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Battle of Austerlitz

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Pre 1900 Military

   Battle of Austerlitz
   Part of the War of the Third Coalition
   Napoléon at the Battle of Austerlitz, by François Pascal Simon, Baron
   Gérard.

     Date   December 2, 1805
   Location Austerlitz, Czech Republic
    Result  Decisive French victory
            effective end of Third Coalition
   Combatants
   First French Empire Russian Empire
   Austrian Empire
   Commanders
   Napoleon I Alexander I
   Strength
   67,000 73,000
   Casualties
   1,305 dead
   6,940 wounded
   573 captured
   about 9,000 total
   1 standard lost 15,000 dead or wounded
   12,000 captured
   about 27,000 total
   180 guns and 50 standards lost
                            War of the Third Coalition
   Cape Finisterre – Wertingen – Haslach-Jungingen – Elchingen – Ulm –
   Trafalgar – Caldiero – Amstetten – Cape Ortegal – Dürenstein –
   Schöngrabern – Austerlitz

   The Battle of Austerlitz (also known as the Battle of the Three
   Emperors) was a major engagement in the Napoleonic Wars during the War
   of the Third Coalition. It was fought on December 2, 1805 about four
   miles (6.4  km) east of the modern Czech town of Brno, then part of the
   Austrian Empire. The conflict involved forces of the recently formed
   First French Empire against the armies of the Russian Empire and the
   Austrian Empire. After nearly nine hours of fighting, the French
   troops, commanded by Emperor Napoleon I, managed to score a decisive
   victory over the Russo-Austrian army, commanded by Czar Alexander I.
   Despite difficult fighting in many sectors, the battle is often
   regarded as a tactical masterpiece.

   Austerlitz effectively brought the Third Coalition to an end. On
   December 26, 1805, Austria and France signed the Treaty of Pressburg,
   which took the former out of the war, reinforced the earlier treaties
   of Campo Formio and Lunéville, made Austria cede land to Napoleon's
   German allies, and imposed an indemnity of 40 million francs on the
   defeated Habsburgs. Russian troops were allowed to head back to home
   soil. Victory at Austerlitz also permitted the creation of the
   Confederation of the Rhine, a collection of German states intended as a
   buffer zone between France and the rest of Europe. In 1806, the Holy
   Roman Empire ceased to exist when Holy Roman Emperor Francis II kept
   Francis I of Austria as his only official title. These achievements,
   however, did not establish a lasting peace on the continent. After
   Austerlitz, Prussian worries about growing French influence in Central
   Europe sparked the War of the Fourth Coalition in 1806.

Prelude

   Before Austerlitz, Europe had been embroiled in the French
   Revolutionary Wars since 1792. After five years of war, the French
   Republic subdued the First Coalition in 1797. A Second Coalition was
   formed in 1798, but this too was defeated by 1801. Britain remained the
   only opponent for the new French Consulate.

From Amiens to the Third Coalition

   In March 1802, France and Britain agreed to end hostilities under the
   Treaty of Amiens. For the first time in ten years, all of Europe was at
   peace. However, there were many problems between the two sides, and
   implementing the agreements they had reached at Amiens seemed to be a
   growing challenge. Britain resented having to turn over all colonial
   conquests since 1793 and France was angry that British troops had not
   evacuated the island of Malta. The tense situation only worsened when
   Napoleon sent an expeditionary force to crush the Haitian Revolution.
   In May 1803, Britain declared war on France.

   In December 1804, an Anglo-Swedish agreement led to the creation of the
   Third Coalition. British Prime Minister William Pitt spent 1804 and
   1805 in a flurry of diplomatic activity geared towards forming a new
   coalition against France. Mutual suspicion between the British and the
   Russians eased in the face of several French political mistakes, and by
   April of 1805 the two had signed a treaty of alliance. Having been
   defeated twice in recent memory by France and keen on revenge, Austria
   also joined the coalition a few months later.

The camps of Boulogne and La Grande Armée

   Prior to the formation of the Third Coalition, Napoleon had assembled
   the "Army of England", an invasion force meant to strike at the British
   Isles, around six camps at Boulogne in Northern France. Although they
   never set foot on British soil, Napoleon's troops received careful and
   invaluable training for any possible military operation. Boredom among
   the troops occasionally set in, but Napoleon paid many visits and
   conducted lavish parades in order to boost morale.

   The men at Boulogne formed the core for what Napoleon would later call
   "La Grande Armée" (English: The Great Army). At the start, this French
   army had about 200,000 men organized into seven corps, which were large
   field units containing about 36 to 40 cannon each and capable of
   independent action until other corps could arrive to the rescue. On top
   of these forces, Napoleon created a cavalry reserve of 22,000 organized
   into two cuirassier divisions, four mounted dragoon divisions, and two
   divisions of dismounted dragoons and light cavalry, all supported by 24
   artillery pieces. By 1805, La Grande Armée had grown to a force of
   350,000, was well equipped, well trained, and possessed a competent
   officer class.

Russian and Austrian armies

   The Russian army in 1805 had many characteristics of ancien régime
   organization: there was no permanent formation above the regimental
   level, senior officers were largely recruited from aristocratic
   circles, and the Russian soldier, in line with 18th century practice,
   was regularly beaten and punished to instill discipline. Furthermore,
   many lower-level officers were poorly trained and had difficulty
   getting their men to perform the necessary, and sometimes complex,
   maneuvers required in a battle. Nevertheless, the Russians did have a
   fine artillery arm manned by brave soldiers who regularly fought hard
   to prevent their pieces from falling into enemy hands.

   Archduke Charles, brother of the Austrian Emperor, had started to
   reform the Austrian army in 1801 by taking away power from the
   Hofkriegsrat, the military-political council responsible for
   decision-making in the Austrian armed forces. Charles was Austria's
   best field commander, but he was unpopular with the royal court and
   lost much influence when, against his advice, Austria decided to go to
   war with France. Karl Mack became the new main commander in Austria's
   army, instituting reforms on the infantry on the eve of war that called
   for a regiment to be composed of four battalions of four companies
   rather than the older three battalions of six companies. The sudden
   change came with no corresponding officer training, and as a result
   these new units were not led as well as they could have been. Austrian
   cavalry forces were regarded as the best in Europe, but the detachment
   of many cavalry units to various infantry formations precluded the
   hitting power of their massed French counterparts.

Preliminary moves

   Napoleon takes the surrender of the unfortunate General Mack and the
   Austrian army at Ulm. Painting by Charles Thevenin.
   Enlarge
   Napoleon takes the surrender of the unfortunate General Mack and the
   Austrian army at Ulm. Painting by Charles Thevenin.

   In August 1805, Napoleon, Emperor of the French since May of the
   previous year, turned his army's sights from the English Channel to the
   Rhine in order to deal with the new Austrian and Russian threats. On
   September 25, after great secrecy and feverish marching, 200,000 French
   troops began to cross the Rhine on a front of 160 miles (260 km). Mack
   had gathered the greater part of the Austrian army at the fortress of
   Ulm in Bavaria. Napoleon hoped to swing his forces northward and
   perform a wheeling movement that would find the French at the Austrian
   rear. The Ulm Maneuver was well-executed and on October 20 Mack and
   23,000 Austrian troops surrendered at Ulm, bringing the total number of
   Austrian prisoners in the campaign to 60,000. Although the spectacular
   victory was soured by the defeat of the Franco-Spanish fleet at the
   Battle of Trafalgar the following day, French success on land continued
   as Vienna fell in November, replete with 100,000 muskets, 500 cannon,
   and the intact bridges across the Danube.

   Meanwhile, the late arrival of Russian troops under Kutuzov prevented
   them from saving the Austrian field armies, so the Russians withdrew to
   the northeast to await reinforcements and to link up with surviving
   Austrian units. The French followed but soon found themselves in an
   unenviable strategic position: Prussian intentions were unknown and
   could be hostile, the Russian and Austrian armies now converged
   together, and to add to the frustration, Napoleon's lines of
   communication were extremely long and required strong garrisons to keep
   them open. Napoleon realized that the only meaningful way to capitalize
   on the success at Ulm was to force the Allies to battle and defeat
   them. Fortunately for him, the Russian Tsar was eager to fight.

The battle

   Napoleon with his troops on the eve of battle. Painting by Lejeune.
   Enlarge
   Napoleon with his troops on the eve of battle. Painting by Lejeune.

   Napoleon could muster some 75,000 men and 157 guns for the impending
   battle, but about 7,000 troops under Davout were still far to the south
   in the direction of Vienna. The Allies had about 73,000 soldiers,
   seventy percent of them Russian, and 318 guns. On December 1, both
   sides occupied the main positions.

The battlefield

   The northern part of the battlefield was dominated by the 700- foot
   (210- meter) Santon hill and the 850-foot (260-meter) Zuran hill, both
   overlooking the vital Olmutz-Brno road that ran across a west-east
   axis. To the west of these two hills was the village of Bellowitz, and
   between them the Bosenitz Stream went south to link up with the
   Goldbach Stream, the latter flowing astride the villages of Kobelnitz,
   Sokolnitz, and Telnitz. The centerpiece of the entire area were the
   Pratzen Heights, a gently sloped hill about 35 to 40 feet (11-12 m) in
   height. An aide noted that the Emperor repeatedly told his Marshals,
   "Gentlemen, examine this ground carefully, it is going to be a
   battlefield; you will have a part to play upon it".

Allied plans and dispositions

   Allied (red) and French (blue) deployments at 1800 hours on December 1,
   1805. Courtesy of the Department of History, United States Military
   Academy.
   Enlarge
   Allied (red) and French (blue) deployments at 1800 hours on December 1,
   1805. Courtesy of the Department of History, United States Military
   Academy.

   An Allied council met on December 1 to discuss proposals for the
   battle. Most of the Allied strategists had two fundamental ideas in
   mind: making contact with the enemy and securing the southern flank
   that led to Vienna. Although the Czar and his immediate entourage
   pushed hard for a battle, Emperor Francis of Austria was in a more
   cautious mood, and he was seconded by Kutuzov, the main Russian
   commander. The pressure to fight from the Russian nobles and the
   Austrian commanders, however, was too strong, and the Allies adopted
   Austrian Chief of Staff Weyrother's plan. This called for a main drive
   against the French right flank, which the Allies noticed was lightly
   guarded, and diversionary attacks against the French left. The Allies
   deployed most of their troops into four columns that would attack the
   French right. The Russian Imperial Guard was held in reserve while
   Russian troops under Bagration guarded the Allied right.

French plans and dispositions

   Days before any actual fighting, Napoleon had given an impression to
   the Allies that his army was in a weak state and that he desired peace.
   In reality, he was hoping that they would attack, and to encourage them
   on this mission he deliberately weakened his right flank. On November
   28, Napoleon met with his marshals at Imperial Headquarters and they
   informed him of their qualms and fears about the upcoming battle, even
   suggesting a retreat, but he shrugged off their complaints and went to
   work. Napoleon's plan envisioned that the Allies would throw so many
   troops to envelop his right flank that their centre would be severely
   weakened. He then counted on a massive French thrust, to be conducted
   by 16,000 troops of Soult's IV Corps, through the centre to cripple the
   Allied army. Meanwhile, to support his weak right flank, Napoleon
   ordered Davout's III Corps to force march all the way from Vienna and
   join General Legrand's men, who held the extreme southern flank that
   would bear the heavy part of the Allied attack. Davout's soldiers had
   48 hours to march 70 miles (110 km). Their arrival would be extremely
   crucial in determining the success or failure of the French plan. The
   Imperial Guard and Bernadotte's I Corps were held in reserve while the
   V Corps under Lannes guarded the northern sector of the battle.

Battle is joined

   The battle began around 8 AM with the first allied column attacking the
   village of Telnitz, which was defended by the 3rd Line Regiment. This
   sector of the battlefield witnessed heavy action in the following
   moments as several ferocious Allied charges evicted the French from the
   town and forced them on the other side of the Goldbach. The first men
   of Davout’s corps arrived at this time and threw the Allies out of
   Telnitz before they too were attacked by hussars and re-abandoned the
   town. Additional Allied attacks out of Telnitz were checked by French
   artillery.

   Allied columns started pouring against the French right, but not at the
   desired speed, so the French were mostly successful in curbing the
   attacks. In actuality, the Allied deployments were mistaken and poorly
   timed: cavalry detachments under Liechtenstein on the Allied left flank
   had to be placed in the right flank and in the process they ran into
   and slowed down part of the second column of infantry that was
   advancing towards the French right. At the time, the planners thought
   this was a disaster, but later on it helped the Allies. Meanwhile, the
   lead elements of the second column were attacking the village of
   Sokolnitz, which was defended by the 26th Light Regiment and the
   Tirailleurs, French skirmishers. Initial Allied assaults proved
   unsuccessful and General Langeron ordered the bombardment of the
   village. This deadly barrage forced the French out, and around the same
   time, the third column attacked the castle of Sokolnitz. The French,
   however, counterattacked and regained the village, only to be thrown
   out again, the conflict in this area momentarily ending when Friant's
   division (part of III Corps) retook the village. Sokolnitz was perhaps
   the most fought over area in the battlefield and would change hands
   several times as the day progressed.

"One sharp blow and the war is over"

   The decisive attacks on the Allied center by St. Hilaire and Vandamme
   split the Allied army in two and left the French in a golden strategic
   position to win the battle. Courtesy of the Department of History,
   United States Military Academy.
   Enlarge
   The decisive attacks on the Allied centre by St. Hilaire and Vandamme
   split the Allied army in two and left the French in a golden strategic
   position to win the battle. Courtesy of the Department of History,
   United States Military Academy.

   Around 8:45 AM, finally satisfied at the weakness in the enemy centre,
   Napoleon asked Soult how long it would take for his men to reach the
   Pratzen Heights, to which the Marshal replied, “Less than twenty
   minutes sire.” About 15 minutes later, Napoleon ordered the attack,
   adding, “One sharp blow and the war is over.”

   A dense fog helped to cloud the advance of St. Hilaire’s division, but
   as they went up the slope the legendary ‘Sun of Austerlitz’ ripped the
   mist apart and encouraged them forward. Russian soldiers and commanders
   on top of the heights were stunned to see so many French troops coming
   towards them. Allied commanders were now able to feed some of the
   delayed detachments of the fourth column into this bitter struggle.
   Over an hour of horrendous fighting left much of this unit decimated
   beyond recognition. The other men from the second column, mostly
   inexperienced Austrians, also participated in the struggle and swung
   the numbers game against one of the best fighting forces in the French
   army, finally forcing them to withdraw down the slopes. However,
   gripped by desperation, St. Hilaire's men struck hard once more and
   bayoneted the Allies out of the heights. To the north, General
   Vandamme’s division attacked an area called Staré Vinohrady and through
   talented skirmishing and deadly volleys broke several Allied
   battalions.

   The battle had firmly turned to France’s favor, but there was still
   much fighting ahead. Napoleon ordered Bernadotte’s I Corps to support
   Vandamme’s left and moved his own command centre from Zuran Hill to St.
   Anthony’s Chapel on the Pratzen Heights. The difficult position of the
   Allies was confirmed by the decision to send in the Russian Imperial
   Guard; Grand Duke Constantine, Czar Alexander’s brother, commanded the
   Guard and counterattacked in Vandamme’s section of the field, forcing a
   bloody effort and the loss of the only French standard in the battle
   (the unfortunate victim was a battalion of the 4th Line Regiment).
   Sensing trouble, Napoleon ordered his own heavy Guard cavalry forward.
   These men pulverized their Russian counterparts, but with both sides
   pouring in large masses of cavalry no victor was clear yet. The
   Russians had a numerical advantage here but fairly soon the tide swung
   as Drouet’s Division, the 2nd of Bernadotte’s I Corps, deployed on the
   flank of the action and allowed French cavalry to seek refuge behind
   their lines. The horse artillery of the Guard also unlimbered a deadly
   toll on the Russian cavalry and fusiliers. The Russians broke and many
   died as they were pursued by the reinvigorated French cavalry for about
   a quarter of a mile.

Endgame

   By 1400 hours, the Allied army had been dangerously separated. Napoleon
   now had the option to strike at one of the wings, and he chose the
   Allied left since other enemy sectors had already been cleared or were
   conducting fighting retreats. Courtesy of the Department of History,
   United States Military Academy.
   Enlarge
   By 1400 hours, the Allied army had been dangerously separated. Napoleon
   now had the option to strike at one of the wings, and he chose the
   Allied left since other enemy sectors had already been cleared or were
   conducting fighting retreats. Courtesy of the Department of History,
   United States Military Academy.

   Meanwhile, the northernmost part of the battlefield was also witnessing
   heavy fighting. Prince Liechtenstein’s heavy cavalry began to assault
   Kellerman’s lighter cavalry forces after finally arriving at the
   correct position in the field. The fighting originally went well for
   the French, but Kellerman’s forces took cover behind General
   Caffarelli’s infantry division once it became clear Russian numbers
   were too great. Caffarelli’s men halted the Russian assaults and
   permitted Murat to send two cuirassier divisions into the fray to
   finish off the Russian cavalry for good. The ensuing melee was bitter
   and long, but the French ultimately prevailed. Lannes then lead his V
   Corps against Bagration’s men and after hard fighting managed to drive
   the skilled Russian commander off the field. He wanted to pursue, but
   Murat, who was in control of this sector in the battlefield, was
   against the idea.

   Napoleon’s focus now shifted towards the southern end of the
   battlefield where the French and the Allies were still fighting over
   Sokolnitz and Telnitz. In an effective double-pronged assault, St.
   Hilaire’s division and part of Davout’s III Corps smashed through the
   enemy at Sokolnitz and persuaded the commanders of the first two
   columns, generals Kienmayer and Langeron, to flee as fast as they
   could. Buxhowden, the commander of the Allied left and the man
   responsible for leading the attack, was completely drunk and fled as
   well. Kienmayer covered his withdrawal with the O’Reilly light cavalry,
   who gallantly managed to defeat five of six French cavalry regiments
   before they too had to retreat.

   General panic now seized the Allied army and it abandoned the field in
   any and all possible directions. A famous yet frightful episode
   transpired during this retreat: Russian forces that had been defeated
   by the French right withdrew south towards Vienna via the Satschan
   frozen ponds. French artillery pounded towards the men, but Napoleon
   redirected his engineers to fire at the ice. The men drowned in the
   viciously cold ponds, dozens of artillery pieces going down along with
   them. Estimates on how many guns were captured differ; there may have
   been as low 38 and as high as over 100. Sources also differ on
   casualties, with figures ranging from as low as 200 to as high as 2,000
   dead. Because Napoleon exaggerated this incident in his report of the
   battle, the low numbers may be more accurate, although doubt remains as
   to whether they are fully correct. Many regard this incident as one of
   Napoleon's cruelest acts in war.

Aftermath

   Austerlitz and the preceding campaign profoundly altered the nature of
   European politics. In three months, the French had occupied Vienna,
   decimated two armies, and humbled the Austrian Empire. These events
   sharply contrast with the rigid power structures of the 18th century,
   when no major European capital was ever held by an enemy army.
   Austerlitz set the stage for a near-decade of French domination on the
   European continent, but one of its more immediate impacts was to goad
   Prussia into war in 1806.

Military and political results

   Overall, Allied casualties stood at about 27,000 out of an army of
   73,000, which was 37% of their effectives. The French expended around
   9,000 out of a force of 67,000, or about 13% of effectives. The Allies
   also lost 180 guns and 50 standards. The victory was met by sheer
   amazement and delirium in Paris, where just days earlier the nation was
   teetering on financial collapse. Napoleon wrote to Josephine, "I have
   beaten the Austro-Russian army commanded by the two emperors. I am a
   little weary....I embrace you." Tsar Alexander perhaps best summed up
   the harsh times for the Allies by stating, “We are babies in the hands
   of a giant.”

   France and Austria signed a truce on December 4 and the Treaty of
   Pressburg 22 days later took the latter out of the war. Austria agreed
   to recognize French territory captured by the treaties of Campo Formio
   (1797) and Lunéville (1801), cede land to Bavaria, Wurttemberg, and
   Baden, which were Napoleon's German allies, and pay 40 million francs
   in war indemnities. Venice was also given to the Kingdom of Italy. It
   was a harsh end for Austria, but certainly not a catastrophic peace.
   The Russian army was allowed to withdraw to home territory and the
   French encamped themselves in Southern Germany. The Holy Roman Empire
   was also effectively wiped out, 1806 being seen as its final year.
   Napoleon created the Confederation of the Rhine, a string of German
   states meant to serve as a buffer between France and Prussia. Prussia
   saw these and other moves as an affront to its status as the main power
   of Central Europe and it went to war with France in 1806.

Rewards

   Napoleon's words to his troops after the battle were full of praise:
   Soldats! Je suis content de vous (English: Soldiers, I am happy with
   you). The Emperor provided two million golden francs to the higher
   officers, 200 francs to each soldier, and gave large pensions to the
   widows of the fallen. Orphaned children were adopted by Napoleon
   personally and they were allowed to add "Napoleon" to their baptismal
   and family names. Interestingly, Napoleon never gave a title of
   nobility to one of his commanders, as was customary following a great
   victory. It is probable that he considered Austerlitz too much of a
   personal triumph to elevate anyone else significantly. To this day,
   Austerlitz is often called "Napoleon's Greatest Victory."

Popular conceptions

Mythology

   There are many stories and legends regarding events before or during
   the battle. In the night before the day of battle, Napoleon set out
   with his entourage to review the forward positions. During this tour,
   he was recognized by the soldiers of Vandamme's division, and fairly
   soon the entire army lit candles to celebrate the anniversary of his
   coronation. Allied soldiers and commanders looking at this believed
   that the French were preparing to retreat. Another story features an
   unfortunate French soldier running from Cossacks; apparently, the
   soldier climbed through a chimney trying to hide, but the Cossacks
   found and killed him anyway. A more humorous episode transpired between
   some French troopers looking for horse fodder from a local peasant
   woman. The soldiers kept yelling, "Babo, ovsa" (English: "Lady, give us
   oats") but the woman, who was old and probably had difficult hearing,
   thought they were saying "Hopsa" (English: jump), so she repeatedly
   jumped, at the very great frustration of the French soldiers.
   Eventually, the soldiers realized she did not understand them, pointed
   to the horses outside, and even started chewing to give her a clue,
   which she finally got, giving the soldiers the oats they wanted. Yet
   another story tells of French artillerists throwing a wooden statue of
   the Virgin Mary into a fire for warmth and discovering that it would
   not burn. Some of these stories, like the first, are known to be true,
   and others represent mere rumors or allegations, but nevertheless they
   all form part of an enticing spectrum of oral tradition and human
   imagination.

War and Peace

   The Battle of Austerlitz is a major event in Leo Tolstoy's novel War
   and Peace. The battle serves as an episode to exalt Russian values and
   traditions of spirituality and modesty above the alleged crude logic
   and arrogance of the French. As the battle is about to start, Prince
   Andrei, one of the main characters, thinks that the approaching "day
   [will] be his Toulon, or his bridge of Arcola," references to
   Napoleon's early victories. Andrei hopes for glory, even thinking to
   himself, "I shall march forward and sweep everything before me." Later
   in the battle, however, Andrei falls into enemy hands and even meets
   his hero, Napoleon. But the previous enthusiasm has been shattered; he
   no longer thinks much of Napoleon, "so petty did his hero with his
   paltry vanity and delight in victory appear, compared to that lofty,
   righteous and kindly sky which he had seen and comprehended." Tolstoy
   portrays Austerlitz as an early test for Russia, one which ended badly
   because the soldiers fought for irrelevant things like glory or renown
   rather than the higher virtues which would produce, according to
   Tolstoy, a victory at Borodino during the 1812 invasion.

Historical views

   Napoleon did not succeed in defeating the Allied army as thoroughly as
   he wanted, but historians and enthusiasts alike recognize that the
   original plan provided a significant victory. For that reason,
   Austerlitz is sometimes compared to other great tactical battles like
   Cannae or Blenheim. Some historians suggest that Napoleon was so
   successful at Austerlitz that he lost touch with reality, and what used
   to be French foreign policy became a "personal Napoleonic one" after
   the battle. In French history, Austerlitz is acknowledged as an
   impressive military victory, and in the 19th century, when fascination
   with the First Empire was at its height, the battle was reverred by the
   likes of Victor Hugo, who "in the depth of [his] thoughts" was hearing
   the "noise of the heavy cannons rolling towards Austerlitz". In the
   recent bicentennial, however, controversy erupted when French President
   Jacques Chirac or Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin did not attend
   any functions commemorating the battle. On the other hand, people from
   French overseas departments protested what they viewed as the "official
   commemoration of Napoleon", arguing that Austerlitz should not be
   celebrated since they believed Napoleon committed genocide against
   colonial peoples.
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