of the French, led his Grand Army into Russia. He was prepared for
the fierce
resistance of the Russian people defending their
homeland. He was prepared for the long march across Russian
soil to Moscow, the capital city. But he was not prepared for the
devastating enemy that met him in Moscow — the
raw, bitter,
bleak Russian winter.
冰雪卫士
奈拉·B·史密斯
1812年，法国皇帝拿破仑·波拿巴率大军入侵俄罗斯。他准备好俄罗斯人民会为保卫祖国而奋勇抵抗，他也准备好在俄罗斯广袤的国土上要经过长途跋涉才能进军首都莫斯科，但他却没有料到在莫斯科他会遭遇劲敌——俄罗斯阴冷凄苦的寒冬。
2. In 1941,
Adolf Hitler, leader of Nazi Germany,
launched an attack against the Soviet Union, as Russia then was
called. Hitler's military might was
unequaled. His war machine had mowed down resistance in most of
Europe. Hitler expected a short
campaign but, like Napoleon before him, was taught a painful
lesson. The Russian winter again came to the aid of the Soviet
soldiers.
1941年，纳粹德国元首阿道夫·希特勒进攻当时被称作苏联的俄罗斯。希特勒的军事实力堪称无敌，他的战争机器扫除了欧洲绝大部分地区的抵抗。希特勒希望速战速决，但是，就像在他之前的拿破仑一样，他得到的是痛苦的教训。仍是俄罗斯的冬天助了苏维埃士兵一臂之力。
3.
Napoleon's Campaign
In the spring of 1812, Napoleon assembled an army of six hundred
thousand men on the
borders of Russia. The soldiers were well trained,
efficient, and well
equipped. This military force was called the Grand Army.
Napoleon, confident of a quick victory, predicted the
conquest of Russia in five weeks.
拿破仑发起的战役
1812年春，拿破仑在俄国边境屯兵60万。这些士兵受过良好训练，作战力强，装备精良。这支军队被称为大军。拿破仑对马到成功充满自信，预言要在5个星期内攻下俄国。
4. Shortly afterwards, Napoleon's army crossed the Neman River into
Russia. The quick,
decisive victory that Napoleon expected never happened. To his
surprise, the Russians refused to stand and fight. Instead, they
retreated eastward, burning their crops and homes as they went.
The Grand Army followed, but its advance march soon became
bogged down by slow-moving supply lines.
不久，拿破仑的大军渡过涅曼河进入俄国。拿破仑期盼着的速决速胜却迟迟没有发生。令他吃惊的是，俄国人并不奋起抵抗。相反，他们一路东撤，沿途焚毁庄稼和民居。大军紧追不舍，但它的长驱直入很快由于粮草运输缓慢而停顿下来。
5. In August, the French and Russian armies
engaged at Smolensk, in a battle that left over ten thousand
dead on each side. Yet, the Russians were again able to retreat
farther into Russian territory. Napoleon had won no decisive
victory. He
was now faced with a
crucial decision. Should he continue to pursue the Russian
army? Or should he keep his army in Smolensk for the approaching
winter?
到了8月，法俄两军在斯摩棱斯克交战，这一战役中，双方各有上万人阵亡。可是，俄国人仍能在自己的国土上继续后撤，拿破仑未能取得决定性的胜利。此刻他面临着一个重要抉择：是继续追击俄国军队，还是把军队驻扎在斯摩棱斯克，在那儿度过将到的冬天？
6. Napoleon took the
gamble of
pressing
on to Moscow, 448 kilometers away. On September 7, 1812, the
French and Russian armies met in fierce battle at Borodino, 112
kilometers west of Moscow. By
nightfall, thirty thousand French and forty-four thousand
Russians lay dead or wounded on the battlefield.
拿破仑孤注一掷，决定向远在448公里之外的莫斯科进发。1812年9月7日，法俄两军在莫斯科以西112公里外的鲍罗季诺激战。夜幕降临时，3万名法国士兵以及4万4千名俄国士兵或伤或亡，倒在了战场上。
7. Again, the Russian army retreated to safety. Napoleon had a
clear path to Moscow, but the
occupation of the city became an empty victory. The Russians
fled their capital. Soon after the French arrived, a raging fire
destroyed two-thirds of the city. Napoleon offered a
truce to Alexander I, but the Russian
czar knew he could
bide his time: 'We shall let the Russian winter fight the war
for us.'
俄国军队再次撤往安全之处。拿破仑顺利进入莫斯科，然而，对该市的占领成为毫无意义的胜利。俄国人弃城而走。法国人进城不久，一场熊熊大火将整个城市烧毁了三分之二。拿破仑向亚历山大一世提出停战，但沙皇深知他可以等待时机：“且让俄罗斯的严冬为我们战斗吧。”
8. Napoleon soon realized he could not feed, clothe, and quarter
his army in Moscow during the winter. In October 1812, he ordered
his Grand Army to retreat from Moscow.
拿破仑很快意识到，他无法在冬天向远在莫斯科的军队供应粮草、提供御寒衣物和宿营之地。1812年10月，他命令大军撤出莫斯科。
9. The French retreat turned into a nightmare. From fields and
forests, the Russians launched
hit-and-run attacks on the French. A short distance from
Moscow, the temperature had already dropped to
minus 4 degrees
Celsius. On November 3, the winter's first snow came. Exhausted
horses fell dead in their tracks.
Cannon became stuck in the snow. Equipment had to be burned for
fuel. Soldiers took ill and froze to death. The French soldiers
dragged on, leaving the dead along every mile.
法军的撤离成为一场噩梦。俄国人出没于田野与森林，采用打了就跑的战术，向法国人发起攻击。刚出莫斯科城，气温就降到摄氏零下4度。11月3日降下初雪。困乏的马匹倒地而死，大炮陷入雪中，装备只得被用作燃料焚烧，士兵们染病冻死。法国士兵拖着脚步行进，一路上留下无数死尸。
10. As the Russian army was gathering its strength, the French had
to flee Russia to avoid certain defeat. At the Berezina River, the
Russians nearly trapped the retreating French by burning the
bridges over the
swollen river. But Napoleon, by a
stroke of luck, was able to build two new bridges. Thousands of
French soldiers escaped, but
at the cost of fifty thousand dead. Once across the Berezina,
the
tattered survivors
limped toward Vilna.
正当俄罗斯军队集聚兵力之时，法国人却不得不逃离俄国，以避免注定的失败。在别列津纳河，俄国人焚烧了涨水的河道上的桥梁，差点将后撤的法军困于河边。侥幸的是，拿破仑居然突击造起两座桥。成千上万法国士兵得以逃脱，但却损失了5万人。渡过别列津纳河，溃不成军的幸存者一瘸一拐地向维尔纽斯行进。
11. Of the six hundred thousand soldiers Napoleon had led into
Russia, less than one hundred thousand came back. The
weakened French army continued its retreat westward across
Europe. Soon, Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia formed a
powerful
alliance and attacked these
stragglers. In March 1814, Paris was captured. Napoleon
