While Britannia once ruled the waves, Britain and its Commonwealth now stand precariously on the precipice of history. Exhausted by the effort of fighting to defend the Empire all across the world, and with its finances stretched thinner and thinner by the constant need to produce more and better weapons and war machines, Britain has been forced to call upon every resource at its disposal to stay in the fight. Withdrawing is out of the question, with Churchill’s famous speech ringing as true in 1947 as it did seven years previously. The fighting rages on, and the only way for Britain to avoid its dominions being carved up and its influence curtailed by emergent new powers is to stand and fight to the bitter end.
All is by no means lost, however. The vast reserves of manpower and resources of the Commonwealth have, by a series of ruthless Acts of Parliament, come fully under London’s control. Every nation with the King as its sovereign now answers directly to the men in Whitehall, and soldiers from across the globe march to defend the Empire. The New World also stands with Britain, with waves of early Rift-tech discoveries flowing across the Atlantic under the continuing Lend-Lease agreement. While the sharing of information has slowed considerably in recent years, the knowledge received was more than enough to vastly accelerate British science and industry. Once the initial breakthrough was made with the help of the Rift, British ingenuity and experience took it forwards.
The Commonwealth’s great strength lies in the fields of computing and automation. Already world-leading in the field, Rift-tech advances to Turing’s work have taken what is possible to dizzying new heights. Each new development brings smaller and more capable computers, lending their power to everything from gunsights to navigation, but the most significant discovery has been the Bletchley Park team’s work on ‘Artificial Intelligence’, taking advantage of the newest small-scale computers to pioneer the field of robotics. The most obvious products of this technological revolution are the vaunted Automated Infantry, but it is in the manufacturing sector that the most progress has been made. Production lines run themselves, and the most repetitive and arduous work is performed by pre-programmed automata. This new efficiency allows factories to work day and night for the war effort, and has freed up even more able bodies for military service across the world – a fact not lost on the trade unions and labour organisations.
On the Konflikt ’47 tabletop, Commonwealth forces offer some very interesting choices indeed when it comes to unit selection, as their early access to US walker technology enables them to field some very capable machines, including Guardians and Grizzlys, while Tesla weaponry permeates the entire army structure. However, the Commonwealth’s real power on the table comes from its own factories and laboratories, and this is what really sets them apart from any other nation in Konflikt ’47.
The Automated Infantry are the flagship unit in this regard, utterly immune to the horrors of the battlefield, tough as steel (literally!), and toting heavy anti-infantry weaponry, they’re a welcome sight for any British commander. They’re not alone, either – British infantry continue their excellent war record with lethal new ‘home-grown’ weapons such as the EM-2 assault rifle, while the cutting-edge Merlin walker combines human experience with lightning-fast computational assistance.
The Commonwealth has weathered the initial storm caused by the opening of the Rifts, and emerged a significantly changed Union. Now, the Empire on which the sun never sets gathers its strength, and squares up to the enemy anew. While on the home front opposition to the automation of industry from modern-day Luddites grows in strength, on battlefields across the world the British soldier fights on with grim determination. Any schoolboy ideals of martial glory and ‘fair play’ have been burned away in the crucible of war, and in their place stands an utter unwillingness to ever give in, backed by the newest and deadliest weaponry available. Britain and her Empire will not go quietly into the night.

Built at the English Electric works in Preston, this unit is pictured during the push towards Mechelen in Flanders as part of Operation Cavalier. Covered in a canvas rain cape to protect its joints from corrosion, and armed with a venerable .303 Vickers machine gun fitted with a field-expedient ‘bayonet’, it was part of a detachment assigned to screen the advance of Canadian troops across an area of flooded fields. It sustained multiple autocannon hits when the formation was ambushed by Axis walkers, and was last seen marching directly towards the enemy, drawing fire away from the human infantry.
Ready to stand and fight, for King and Country, no matter the odds? Konflikt ’47 pre-orders are live, and the current British range is ready to order right away – no need to wait!