Wacht Am Rhein; Ardennes 1944

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DeletedUser

WACHT AM RHEIN



'twas the morn on 16 december, when all through the forest.
nothing was stirring, not even a mouse,
but at 5:30 am, that would be changed.


at 5:30 am the German artillery in the ardennes sector began an intense 90 minute barrage of the American lines, the bombardment wreaked havoc among the badly equipped 'green' divisions. the Americans' initial impression was that this was the expected, localized counter attack resulting from allied attacks on the Walherscheid sector in the south. they could not be more wrong, as soon as the bombardment ended the German panzers and infantry surged forward and crashed through the American lines. the allied front collapsed as the Germans pushed westwards.

RULES:

the usual stuff.
but also;
no hordes of king tiger tanks! they are allowed, but just try to keep it historically correct.
REMEMBER: your characters are expendable! if your section dies you can spawn a new one! you can play as infantry, armour, or even artillery crew, but it's best to start off with infantry.

players can choose to be either American or German.

AMERICAN PLAYERS:
will command a section of up to 10 men (yes, i know, back in the war American sections consisted of 12 men but i've reduced it to 10 men purely to make it fair. and besides, were there any full strength American sections in the ardennes?)
the American players will start off at the small village off Marnach near the original front line.
the American objective is to hold off the Germans and conduct a fighting retreat to Bastogne.

GERMAN PLAYERS:
will command a section of 10 men.
the German players will start off near the village of Marnach.
the German objective is to crush all resistance and push through to Bastogne.

here's the form:

SIDE:
UNIT:
NAME:
PERSONAL WEAPON: (American troops are equipped with American weaponry, but German troops can be equipped with captured British, Amercian or Russian weaponry along with their own.)
NAMES OF YOUR MEN:

here's a list of units that were in or around the Marnach village area:

AMERICAN UNITS:

28th infantry division
9th armoured division ( yes, i know, the 9th armoured division was stationed far south of murnach, but i'm including it to keep the balance.)

GERMAN UNITS:

20th volksgrenadier division (infantry)
5th airborne division
2nd armoured division
Panzer lehr armoured division

and that's pretty much it!
my character profile will be up soon,
we'll start once we have enough players.

if anyone has any questions just mail me.
 

DeletedUser

SIDE: German
UNIT: 20th volksgrenadier division (infrantry)
NAME: Rommel Steindh
PERSONAL WEAPON: Walther PP, PK & Gewehr 43 scoped.
NAMES OF MY MEN: Names will be added in story.

"Okay men, we will take up this position" barked Rommel. "If you have a problem, tell me now!" No response returned from Rommels men, so Rommel returned to the houses rooftop, ready to fire his Gewehr at the Americans. "Where the hells the reinforcements I called for 2 hours ago!" Rommel growled as the Americans defended ferociously. With bullets firing everywhere for the next five minutes, Rommel felt like deserting, but stopped himself when he saw his friend Charles Friedéz be cut down by an American machine gunner. Rommel yelled "AMERICAN PIGS!" as he fired at the soldiers. How many had he killed. 5?6?10?20?Even 50? It's extremely hard to remember when every single time you kill somebody someone takes their place.
 
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DeletedUser

SIDE:United States of America
UNIT:28th Infantry Organic Artillery Battery
NAME:John Laufner
PERSONAL WEAPON: M 1911 with an extended stock (Does excellent service shooting rabbits in the "quiet" Ardennes).
NAMES OF YOUR MEN:Will be released when this story gets off the ground...

The Ardennes forest in winter, it sort of reminded John of Minnesota... Almost. He contentedely blasted away at a couple of rabbits. They were probably Hares, but he could care less. The sector they were stationed in was incredibly low key, and no one ever bothered to inspect any sounds of gunfire anymore. Then, John heard it. The thump of heavy guns, and then he watched as a artillery barrage started to devour the forest in front of him. He ran to the battery yelling for the men to take cover, which was already being done. High explosive rounds were exploding everywhere and it was all that the artillerymen could get into their dugouts before the shells started bouncing around their position. The radioman meanwhile was being inundated by calls for help for which nothing could be done. Then as the barrage started to lighten the men started hearing calls for fire support as enemy armour and infantry bored down on the units scattered throughout the area. Finally John gave an order to man the guns and as the men came out they heard the uncomfortably close chatter of automatic fire. To make it even worse all of their heavier guns had been destroyed and all they had were two packed up 75mm M16 Howitzers meant to be delivered to some mountain soldiers. However now was not the time to hold back and both guns were rapidly readied, the coordinates to bombard were getting ever closer, John realized in a matter of time they might have to engage in L.O.S fire...
 

DeletedUser

"Men, move out!" Rommel barked as the growl of battle soon descended. Rommel and his men trooped out of the building, and suddenly with a battle cry, dozens of German infantry poured out of the buildings. This is how it used to be, hopefully we aren't foolish enough to think the Americans were stupid enough to run away Rommel thought as he briskly walked over to his superior. Rommel saluted and waited until his superior talked to him. Rommel noticed smoke ahead, and he frowned as he tried to see what it is. "What is that!" Rommel questioned a soldier who was running towards Rommel, away from the smoke. "ARTILLERY FIRE! AND A WHOLE LOT OF IT! RUN!" yelled the soldier as he sprinted away. "Get to cover!" barked Rommel as he brought his superior into a partially safe building. "Damn these Americans!" growled Rommel as the artillery fire started to strike the area.
 

DeletedUser

"Sir they're starting to flag!" Cried out the radioman. "Well, lets push'em back to where they came then. I don't want a single bloody Kraut blasting away on his gun within two miles of here!" "Sir, I'm getting reports that they're trying to dig in around a brick dwelling. Its in-" "I know where it is, I knew that place should have been burned to the ground. I want all their possible defensible positions destroyed!" John turned towards the relay runner and ordered him to deliver the coordinates of the house to the artillery. "John turned to one of the other officers, Jack was his name. "Those 75mm are going to have to hammer them pretty hard to knock that place over." "I suppose, but I think we should be able to flatten it. What's the plan if the troopers in front of us do break?" "See those three jeeps, and that truck? If they break we'll try to break them with HE rounds at close range. If the first two volleys don't work the other men who aren't manning the guns are going to hitch the artillery to those jeeps. Those guns are so light it'll be easy to get everyone in and get out." "What about the troopers?" "We'll take the guys who've been kind enough to dig in and picket infront of our position. But if we see a mob, screw'em. My job is to keep my boys alive and I could care less what happens to them. "If we see tanks?" "We'll floor it and get out of this hole before those pretty little Tigers try to run us over." "Do you think we'll be able to push them back though, in all reality?" "Well, it certainly sounds like Hell has broken loose over this entire sector. I don't really think this is a local assault, I think that Adolf and his Krauts are going to really hammer us. If it weren't for the fact I'd get court-martialled I'd be out of here already." "Do you think they'll trying hitting our sides?" "Already covered, I manage to persuade a patrol to pull back and the men in the spotter post are looking in all directions. If anything queer occurs we and our escorts are going to try to break through whatever attack'in our rear and we get out." "Well sir, maybe we'll hold.." "Don't count on it soldier." John walked over to the artillery to inspect the situation.

"'Ay! Fritz, how's our ammunition supply going?" John yelled to the fellow responsible for distributing rounds over the din of the artillery. "I would'enta known. See'in as how that barrage got our supplys all screwed up. But I 'tink I found da bulk of our shells. I'd say we've gone through a third of our rounds already, and I don't think we can sustain fire for too long at this rate. See'in as how them bums down in supply sent us da guns and only gave us a few shells for'em. Heck I gotta admit that most of'em were in crates and the barrage blew'em sky high." "Well, tell me when we get to a third of our rounds." "Why, whadda we gonna do?" "Wait Fritz, wait and see." John watched as the barrage started to flatten the house's sector. Blast you dirty rotten Krauts! He thought to himself. You've just about wrecked my vacation!
 

DeletedUser

SIDE: Americans
UNIT: 28th infantry division
NAME: sergeant james miller
PERSONAL WEAPON: M1928A1 Thompson SMG, colt pistol, combat knife.
NAMES OF YOUR MEN: john lester (Thompson, knife.) liam o'connor (same) tom rien (medic, blown to smithereens) will capra (M1 carbine, knife) frank cooper (same) jack willhelm (dead) hadrian johnson (same) rick heston (BAR) george hanks (dead)

(i will create a german section if it is needed)
----------------------------------------------------
james miller huddled in his foxhole as the german bombardment blew earth everywhere, this was hell, first the bitter cold, now artillery. the bombardment stopped. james carefully raised his head, it had stopped, but he could now hear the unmistakable sound of tank tracks and orders being shouted out, there was gunfire as well. he could see movement in the trees.
"krauts incoming! prepare to fire!" he yelled. his squad stirred in their foxholes and lifted their weapons to shoulder height, and then the jerries opened fire, machine-gun fire flew everywhere, james opened fire with his thompson, he could hear heston doing the same with his BAR. it was no good, there was too many germans.
"FALL BACK! FALL BACK! heston, capra, lester, provide covering fire!" he shouted at the top of his voice.
willhelm got up out of his foxhole and collapsed immedietly. hanks got up as well and was shot, rien tried to get to him but was blown to pieces by a mortar round. it was no good, the squad was pinned down, james grabbed the radio set and started talking into it,
"this is sergeant muller, me and my squad are pinned down, already lost three men, require urgent assistance, i repeat, we require urgent assistance!" there was no reply. "DAMMIT!" he yelled and threw the radio out of the foxhole.


CASUALTY REPORT:
george hanks (shot)
tom rien (blown to smithereens)
jack willhelm (shot)
 
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DeletedUser28032

SIDE: Germany
UNIT: 13th Fallschirmjäger (Airbourne)
NAME: Oberleutnant Sven Rheinhardt
PERSONAL WEAPON: MP40, Walther PP, Hand Grenades
NAMES OF YOUR MEN: Names to be added as story progresses

-----------------------------------------------

Sven stared out across the snow covered woodland before him, it reminded him of his home in Denmark though that seemed very far away now. The lorry lurched and bounced uncomfortably along the dirt road, behind him two more Opelblitz lorries carrying the rest of the company followed at a safe distance, he missed the comfort afforded by a plane but alas this regiment would jump no more and so he would have to stay in the truck.

Ahead of him the rumbling of heavy artillery and the chattering of small arms could be heard and was getting louder with every passing second. "Hanz, have the men check their weapons we'll be town soon enough" the sergeant barked out the order though only the "Green" soldiers needed telling the veterans that had jumped with him on Crete knew their business well.
The lorry stopped, they were on the outskirts of town "Ok everybody out this isn't a picnic you know!" somewhere in town 20th Volksgrenadier was getting a pasting and so a company of veteran soldiers had to be diverted as reinforcements.
Stepping out of the truck Sven surveyed his troops, dressed in oak leaf camoflage they looked the part at least "Ok men lets show these footsloggers how its done, Advance!"
 

DeletedUser

"Sir, it appears they're resurging." ", where are they Joseph?" "Well, according to the assorted radio reports I'm getting some trucks were seen approaching the area which were then-" "How many trucks?" "Um, 3, 4, maybe 5. Y'really can't tell from the reports." "Great, where were they?" "Not sure sir" "Blast it! Well, what's the status of the other parts of the line at least?" "So far it seems that a couple other batteries managed to get off with a lighter bombardment than ours and there 90mm are holding them. However there are places where it seems we're being hammered hard." "Well, I hope they can hold. Thankyou for the report Joseph." "Yah." John walked away and scanned the land in front of them. Nothing but artillery shells going off, trees, and tracers, oh and men dead and alive.
Fritz approached him. "Sir the we've consumed half our shells, and well. I don't think we have a hope of killing a Tiger." "Why? And why be concerned about armor, that's when we run." "Well just saying, the men got overzealous and ate up all our HEAT-T rounds. We don't got anything to punch holes into stuff with. We just blow things up." "Well, that's our job ain't it. Now go back to your post!" John fretted as Fritz walked off, shoot, he thought to himself, if those Tigers show up well, we'll be screwed until we get outta this town...
 

DeletedUser

james huddled in his foxhole, he needed to get his men out of here, get to the nearest town, find out what was going on. and then came the break he needed; there was a lull in the firing. james looked up.
"MOVE! MOVE! GET INTO THE TREES!" he shouted, he scrambled up and ran towards the treeline, he could hear his men behind him. james only stopped running when he reached a small ditch, he stopped and crouched down. turning round, he saw his men come up behind him.
"what do we do now sarge?" asked heston.
"we keep moving until we find a friendly unit, understood?" he panted. slowly his men nodded.
satisfied, james stood up and started walking, it seemed like hours before they reached the end of the forest. he could see a small town with an american artillery battery stationed in it. james was releived. he started to run again, he reached the edge of the town, no-one paid any attention to either him or his men. slowing down, james approached an artilleryman.
"hey! you! take me to your commanding officer." he said.
the man nodded and began to walk towards a sandbagged command post. inside was several men clustered round a map table.
james gestured at his men to wait outside.
"which one of you is the commanding officer?" he asked.
 

DeletedUser28032

His platoon slowly picked its way through the rubble, although the sounds of battle were everywhere he'd yet to see a single soldier, friend or foe.
Up ahead a shell exploded , dirt and masonry flew through the air, a warning was shouted by Hanz "Yankee's up ahead sir!" the American infantry squad hadn't been expecting them Sven opened up with his MP hitting one. He didn't wait to see what effect he'd had but instead ran for cover in a nearby doorway. The Americans opened fire, one of Sven's "Green" troops was cut in half by a BAR, "Get in cover you fool's!" Sven screamed at the rest of his platoon, too many good men had been lost since Crete now all he had was stupid boys who got themselves killed.
"Lukas, Heinrich position the FG42 on their flank the rest of you covering fire!" scanning the rubble strewn street he quickly found his radioman taking cover behind an old car "You soldier get over here i need you to patch me in to the 20th and let them know we've arrived" Sven hated not knowing the new boys name but there would be time for that later, grabbing the mouth piece from its cradle Sven set about calling the 20th Volksgrenadier
 

DeletedUser

John stepped forward as James inquired who the commanding officer was. "Whaddaya want? I got 40 men to keep alive here in my unit and yet for some blasted reason I'm in command of this whole blasted sector! Which constitutes something like 500 men, and people like you, bedraggled and covered in blood keep on filtering in. Meanwhile I got the entire German army breathing down my neck and any minute now I'm expecting one of our overrun 90mm batteries at the edge of this sector to start firing. I'm debating holding on or fleeing and getting court-martialled. So unless you got some sort of plan like Patton, get your rear outta here and make sure that our path to retreat is open!" John was getting quite irritated at the spiraling insanity of the situation.
 

DeletedUser

James banged his fist on the map table.
"so you wanna kick us out do ya? well then, firstly, i got six men out there and i don't even know where the hell we are! secondly, those jerries are gonna come out of those woods any minute now with everything they got, and the only defence you got is a couple of obsolete field guns, you ain't gonna stand a godamn chance! and if i were you, i'd quite happily accept a bunch of armed veterans standing on your doorstep!" he shouted. "but it don't look like you want us, so i might as well leave." james turned around and started to walk away
 

DeletedUser

"I'd like to inform you that almost all of us are veterans! I know that most of us here were in the first SPGs to hit Normandy, and we had to use our machineguns more than you might expect!" Then John paused as James started to exit. "Wait, wait my temper's getting the better of me. We need men like you and should at least inform you there is two 90mm batteries located elsewhere. But the fact is I just have my little pop guns and to me it seems the entire German army is coming down on my head. You can stay, but seeing as how I have no air support I can't guarantee how long we'll last. We're holding our own..."
 

DeletedUser

james turned around. "good to see that you've seen reason." he paused. "where do you want us to dig in?" he asked, but before any reply could come the command post was rocked by several explosions.
"what the?" james ran outside and looked, there was a bunch of german panther tanks supported by about 100 infantry rapidly advancing towards the battery. several of the guns had already been destroyed, but some were attempting to knock out the panthers; and failing.
lester ran over to james. "sir! what do we do? we don't stand a chance! we haven't got any AT weapons!" he yellled.
"we dig in and return fire. it's all we can do!" james shouted back.
james and lester ran over to the rest of the squad, who were sheltering in a small ditch.
the squad was returning fire, but things looked bleak, there was just too many germans and too few americans.
james heard a thump next to him, he looked round to find the source of the noise, johnson's body was lying on the snow, blood pouring from a large hole where his left eye should have been.

james miller (Thompson, pistol, knife.)
john lester (Thompson, knife.)
liam o'connor (same)
tom rien (medic, blown to smithereens)
will capra (M1 carbine, knife)
frank cooper (same)
jack willhelm (dead)
hadrian johnson (dead)
rick heston (BAR)
george hanks (dead)
 

DeletedUser

"Stop! You idiot, if you dig in here you'll die!" John yelled towards James as the first volleys of gunfire started to rake the position killing a few men. The radioman had been prepared for this and as he dumped as much radio equipment as possible into the Jeep he informed John, "The other batteries are almost completely destroyed." This was obvious, nonetheless, "However the ramaining gun crews have decided to stand their ground." A positive note as a Panther exploded after getting hit in the turret by a 90mm round. Fritz ran over and indicated two of the jeeps hitching up to the guns. "Our last volleys didn't do nuth'in! The men are getting in the truck and Jeeps we'll bug out as soon as you give the order. John paused and watched a thin line of infantrymen return fire, and watched as a 90mm took another Panther to the scrap heap. "We're not running. We'll pull back to the rear of town and attempt to coordinate a defense." "Where?" John called the radioman and hurridely brought out a map. "Where is there a spotting post and HQ still intact?" "Here in secctor A-7. Its fairly safe so-" The man collapsed as a bullet exploded in his chest. John wiped the blood off. And gave the signal to move out. A Panther round and more machinegun fire destroyed two jeeps and the men preparing to escape in them. John bit his lip and jumped into a nearby Jeep. Which was rushing towards sector A-7 for a final stand.

As the artillerymen withdrew the German units started to infiltrate the old position...
 

DeletedUser

the German infantry were storming the battery, all the guns were out of action.
"fall back!" james shouted.
he climbed out of the trench and ran towards the nearest unoccupied jeep. his squad followed him. james heard a scream from behind.
"cooper's down!" lester shouted.
"keep moving!" james said as he reached the jeep. he climbed into the passenger seat.
"capra, you drive, heston, lester, o'connor, get in the back and shoot anything that's wearing a german uniform!" he ordered. the squad took up their positions.
capra fired up the engine and floored the accelerator.
"follow that jeep in front!" james ordered.
behind him he could hear the germans finishing off any artillerymen that hadn't escaped.

CASUALTY REPORT

james miller (Thompson, pistol, knife.)
john lester (Thompson, knife.)
liam o'connor (same)
tom rien (medic, blown to smithereens)
will capra (M1 carbine, knife)
frank cooper (dead)
jack willhelm (dead)
hadrian johnson (dead)
rick heston (BAR)
george hanks (dead)
 

DeletedUser28032

The Americans were starting to fall back deeper into the town and reports from 3rd platoon said that the Americans holding the woods were also falling back towards their positions in town. Sven wasn't a military genius but even he quickly realised that the Americans would be trapped within the confines of the town.
Chips of plaster flew past his eyes, that damn BAR was shooting at him again! diving back in the doorwaySven shouted above the din of small arms fire "Fritz, slot that damn BAR man will you, he's giving me a head ache!"
Fritz aligned the telescopic sight of his KAR98 rifle at the unfortunate soldier manning the BAR, he was the company sniper and had won many awards in peace time for his marksmanship which was now being employed to good effect. The rifle fired, and the American fell dead, a clean hole appearing between his eyes, with the BAR silenced Sven led his men on down the street after the retreating Americans.
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1st Platoon, 13th Fallschirmjäger
1) Oberleutnant Sven Rheinhardt (MP40, Walther PP, Hand Grenades)
2) Sgt Hanz Mueller (MP40)
3) Sgt Fritz Zimmerman (Scoped KAR98)
4) Pvt Lukas Scheider (FG42)
5) Pvt Heinrich Schenker (G41 Rifle, FG42 Ammunition)
6) "Green" Soldier (KIA)
7) Radio Operator (G41 Rifle, Radio)
8) German Private (G41 Rifle)
9) German Private (G41 Rifle)
10 German Private (G41 Rifle)
(OOC: I will name the others as and when)
 

DeletedUser

the jeep kept going through the town, heston was firing his BAR from the back, james turned round to say 'cease fire' but before he got the chance heston was shot in the head, his limp body tumbled off the jeep.
"SNIPER! keep your heads down!" james shouted.
"we're in a goddamn jeep! how the hell are we supposed to keep our heads down?" yelled capra.
"I DON'T CARE! just KEEP YOUR FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR!" james screamed.
capra turned his head away and concentrated on the road, they kept going for another few minutes before a new burst of german gunfire started up. the bullets thudded into the snow, but then some jerry got a lucky shot and hit one of the tyres, the hit tyre 'soldiered on' for another 30 seconds before it fell off the jeep.
"move, move! out of the jeep! get into the buildings!" james shouted. he leapt off the jeep and ran into a nearby house.

CASUALTY REPORT

james miller (Thompson, pistol, knife.)
john lester (Thompson, knife.)
liam o'connor (same)
tom rien (medic, blown to smithereens)
will capra (M1 carbine, knife)
frank cooper (dead)
jack willhelm (dead)
hadrian johnson (dead)
rick heston (BAR,dead)
george hanks (dead)
 

DeletedUser28032

"Lukas, Heinrich set up behind that jeep, Fritz take Kurt with you into that shop on the corner" Sven barked out his orders as he surveyed the area around the small house that the americans had chosen for refuge.
The house stood by itself in the middle of the street, the Luftwaffe and later the RAF having bombed the surrounding buildings to the ground. The Jeep stood directly opposite from the front door and a block down a large green grocers offered a good vantage point for a sniper. Crouched behind a low wall Sven, watching the windows for any sign of life "Hanz take Johan and Michael down that alley, see if you can't get behind them"
"Yes Mein Herr" Hanz was one of Sven's veterans and he had jumped with him on numerous occassions, he was a capable soldier and he was proud to call him his sergeant.
The street was quiet, the Americans had yet to show themselves, at least they have experienced soldiers Sven thought to himself. Glancing to his right he saw his radio man crouched beside him, he was young one of Sven new recruits he was visibly nervous "Whats your name son?" Sven asked in what he hoped was a fatherly tone "Dubreton, Wilhelm Dubreton sir" Dubreton? he considered the name for a few moments it didn't sound German then again Sven himself wasn't German so what did he know "Where abouts are you from"
"I was born in Alsace, my father was French and my mother is German hence the strange name" the recruit smiled glad to take his mind off the war if only for a little while

--------------
1st Platoon, 13th Fallschirmjäger
1) Oberleutnant Sven Rheinhardt (MP40, Walther PP, Hand Grenades)
2) Sgt Hanz Mueller (MP40)
3) Sgt Fritz Zimmerman (Scoped KAR98)
4) Pvt Lukas Scheider (FG42)
5) Pvt Heinrich Schenker (G41 Rifle, FG42 Ammunition)
6) "Green" Soldier (KIA)
7) Pvt Wilhelm Dubreton (G41 Rifle, Radio)
8) Pvt Kurt Lukather (G41 Rifle)
9) Pvt Johan Fiegler (G41 Rifle)
10 Pvt Michael Kessel (G41 Rifle)
 

DeletedUser

james lay crouched behind an overturned table, the remainder of his squad were in similar positions, all he could hear was his own breathing, these jerries were experienced, very experienced.
as james watched, he saw a slight movement outside behind the crashed jeep,
james let off a few rounds at the dim shape that had moved, he heard a familliar thud and saw a small pool of blood begin to form on the snow.
"lester, o'connor, go into the back room and take up positions in there, they might try to flank us." he whispered nervously. lester and o'connor began to carefully crawl their way towards the door leading to the back room, lester reached the door first and pushed it open, several rounds thudded into the door, inches away from lesters right hand,
not waiting for orders, o'connor crawled into the back room whilst lester fired off several rounds in the vague direction of the muzzle flash, then followed o'connor.

CASUALTY REPORT

james miller (Thompson, pistol, knife.)
john lester (Thompson, knife.)
liam o'connor (same)
tom rien (medic, blown to smithereens)
will capra (M1 carbine, knife)
frank cooper (dead)
jack willhelm (dead)
hadrian johnson (dead)
rick heston (BAR,dead)
george hanks (dead)
 
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