Konflikt ’47 Primer: Forged in Steel – How to Use Stahltruppen

When Kris Sherriff isn’t busy setting up our first ever standalone store, he can usually be found elbow-deep in a Konflikt ’47 army list, getting to grips with how to get the most out of the units, rules, and playstyles, and bringing them all to you! Today, he’s taking a very good look indeed at one of the flagship units for the Axis – the mighty Stahltruppen!

The Role of Stahltruppen

Rift‐born engineering didn’t just reshape the Axis’ Panzer Divisions – it transformed their infantry, too. The Stahltruppen represent the Volksarmee’s most direct attempt to create a soldier who could push through fire that would halt any conventional unit.

Encased in Grade 2 augmented powered armour and armed with powerful weaponry more usually seen crew-served, they operate as deliberate, high-impact shock infantry: tough enough to fight through contested ground, flexible enough to pressure armour or infantry, and disciplined enough to hold a position even under sustained fire.

On the tabletop, Stahltruppen fill a role that sits between elite assault infantry and specialised support teams. They aren’t simply ‘better infantry’; they’re designed to change the pace of an engagement. Their durability makes them reliable in the midboard, and their access to weapons normally only found in weapons teams allows them to influence multiple threat categories without committing to being a dedicated anti-tank or fire support unit.

Most importantly, their Rift enhancement – Vormarsch! – gives them a level of reliability that even Veteran infantry rarely achieve, letting them dictate when a push happens, rather than waiting for the right moment to appear. This combination of resilience, steady firepower, and timing control gives Stahltruppen a distinctive battlefield identity:

A unit which rewards players who make deliberate, meaningful advances, rather than opportunistic skirmishing moves.

They thrive when the plan is clear, the objective is defined, and the Order Dice are allocated with purpose.

Battlefield Presence

The beating heart of the Stahltruppen profile is their Damage Value of 7+. In K47, this represents an absolute breakpoint: small arms cannot hurt them. Rifles, SMGs, and most standard infantry weapons simply do not have the Pen to threaten Grade 2 powered armour under any circumstances. This makes even a minimum-sized squad completely immune to the most common firepower in the game, and allows them to push through situations that would pin or break lesser units without a second thought.

However, this does not make them walking tanks. Stahltruppen are still elite infantry, and they rely on terrain, spacing, and timing just as much as any other specialist unit. Against weapons with +1 Pen, they only take damage on a 6+, which is why a three-man DV7+ squad requires the same volume of fire to remove as a six-man DV6+ unit.

Once the enemy brings some Light Automatic Cannons to the table, with their +2 Pen, the damage roll improves to a 5+, and the lack of raw bodies starts to show with the Stahltruppen taking 6 fewer shots to deal with than their six-man DV6+ counterparts. They will still survive longer than most, often needing around 18 shots to reliably remove, but every casualty that gets through meaningfully cuts into the unit’s output, and when true anti-tank guns enter the equation, they can and will suffer.

Their Power Armour does have some tricks to alleviate that suffering, and it does so in ways that reward good play. Through the Long Range rule, Powered Armour reduces the Pen of incoming fire that originates beyond half range. This often pushes mid-Pen weapons back into the ‘low or no threat’ bracket unless the enemy closes distance.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Shaped Charges, which are normally some of the most punishing anti-infantry attacks in the game, have their Pen values halved against power armour. A Pen 6 shaped charge becomes Pen 3. That shifts the damage roll from a near-automatic result to a 4+, turning a guaranteed kill into something the squad can realistically hope to survive.

Used well, these defensive layers make Stahltruppen extremely hard to shift. A handful of armoured veterans occupying strong terrain, spaced out with Wide Formation, and denying the enemy clear sightlines can lock down large sections of the board with surprising efficiency.

If they advance up the centre of the table in clear view of enemy anti-tank guns, they will take meaningful casualties, because at their core they are still infantry. Resilient, elite, and reliable infantry, but infantry all the same. Played with care, they stride through fire that breaks lesser units. Played recklessly, they fall to the weapons designed to stop them.

Vormarsch!

The defining rule of Stahltruppen on the tabletop is their Rift enhancement, Vormarsch!. Everything the unit does – how it moves, how it applies pressure, and how reliably it reaches key positions – flows from this single ability. When given an Advance order, the squad may choose to automatically pass the Order Test and immediately discard all Pin markers on the unit. This is not conditional. It does not require a roll. It simply happens.

For most infantry, pins are the primary method of controlling and limiting their effectiveness. A squad under sustained fire becomes hesitant, slow, and vulnerable to failing crucial Orders. Stahltruppen sidestep that entire dynamic. Because small-arms fire cannot hurt them and does not apply pins, they are naturally insulated from the most common source of battlefield disruption. Then, when heavier weapons do inflict pins, Vormarsch! gives them a once-per-cycle option to ignore the effects entirely, reset to zero, and continue their advance without losing momentum.

This makes their movement unusually dependable. Advance is the most common and most tactically flexible Order in the game, and the ability to guarantee it regardless of pin pressure means Stahltruppen can be counted on to move when they need to move. They do not get stuck. They do not falter on key turns. And they cannot be forced to hold still by the usual volume of fire that would pin down a standard infantry unit.

If the squad takes the Fanatics upgrade, this reliability becomes even more pronounced. Fanatics ignore negative morale modifiers from Pin markers when making Morale Checks—as long as at least two models remain. It does not interact with Order Tests directly, but it prevents them from breaking under accumulated pins, even in rare situations where multiple high-Pen hits stack pressure faster than Vormarsch! can clear it. It is not essential for every build, but when included, it reinforces the idea that Stahltruppen are extremely difficult to remove through pin-based attrition alone.

Vormarsch! does come with a cost. After using it, the squad’s Rift Die becomes Exhausted, and they gain the Lumbering special rule until it recovers. Their Advance drops to 4”, their Run to 8”, and their ability to reposition becomes noticeably less fluid. Used too early, it can leave the squad slowed. Used well, and backed up by the Axis Our Salvation army special rule it becomes the key that unlocks a critical push, an unexpected angle, or a secure objective in a contested midboard.

In practice, the rule defines the tempo of the unit. Stahltruppen are not designed to be fast. Vormarsch! only functions on an Advance order. What they are is reliable—and that reliability is what makes them dangerous. Most infantry must respect the possibility of failing an Order Test at the worst moment. Stahltruppen don’t. When the moment comes to advance, they advance. When the situation demands momentum, Vormarsch! gives them certainty.

Arming the Armoured

It’s not just the Stahltruppen’s resilience and reliability that define them. What really makes the squad feel dangerous is the variety of offensive tools they can bring to the table. Whether you want them pushing forward as shock troops, sitting back to influence fire lanes, or acting as a compact anti-armour package, their weapon options let you tailor the unit to the exact role your list needs.

StG 44Z (Default Armament)

By default, every Stahltruppen model carries the StG 44Z, a compact assault rifle with an 18″ range and three shots. The key here is the Assault rule, which grants Tough Fighter, giving the wielder an additional attack in Close Quarters. This immediately positions the baseline unit as a close-range threat. They move, they shoot without penalty, and if they make contact, they bring enough melee output to win trades against most infantry. A squad built around StGs plays assertively, using their resilience to push into the areas of the battlefield where they hit hardest.

Axis Light Machine Gun

Replacing an StG with an LMG shifts the squad’s character. You trade some melee punch for reach and consistency: a 36″ range and five shots— due to the Buzzsaw rule, gives Stahltruppen access to long-ranged, steady firepower they otherwise lack. If you prefer your Stahltruppen to anchor a position rather than knife-fight, the light machinegun is what takes them in that direction, ensuring that they roll enough dice to threaten even Veteran Infantry in spite of their small squad size.

Light Anti-Tank Gun

The Light AT Gun is where the squad steps outside traditional infantry roles. Normally a Heavy weapon like this would require a static team, but thanks to Augmented, Stahltruppen can fire it on the move without the usual Fixed or Team penalties. A single model suddenly brings a 48″ shot at Pen 4 with HE 1″, giving the unit genuine long-range anti-vehicle presence. While it fires only a single shot, it can still split its fire, allowing the rest of the squad to contribute elsewhere with their small arms while the AT gun focuses on armour targets. This option turns Stahltruppen into a flexible toolbox capable of threatening both infantry and vehicles.

Panzerfausts

Panzerfausts are taken as a per model upgrade and follow the Anti-Tank Launchers rule. Under normal circumstances, one model per Order may fire a Panzerfaust instead of its usual weapon, giving the squad a reliable close-range Pen 6 shaped-charge threat. Alternatively, they can choose to fire all remaining launchers in one decisive volley, rolling a D6 to determine how many models successfully fire; any unused launchers are lost.

Because the volley is capped by the number of models left in the unit, Panzerfausts tend to be more efficient on smaller squads, where you’re less likely to roll below your current model count, in the case of three model Stahltruppen Units, you should max out the number of shots roughly two-thirds of the time. Regardless of their other armaments, Panzerfausts turn Stahltruppen into a compact but credible deterrent to even the heaviest armour.

Build Paths

Stahltruppen can be shaped into several clear roles depending on how you equip them. These aren’t ‘best builds’, just the natural ways the squad evolves based on what you need from it.

The Efficient Core

A three-man Stahltruppen unit with no upgrades is one of the most cost-effective compulsory choices in the Axis roster. You get DV7+, Large, Assault, and the full reliability of Vormarsch! in a very compact package. They’re excellent late-game scorers, midfield holders, or flank pieces that refuse to die to anything except dedicated anti-infantry fire.

If you have points to spare, adding Panzerfausts to the unit is an easy way to expand their threat without changing their role or sacrificing their StG 44Zs. You gain a strong, short-range anti-tank deterrent without increasing complexity or committing the squad to a specialised job.

The Utility Hunter

Adding a Light AT Gun to Stahltruppen is the most straightforward way to increase the squad’s footprint on the table. Whether you keep their aggressive Close Quarters threat or replace the remaining StG 44Zs with LMGs, you gain a 48″ Pen 4 shot with HE 1″, making them a genuine threat into armour, transports, and dug-in infantry.

This build plays well as a midfield utility team with the Light Anti-Tank Gun widening the threat range they can meaningfully engage, and their durability keeps them relevant far longer than their model count implies.

The Flexible Fire Support Team

Three LMGs and Panzerfausts create a flexible fire support element. You lose the range of the AT Gun but gain a reliable volume of fire and a strong but short-range anti-tank threat.

At any moment the squad can:

• shoot with consistent LMG fire
  
• switch to 10 shots plus a Panzerfaust for controlled pressure
  
• or commit to the all-faust volley for a high-impact ambush

It’s a versatile loadout that supports your line while still punishing vehicles that get too close.

The Armoured Spearhead

A six-man squad mounted in a transport becomes a very different piece. The vehicle acts as a protective shell for a Large unit, allowing you to deliver them deep into the table without exposing them to early high-Pen fire. If the transport is destroyed, the resulting explosion cannot harm them (as it has no Pen value), and any Pins picked up can be wiped instantly with Vormarsch! the moment they activate.

This makes them ideal for Rift-Master support. With a second Surging Rift Die, they can use Vormarsch! and still benefit from +1 Pen in Close Quarters, add in any additional Guts support to give them the activations needed to capitalize on their arrival. When they hit a defended position, they strike simultaneously (Large) with a high volume of attacks due to Tough Fighter, and with Fanatics, they remain difficult to shift even against other DV7+ units.

It is a larger investment than the other build paths, and it should be taken as part of a wider plan rather than as a standalone hammer. When it is aligned with your list’s timing, the payoff is decisive.

Durable, Deliberate, and Decisive

Stahltruppen have always carried a certain mythos in Konflikt ’47, a sense of relentless forward pressure that Marcus touched on in his original Spotlight. Once you understand how their armour, Rift abilities, and weapon options interlock, that battlefield presence stops being an idea and becomes something you can reliably put on the table.

They are not indestructible, and they are not a hammer for every job. They are a compact, elite unit that rewards deliberate positioning, smart order sequencing, and a clear plan for how to force the fight on your terms. They sit at a comfortable price point for list construction, opening space for supporting tools while still being reliable enough to build a wider plan around. Whether taken as an efficient compulsory choice, outfitted as a flexible hunter team, or delivered as a full six-man spearhead, they consistently punch above their weight because they remove so much of the risk other infantry live with.

Play them with intent and they will deliver exactly the battlefield presence their reputation promises!