkers, they have the Coyote which is a Light walker with a MMG, HMG and 2 fists, that is an Agile, Assault mech, but as it only has Single Crew, it can only fire 1 weapon per turn. The Jackal is very similar to the Coyote, except it lacks the HMG but has the option to add an infantry flamethrower. It also has the Jump rule, which allows it to pass over any intervening terrain on a Run move, but it must be in a straight line. Next is the Grizzly Medium Assault walker, with a medium AT Gun, 2 fists and a HMG and the Bruin Support walker which has a Medium AT gun, HMG and heavy howitzer. Rounding out the trio of medium walkers named after bears, is the Kodiak, which has an impressive 2 light autocannons and 4 HMGs! And the last US walker is the Mudskipper, another medium walker with 2 light autocannons, a MMG, 2 HMGs and 2 fists, and has the Jump special rule.
For tanks they get the normal fare, plus the Centurion Mk II which is essentially a Tiger I (heavy tank, super-heavy AT gun, 2 MMGs) and the Cromwell-T, which is a Cromwell with a Tesla Cannon. They also get the Guardian Light Walker, with has 2 fists, MMG, HMG and infantry flamethrower and is Agile with a Single-crew. They also have access to the same Grizzly and Coyote walkers as the US. The last new unit is the Automated Carrier, which has twin light autocannons and is 7+ armour, with the Automated vehicle special rule which is similar to the Automated Infantry Squads.
For new vehicles they have the T-34/ZP, which is a T-34 with a Zvukovoy Proyektor on it, as well as the KV-1/ZP which also have the Proyektor. There is also the T-44/85, which is a medium tank with a heavy AT gun, co-ax MMG and hull MMG, that has armour 10+ in the front arc, similar to a Panther tank. You can upgrade it to a T-44/100 which has a super-heavy AT gun, effectively making it a Soviet Panther. The Soviets only have 2 walkers, the Cossack Light Walker, which has a light autocannon and a co-axial MMG which is Agile and has the Recce rule. It can be upgraded to have a light AT gun instead of the autocannon but it loses Agile. The other walker is the Mammoth Heavy Walker, which is a super-heavy walker, with a light howitzer, a heavy howitzer, 2 light autocannons and a HMG. It is Slow and can have a dozerblade added to give it Tough from the front arc. The Mammoth is a hulking brute with a multitude of turrets on it, similar to a T-28 or T-35.
So I am looking forward to adding in some cool new addition to my existing Bolt Action armies and see what this new konflikt will bring!
"Anf" is a long-time gamer from Down Under, who currently focuses his hobby time on Bolt Action.
With an equal love of rockets and Ice Hockey, he constantly explores weird and wonderful army lists
in his never-ending quest to collect them all.
