I see my resolutionto keep the blog up to date is flagging already! Oh well.
After our efforts at Triples I took a small colonial game along to the club last week to help everyone unwind without too much mental effort. This was run using my colonial version of Battle Cry and which looks a lot like Rudi Geudens Afriboria, but is somewhat simpler. I rolled up a scenario, the British attacking a Mahdist hilltop position, but the Mahdists didn't skulk and hide, they came charging down on the British. The Brits never really got a chance to deploy properly before the Mahdists were all over them, and although they shot down hundreds, their right flank collapsed and the Mahdists were into the baggage train in no time. A shattering defeat and a very quick game!
I've meanwhile been working on some of the stuff I bought at Triples. First priority was all the WW1 heavy artillery, I really didn't mean to buy quite so much, but I need it for my COW sessions. Irregular Really Useful Guns, a variety of 6" (ish) howitzers, they all went together reasonably well although I had to resort to plasticene for a couple of the Schneiders. The guns themselves are painted up and I'm working on the crews. Unfortunately I hadn't noticed that I've been supplied with early war French gun crews rather than German ones. I couldn't be bothered to send them back and wait for replacements, so I hacked them around a bit and now they are a passalbe representation of Germans in field caps. Well, I'll paint them field grey and see if anyone notices.... The 2mm stuff is on hold until I get these sorted, but they will be up next. I did a quick check of the castings and they are astonishingly crisp.
Speaking of COW, I've finally booked my session in. I'll be running Drumfire and a mid-late war corps level trench assault. I'm hoping to run it as a split session, with the senior comanders coming up with the plan in the bar and then run the attack a day or two later. It may be a bit ambitious, but we'll see. Paddy Griffiths is threatening to run an 'Oh What a Lovely War' game including dressing up, so I have spent some time seeing if I can assemble enough bits to look like a WW1 uniform. My olive green utilities and shirt don't actually look too bad, coupled with a repro haversack, biggest problem is headgear, as however much I pretend, a Mark V helmet with hessian cover still doesn't look like a WW1 tin hat. I do have my pith helmet I suppose. My 1980s era puttees aren't long enough to go up to my knees either. Oh well, have to have a think about that.
Looking for helmets led me into a terrifying new stream of madness..... WW2 re-enacting. Well, the gear isn't actually that expensive, and it looks cool, and I 'need' a WW1/WW2 helmet, and and and. I'll have to see if this is a passing fad, if it isn't then the poor old wallet is going to take quite a bashing. It will of course be an ideal excuse to buy an SMLE, and a Bren, and a Sten and even a Thompson. Judging by my internet searches, the prospects aren't looking good.
When not drooling over uniforms, webbing and WW2 weaponry, I managed to fit in the Sheffield Half Marathon. Ran it in my best time ever for that distance (sub two hour), which was very pleasing.
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
Sunday, 18 April 2010
Triples 2010
Not done much gaming in the last couple of weeks, I was away at Easter and nothing much happened at the club this week although we had some useful conversations. It was however Triples 2010 this weekend at its shiny new venue at the English Institute of Sport. There were a few minor niggles, but in general it was a really good venue, spacious and airy and a welcome change from the Octagon Centre. The traders I spoke to all seemed pretty pleased and the numbers were good.
WD Display Team (north) put on our new game, 'The End', covering the last year of WW2 in Europe. I could only go on Saturday, but the game was well received and we ran it many times, leaving all the umpires with rather sore throats! I had already ordered a load of 2mm Horse & Musket stuff from Irregular and I supplemented it with some WW1 heavy artillery from their Really Useful Gun range. I also picked up some dirt cheap Roco tanks on the Bring & Buy (for AK47) and haggled a bit for a hardcover version of CS Grants 'From Pike to Shot'.
WD Display Team (north) put on our new game, 'The End', covering the last year of WW2 in Europe. I could only go on Saturday, but the game was well received and we ran it many times, leaving all the umpires with rather sore throats! I had already ordered a load of 2mm Horse & Musket stuff from Irregular and I supplemented it with some WW1 heavy artillery from their Really Useful Gun range. I also picked up some dirt cheap Roco tanks on the Bring & Buy (for AK47) and haggled a bit for a hardcover version of CS Grants 'From Pike to Shot'.
Monday, 29 March 2010
This is the End
Had another run through of the new WD Display Team (north) game for 2010 at the club this week. It is called 'The End' and covers the last year of WW2 in Europe.
We made a few fiddles and changes and now the basic mechanisms, units and map are set. There is some production work to do on the toys and the final version of the map, and a bit more research on timelines for the briefing material, but it is all looking good. Its first outing will be at the Sheffield Wargames Society show, Triples, later in April.
Otherwise not much gaming activity. I've finalised my lists of 2mm figures and phoned the order into Irregular for collection at Triples. It ended up being a surprising amount of gear, but to do something like Blenheim you need British, Dutch, French, Bavarians and Imperialists, and by the time you've added in horse and guns for all of them as well as foot, HQs, baggage etc it all adds up. I am particularly excited by the prospect of painting the Army pontoon trains. Well I suppose it takes all sorts....
I'm still working on a scheme for base labelling, at the moment I'm going with national coloured paint dots on the rear base edges, but I'll see how distinctive the flags are when the figures are assembled en masse.
We made a few fiddles and changes and now the basic mechanisms, units and map are set. There is some production work to do on the toys and the final version of the map, and a bit more research on timelines for the briefing material, but it is all looking good. Its first outing will be at the Sheffield Wargames Society show, Triples, later in April.
Otherwise not much gaming activity. I've finalised my lists of 2mm figures and phoned the order into Irregular for collection at Triples. It ended up being a surprising amount of gear, but to do something like Blenheim you need British, Dutch, French, Bavarians and Imperialists, and by the time you've added in horse and guns for all of them as well as foot, HQs, baggage etc it all adds up. I am particularly excited by the prospect of painting the Army pontoon trains. Well I suppose it takes all sorts....
I'm still working on a scheme for base labelling, at the moment I'm going with national coloured paint dots on the rear base edges, but I'll see how distinctive the flags are when the figures are assembled en masse.
Thursday, 18 March 2010
To the Green Fields Beyond
Well, perhaps not quite the green fields... Ran another game of Drumfire last night, Spring 1917 this time (so Arras/Vimy Ridge sort of thing). A smaller game than before, one British and one French division against the new 1917 style German defence in depth.
More lavish support assets were available, and the Allies are definately learning how to do it right. Some 300 guns were available for an attack on a two mile front including some 15" rail guns, as well as gas shells, mines, British tanks and the first outing of some French Schneider CA-1s. The Allies had a very brief bombardment, concentrating on counter battery fire and wire cutting, and most important, leaving the ground relatively uncratered. The short bombardment surprised the Germans who did not have time to move up any significant reserves, but left the chains of concrete pillboxes intact.
Lt General Elsmore set some quite ambitious objectives, planning to break right through the Germans second line positions and into the field gun lines around a hill in the centre. There was a bit of grumbling about this from the division commanders, but the sheer masses of guns and other equipment on such a narrow front brought their grudging acceptance.
The initial assault went swimmingly, shrouded by the morning fog, and the entire German outpost line fell with fairly light casualties as the Allies maintained a tremendous barrage against the German positions and field guns. A pause ensued while the Allies reorganised, and then pressed on through the German pillbox line. This image is the German front line after mines had detonated, the gas had landed and the barrage lifted.
The next advance was a little more ragged as the Allies still hadn't quite got the hang of advancing with successive fresh waves to maintain the momentum of the advance. Some of their
reserves had been delayed by the fog as well. The French tanks outran their infantry, forcing a number of blockhouses to surrender and then the Germans rather hesitently attempted to counterattack. Half the Germans didn't leave their positions and the rest were mown down or surrendered. On the other flank the British also easily repulsed a German attack but their advance in the centre had stalled as it hadn't proved possible to regroup the mopping up parties. In this image the French infantry have stalled still clearing the trenches and tanks have driven on ahead, detachments of British and French infantry have pushed on each flank but the British mass is delayed by some pillboxes still holding out.
The French attacked the German second line, driving back the defending battalion at some cost to themselves, but the retreating Germans were mown down in the open as they ran back. The British far right reached is zenith however, as the attack faltered on uncut wire. The British are here seen massed in front of the German second line and French infantry are forming up for an assault too, but in the centre a handful of poilus and thesurviving Schneiders hav ecarried the second line and are preparing to attack the village. Unfortunately this is out of range of the French 75s, so the barrage has ended in this sector. More heavy guns could have continued to support the attack.
As the day dwindled, there was a final magnificent effort. The French infantry on the extreme left managed to advance right
through the German reserve line, but their tank attack on the defended village faltered as the last tanks broke down and the leading waves of infantry failed to penetrate the defences and were shot down. The survivors huddled in the captured German positions to hold their gains. In the centre however, the British cavalry came galloping up and a combined infantry/cavalry/tank attack crashed through the German reserve line, ending at the foot of the hill. This the high water mark as the French and British push through the gaps between the defended villages, there is very little left in front of the French as most of the German field batteries in this sector have been destroyed by counter-battery fire. Sadly, time had run out at this point.
As night fell, the Allies were left having taken the entire German front line and comms line, penetrated the second line on a front of one and a half miles and had pushed two thrusts right the the reserve line up to the German gun positions. A glorious victory! The French in particular had excelled themselves, considerably exceeding their assigned objectives, although the Britsh had fallen short. The only problem was that although the French flank was secure, the British right was hanging in the air, and they were forced to withdraw from their salient in the centre, leaving the new front line running diagonally back to the southwest.
So, a pretty historical result, certainly in line with Bullecourt. The game seemed to work OK for this form the Allied point of view, but I need to have a further think about the German counterattacks as my plan for them to use heavy weapons for suppression etc just didn't work.
Tim Gow has published some nice photos of the game, which have come out rather better than mine:
http://megablitzandmore.blogspot.com/2010/03/1917-big-push.html
More lavish support assets were available, and the Allies are definately learning how to do it right. Some 300 guns were available for an attack on a two mile front including some 15" rail guns, as well as gas shells, mines, British tanks and the first outing of some French Schneider CA-1s. The Allies had a very brief bombardment, concentrating on counter battery fire and wire cutting, and most important, leaving the ground relatively uncratered. The short bombardment surprised the Germans who did not have time to move up any significant reserves, but left the chains of concrete pillboxes intact.
Lt General Elsmore set some quite ambitious objectives, planning to break right through the Germans second line positions and into the field gun lines around a hill in the centre. There was a bit of grumbling about this from the division commanders, but the sheer masses of guns and other equipment on such a narrow front brought their grudging acceptance.
The initial assault went swimmingly, shrouded by the morning fog, and the entire German outpost line fell with fairly light casualties as the Allies maintained a tremendous barrage against the German positions and field guns. A pause ensued while the Allies reorganised, and then pressed on through the German pillbox line. This image is the German front line after mines had detonated, the gas had landed and the barrage lifted.The next advance was a little more ragged as the Allies still hadn't quite got the hang of advancing with successive fresh waves to maintain the momentum of the advance. Some of their
reserves had been delayed by the fog as well. The French tanks outran their infantry, forcing a number of blockhouses to surrender and then the Germans rather hesitently attempted to counterattack. Half the Germans didn't leave their positions and the rest were mown down or surrendered. On the other flank the British also easily repulsed a German attack but their advance in the centre had stalled as it hadn't proved possible to regroup the mopping up parties. In this image the French infantry have stalled still clearing the trenches and tanks have driven on ahead, detachments of British and French infantry have pushed on each flank but the British mass is delayed by some pillboxes still holding out.
The French attacked the German second line, driving back the defending battalion at some cost to themselves, but the retreating Germans were mown down in the open as they ran back. The British far right reached is zenith however, as the attack faltered on uncut wire. The British are here seen massed in front of the German second line and French infantry are forming up for an assault too, but in the centre a handful of poilus and thesurviving Schneiders hav ecarried the second line and are preparing to attack the village. Unfortunately this is out of range of the French 75s, so the barrage has ended in this sector. More heavy guns could have continued to support the attack.As the day dwindled, there was a final magnificent effort. The French infantry on the extreme left managed to advance right
through the German reserve line, but their tank attack on the defended village faltered as the last tanks broke down and the leading waves of infantry failed to penetrate the defences and were shot down. The survivors huddled in the captured German positions to hold their gains. In the centre however, the British cavalry came galloping up and a combined infantry/cavalry/tank attack crashed through the German reserve line, ending at the foot of the hill. This the high water mark as the French and British push through the gaps between the defended villages, there is very little left in front of the French as most of the German field batteries in this sector have been destroyed by counter-battery fire. Sadly, time had run out at this point.As night fell, the Allies were left having taken the entire German front line and comms line, penetrated the second line on a front of one and a half miles and had pushed two thrusts right the the reserve line up to the German gun positions. A glorious victory! The French in particular had excelled themselves, considerably exceeding their assigned objectives, although the Britsh had fallen short. The only problem was that although the French flank was secure, the British right was hanging in the air, and they were forced to withdraw from their salient in the centre, leaving the new front line running diagonally back to the southwest.
So, a pretty historical result, certainly in line with Bullecourt. The game seemed to work OK for this form the Allied point of view, but I need to have a further think about the German counterattacks as my plan for them to use heavy weapons for suppression etc just didn't work.
Tim Gow has published some nice photos of the game, which have come out rather better than mine:
http://megablitzandmore.blogspot.com/2010/03/1917-big-push.html
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Slipping already
Argh, I forgot to post last week, I see my New Years resolution is already going out of the window. I was away for work last week anyway so there wasn't much gaming happening.
I've finally finished 7th Armoured Brigade, and I was very pleased to find that the white gel ink pen I found in Rymans is the right diameter for writing unit tactical codes on vehicle markings. They are now safely stored in their box waiting for me to rebase 26th Panzer Div and then I've got a game in mind.....
I've been trying to track down a copy of 'Twilight of the Sun King' published by the Pike & Shot Society but sadly it is OOP. There is a free web based version but there are some significant differences. I contacted the Society and they are going to print more, so I'll just have to be patient.
Otherwise I've been wading through Chandlers 'Art of War in the Age of Marlborough' for some inspiration for my 2mm WSS project, and it has also rekindled interest in my long planned eighteenth century logistics game. Maybe one day.
On John Salts recommendation I recently purchased Steven Biddles 'Military Power' which applies economometric analysis to various modern conflicts to examine the influence of differences in troop deployment on combat effectiveness, a sort of modern Dupuy. It looks fascinating but I must be disciplined as I have to finish Chandler first, and then Patrick O'Briens 'The Wine Dark Sea' (which I started on the train).
Anyway, hopefully we'll be doing 2mm ACW tonight, so I'll get a chance to look at some 2mm strips for my shopping list, and we'll maybe do some prep for a WW1 game next week.
Finally, many thanks to those people who let me know that my blog had been corrupted. A bad widget, which I've removed and the problem has been fixed. Many apologies.
I've finally finished 7th Armoured Brigade, and I was very pleased to find that the white gel ink pen I found in Rymans is the right diameter for writing unit tactical codes on vehicle markings. They are now safely stored in their box waiting for me to rebase 26th Panzer Div and then I've got a game in mind.....
I've been trying to track down a copy of 'Twilight of the Sun King' published by the Pike & Shot Society but sadly it is OOP. There is a free web based version but there are some significant differences. I contacted the Society and they are going to print more, so I'll just have to be patient.
Otherwise I've been wading through Chandlers 'Art of War in the Age of Marlborough' for some inspiration for my 2mm WSS project, and it has also rekindled interest in my long planned eighteenth century logistics game. Maybe one day.
On John Salts recommendation I recently purchased Steven Biddles 'Military Power' which applies economometric analysis to various modern conflicts to examine the influence of differences in troop deployment on combat effectiveness, a sort of modern Dupuy. It looks fascinating but I must be disciplined as I have to finish Chandler first, and then Patrick O'Briens 'The Wine Dark Sea' (which I started on the train).
Anyway, hopefully we'll be doing 2mm ACW tonight, so I'll get a chance to look at some 2mm strips for my shopping list, and we'll maybe do some prep for a WW1 game next week.
Finally, many thanks to those people who let me know that my blog had been corrupted. A bad widget, which I've removed and the problem has been fixed. Many apologies.
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Raus, Raus
We played the first scenario of my '6th Panzer Division in Russia' mini campaign yesterday. This covered Kampfgruppe Raus and its rapid advance to the Dubsya River in Lithuania on 23rd June 1941. The Russians are essentially static targets in this one, so it seemed easier for me to play them (deployed hidden) while Tim Gow and Jon Armatys played the Germans. The only real tweaks to RKKA Commander I'd made was to simplify the morale rules (back to a D6) and to modify the requirement for pre-assault morale checks so that tank units only take a morale check if the enemy have effective anti-tank weapons. This makes a very big difference in early war scenarios as tank units can simply drive over units without anti-tank guns (and they are then also subject to the penalties for tank shock). For this scenario I used random morale for the Russians, so they could be anything from nervous to fanatical, which models their historical behaviour in this period.
The 'tank shock' and random morale rules worked very well, two battalions of Russians surrendered to overunning German tanks, however another battalion located in the town of Rasseinie rolled up fanatic morale and fought to the last man, inflicting heavy casualties on one of the German motorised infantry battalions. The Russian gunners fought to the last man, one battalion eventually being destroyed by counter battery fire, whilst the other was overrun by a panzer battalion from KG S coming up the main road, but not before knocking out some tanks firing over open sights. The Russians also sprang an effective ambush on the track coming in from the west, cunningly waiting until the leading elements had passed then bushwhacking some motorised infantry in their trucks. Unlike their real life counterparts, they failed to make their escape as the Germans vengence was rapid and overwhelming.
The Germans eventually crashed to victory, elements of KG R taking the bridges over the Dubsya as the sun was setting, in both cases manging to capture them intact. The first bridge failed to blow and an entire battalion of Pz 35(t)s forded the shallow river and smashed the covering engineer platoon before they had a chance to try again. At the second bridge a detached company of tanks managed to surprise the engineers who promptly surrendered as the panzers burst in amongst them. The commander of this latter company was awarded the Iron Cross First Class as they'd also single handedly overrun and forced to surrender a Russian infantry battalion.
I thought the game went pretty well and I was pleased with how the scenario turned out, so we'll probably have another trip to the east in a few weeks to se what happens next.
Otherwise I've been doing a bit of painting, finishing off some Cromwells I got last year. I had an unfortunate black wash disaster as my black ink had dried up so I made up a wash of water, black acrylic paint and washing up liquid. It all looked fine at first, but I obviously hadn' t mixed enough washing up liquid in as suddenly the 'wash' extended all over the vehicles and they dried black! Oh well, back to layers of drybrushing, which retrieved something from the disaster. Must buy some more black ink.
I've also developed a sudden enthusiasm for the WSS in 2mm, a period I've put off for decades due to the compelexity of all the different flags and what passed for 'uniforms' in that period. I suddenly realised that in 2mm I didn't have to worry, so I need to do some shopping lists for Irregular, maybe pick the up at Triples. Tim is bringing his 2mm stuff to the club in a couple of weeks so I can have a closer look at some of the different strips.
No gaming next week as I'm away, but hopefully 2mm ACW the week after.
The 'tank shock' and random morale rules worked very well, two battalions of Russians surrendered to overunning German tanks, however another battalion located in the town of Rasseinie rolled up fanatic morale and fought to the last man, inflicting heavy casualties on one of the German motorised infantry battalions. The Russian gunners fought to the last man, one battalion eventually being destroyed by counter battery fire, whilst the other was overrun by a panzer battalion from KG S coming up the main road, but not before knocking out some tanks firing over open sights. The Russians also sprang an effective ambush on the track coming in from the west, cunningly waiting until the leading elements had passed then bushwhacking some motorised infantry in their trucks. Unlike their real life counterparts, they failed to make their escape as the Germans vengence was rapid and overwhelming.
The Germans eventually crashed to victory, elements of KG R taking the bridges over the Dubsya as the sun was setting, in both cases manging to capture them intact. The first bridge failed to blow and an entire battalion of Pz 35(t)s forded the shallow river and smashed the covering engineer platoon before they had a chance to try again. At the second bridge a detached company of tanks managed to surprise the engineers who promptly surrendered as the panzers burst in amongst them. The commander of this latter company was awarded the Iron Cross First Class as they'd also single handedly overrun and forced to surrender a Russian infantry battalion.
I thought the game went pretty well and I was pleased with how the scenario turned out, so we'll probably have another trip to the east in a few weeks to se what happens next.
Otherwise I've been doing a bit of painting, finishing off some Cromwells I got last year. I had an unfortunate black wash disaster as my black ink had dried up so I made up a wash of water, black acrylic paint and washing up liquid. It all looked fine at first, but I obviously hadn' t mixed enough washing up liquid in as suddenly the 'wash' extended all over the vehicles and they dried black! Oh well, back to layers of drybrushing, which retrieved something from the disaster. Must buy some more black ink.
I've also developed a sudden enthusiasm for the WSS in 2mm, a period I've put off for decades due to the compelexity of all the different flags and what passed for 'uniforms' in that period. I suddenly realised that in 2mm I didn't have to worry, so I need to do some shopping lists for Irregular, maybe pick the up at Triples. Tim is bringing his 2mm stuff to the club in a couple of weeks so I can have a closer look at some of the different strips.
No gaming next week as I'm away, but hopefully 2mm ACW the week after.
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Finally got to play something
Despite the weathers best efforts (snow every day this week, but luckily it hasn't settled much) we managed to play the game we'd postponed last week. A quick outing to the Sudan using Bob Cordery's new nineteenth century rules. Fairly fast and furious with a 'bang you're dead' type style, I can see it working for the ACW or similar but some of it could do with a bit more work to make it specific to Colonial warfare as the combatants are so asymmetrical and the terrain rather less dense.
Otherwise we had a chat about the next impending WD Display Team (North) game, with its debut in a few weeks at Triples. We don't seem to have quite managed to do the map, or the toys or the rules yet, but it does at least exist in everyones heads! I expect we have a bit more work to do on that yet.
I've also been having a look at early Eastern Front WW2 scenarios, one of my particular interests about ten years ago, so I have tons of stuff for it in 6mm. I've come up with a linked scenario mini-campaign (similar to the Tarnpol 1944 mini-campaign I ran a couple of years ago), but in this case following the exploits of 6th Panzer Div on its summer tour of the Baltic States. Got the first scenario sorted, although I had to rebase and repaint a few toys for it. Hope to run that at the club in a couple of weeks.
Now I've finished my WW1 French, I've been slightly casting around for a painting project. I've got some undercoated WW2 20mm tanks I could do, but I suddenly feel strangely drawn to 2mm WSS. I might actually stand a chance of getting the uniforms right in 2mm, as I really can't be arsed to paint them in any bigger scales, one of the things which has put me off painting any figures for the period for the last 30 years. Anyway, I'll have a little think about that, if I'm still keen in a week or two I'll order some Irregular 2mm stuff for collection at Triples. To fill in the time I've discovered I got the DVD boxed set of the 1964 BBC 'Great War' TV series that I'd quite forgotten about. The soothing tones of Marcus Goring now fill the air in the evening. Great stuff.
No trip to the club planned next week (the main hall is in use), so not sure what I'll be writing about then. Probably will have decided to do 40mm Star Wars or something.
Otherwise we had a chat about the next impending WD Display Team (North) game, with its debut in a few weeks at Triples. We don't seem to have quite managed to do the map, or the toys or the rules yet, but it does at least exist in everyones heads! I expect we have a bit more work to do on that yet.
I've also been having a look at early Eastern Front WW2 scenarios, one of my particular interests about ten years ago, so I have tons of stuff for it in 6mm. I've come up with a linked scenario mini-campaign (similar to the Tarnpol 1944 mini-campaign I ran a couple of years ago), but in this case following the exploits of 6th Panzer Div on its summer tour of the Baltic States. Got the first scenario sorted, although I had to rebase and repaint a few toys for it. Hope to run that at the club in a couple of weeks.
Now I've finished my WW1 French, I've been slightly casting around for a painting project. I've got some undercoated WW2 20mm tanks I could do, but I suddenly feel strangely drawn to 2mm WSS. I might actually stand a chance of getting the uniforms right in 2mm, as I really can't be arsed to paint them in any bigger scales, one of the things which has put me off painting any figures for the period for the last 30 years. Anyway, I'll have a little think about that, if I'm still keen in a week or two I'll order some Irregular 2mm stuff for collection at Triples. To fill in the time I've discovered I got the DVD boxed set of the 1964 BBC 'Great War' TV series that I'd quite forgotten about. The soothing tones of Marcus Goring now fill the air in the evening. Great stuff.
No trip to the club planned next week (the main hall is in use), so not sure what I'll be writing about then. Probably will have decided to do 40mm Star Wars or something.
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