7.General Hannibal's Elephant Cavalry
7.汉尼拔将军的大象奇兵
One of the most famous wartime scenes in all of world history is Hannibal crossing the Alps with his army riding on elephants to scare the Romans and give them a series of unforgettable battles. The legends claim that not only did he cross the mountains with a large company of elephants in his army, but that a multitude of them showed up at major battles against the Romans.
有幕战争场景赫赫有名，永载世界史册，那就是汉尼拔(Hannibal) 骑着大象，率领大军翻越阿尔卑斯山脉(the Alps)，将罗马人打了个措手不及，并发起一系列惊心动魄的大战。在这个传奇的故事里，这支训练有素的大象骑兵，不仅跟着汉尼拔翻越了阿尔卑斯山，而且在与罗马对抗的几场重大战役中，也都有它们的身影。
According to historians, it is likely all or most of this tale is total fabrication, much of it cooked up by Roman writers at the time who wanted to make Hannibal seem more intimidating so that his defeat would make their generals look more glorious.
史学家们认为，这可能全属凭空捏造，至少绝大部分为编造。当时的罗马作家虚构了大部分场景，将汉尼拔的形象塑造得令人生畏，旨在以汉尼拔的溃不成军来反衬那些罗马大将的无上荣耀。
Historians have reason to believe most of the elephants originally brought along did not even survive the crossing, leaving Hannibal with only a handful at best—if any survived at all, that is. Some accounts of large numbers of elephants also claim that the animals were spooked at the sound of battle. These accounts also suggest that the war-bred animals with trained riders on their backs went crazy and trampled through Hannibal's own line during major battles.
史学家认为，象群里大多数成员本就无法存活，遑论翻越阿尔卑斯山脉；即便存活下来，适者生存，那么留下的自然也只是象群里的少数“精英”。关于这群数量庞大的大象骑兵，有说法是他们在战场上受到惊吓，也有说法是训练员骑着大象，不料大象狂性大发，在多次重要战争中突破了汉尼拔军队的防线。
As far as many historians are concerned, these stories sound like utter myth, and it's most likely there was not a single elephant at any of the major battles Hannibal staged against the Roman Empire.
众多史学家认为，这些都是彻头彻尾的神话故事。汉尼拔与古罗马抗衡的任何一场大型战役中，其实都没有“大象骑兵”助阵。
6.Napoleon Would Have Won The Battle Of Waterloo If Only He...
6.其实拿破仑也可以赢得滑铁卢战役，只要他……
Napoleon Bonaparte was one of of the greatest military strategists and conquerors to ever walk the globe. Many people still laud him for his tactics, and his actions certainly changed the world. Many people know well that Napoleon's final defeat, the one that was said to finally break him, was the Battle of Waterloo. Most stories claim that if not for losing this battle, Napoleon could have gone on to regain control of everything he had lost and perhaps conquer even more than he had before. According to many historians, on the other hand, such an outcome would have been extremely unlikely in any situation.
拿破仑·波拿巴（Napoleon Bonaparte ）是世界上最伟大的军事战略家和征服者之一。至今仍有许多人对他的战术称赞不已，且他的行为也确实改变了世界。大家都知道拿破仑的最后一战是滑铁卢战役（the Battle of Waterloo），也就是他最终被击败的那场战役。很多故事里都是这样说的：如果拿破仑赢得了滑铁卢战役，那他就能重新掌控自己所失去的东西，也许还能征服他不曾拥有的东西。不过很多历史学家都说，这种情况是无论如何也不会发生的。
Various historians have pointed out different ways that he could have won the Battle of Waterloo. They theorize that if he had led the battle more personally, pressed his advantage in certain key situations, or taken certain risks, he may have been able to wrest victory from the jaws of defeat. Most of these theories hinge on knowing what we know in hindsight, but that isn't the main reason Napoleon's success was so unlikely.
有很多历史学家提出了各种各样可以让拿破仑赢得滑铁卢战役的方法。他们提出，如果拿破仑在战争中表现得更“任性”一些，在关键时候发挥自己的优势，或者再冒险一些，那么他就有可能险中取胜。虽然我们在这里吐槽以上结论都是事后诸葛亮，但这并不是我们认为拿破仑不可能获胜的主要原因。
The problem was that even if Napoleon had somehow managed a successful victory, it would have still been an absurdly uphill battle for him from that point forward. His support from his own people was waning, and his enemies were consolidating their forces, allying against him and mounting serious resistance that even his genius would have likely been unable to overcome. The Battle of Waterloo may have been his last major defeat, but he was already unlikely to have any chance at a real comeback.
其实问题的关键在于，就算拿破仑最终在滑铁卢战役中赢得了胜利，在那之后，他还是会遇到滑铁卢这样荒谬可笑的艰苦战役。那时候拿破仑统治下的人民对他的支持已经大不如前，而他的敌人们则结成同盟，不断地巩固自己的力量，并对他设下重重阻碍，即使天才如拿破仑，面对如此险峻的形势，恐怕也难以克服。
5.The Harshness Of The Treaty Of Versailles Led To World War II
5.其实是凡尔赛条约的苛刻条件导致了第二次世界大战
One of the most commonly repeated myths about World War II is that the reason it started in the first place was that the Germans were disaffected by the harshness of the Treaty of Versailles. The claim goes that the deal was so financially tough on Germany that it created a deep well of resentment, allowing Hitler and his Nazi Party to take control of the reins of power and then go on a rampage of destruction. For a while, this was a fairly commonly held belief, but a history professor from Toronto named Dr. Margaret MacMillan has been studying every angle of this theory, and her conclusion is that people are getting the history all wrong.
关于二战，最广为流传的一种观点是：二战起因是德国对凡尔赛条约（the Treaty of Versailles）的苛刻条件感到不满。德国方面表示条约上的经济条件太过苛刻，导致国内上下怨声载道，使得希特勒及其纳粹党执掌了政权，从而造成了毁灭性的的破坏。曾经有段时间很多人都坚信以上观点，但是，来自多伦多的历史学教授玛格丽特·麦克米伦博士（Dr. Margaret MacMillan）从各方面研究了这一理论后，最终得出的结论却是：一直以来，人们对于这段历史的看法都是错的。
In fact, Dr. Macmillan's conclusion is that if the Treaty of Versailles had any effect on World War II, it's that it was not harsh enough. The treaty hurt the Germans, but it didn't leave them in a truly defeated state. It left them annoyed. This left Hitler just enough resentment to amass a following and left Germany with enough force left to cause serious trouble. It could easily be argued that the Treaty of Versailles is proof of how compromise can sometimes fail. What began as an attempt not to be too lenient or too harsh resulted in a failed compromise.
实际上在麦克米伦看来，如果要说凡尔赛条约对二战的爆发有一定影响，那一定是因为该条约还不够苛刻。虽然凡尔赛条约使德国蒙受了损失，但德国并没有因此而觉得自己沦为了战败国，人们只是因此感到恼火而已。这不但让希特勒愤懑不平开始集结人马，也使得德国拥有足够的力量来发起战争。因此有人认为，凡尔赛条约恰恰证明了妥协有时候反而会事与愿违。开始的时候人们总想尝试着不要过于宽容或是过于苛刻，从而妥协，结果却起到了相反的作用。
It could certainly be argued that Hitler played up the Treaty of Versailles and tried to make it sound terrible in order to sway people to his side, but people also forget the amount of popular support Hitler actually had. Many people forget that Hitler's Nazi Party never won enough votes to outright get him the highest elected position. Hitler managed to take his seat of power through a lot of backroom deals, subterfuge, and who knows what else behind the scenes. The Nazis were skilled propagandists and would have used the Treaty of Versailles to help achieve their ends, but the idea that Hitler used it to sweep himself to victory in a popular election is a myth.
有人认为是希特勒把凡尔赛条约渲染得很可怕，从而号召人们支持他，但是这些人却忘了，早已经有很多人衷心拥护着希特勒；他们也忘了，希特勒的纳粹党从未赢得足够的选票助他获得总理职位。希特勒其实是通过幕后交易和阴谋诡计扩大了自己的势力，谁又知道这其中有什么黑幕呢？纳粹党确实精于宣传，也会利用凡尔赛条约来达到自己的目的，但希特勒却并不是凭借于此才在大选中获胜的。
4.The Tet Offensive Determined The Vietnam War
4.“春节攻势”战役决定了越南战争
Many people think of the Tet Offensive as the final push that proved the United States couldn't win the Vietnam War. North Vietnam's ability to make such a military push after the long, punishing years of fighting was evidence that the war was at an end. Finally, the United States retreated from Vietnam and put an end to the war and the madness of the previous years.
大多数人认为，“春节攻势”战役作为最终攻势显示，美国无法赢得越南战争。北越在经历了长久疲惫战后，还能有巨大的军事力量反攻，昭示了战争结束在望。果不其然，美国从越南撤兵，为这场战争和这些疯狂的作战日子划上了句号。
However, while it is true the Tet Offensive was the turning point of the war and likely caused the end of it indirectly, the truth is that the war was far from lost militarily. In fact, if we had continued fighting for much longer after the Tet Offensive, historians now believe we likely would have won soundly.
“春节攻势”确实是战争的转折点，也可能间接促使战争结束，但战争远非美国失去军事力量那么简单。事实上，历史学家认为，如果美国在“春节攻势”后坚持奋战，极有可能稳胜越南。
The Tet Offensive actually caused the North Vietnamese forces to spread themselves dangerously thin—an incredibly risky move. Fortunately, the gamble paid off, but only because the American public was so deeply tired of the war. When the images, scenes, and reports from the Tet Offensive played on news channels across the United States, an already exhausted and demoralized public felt that the war was lost. Before long, the unpopular war was over. The United States simply lost the will to continue.
不过，“春节攻势”可谓破釜沉舟之战，北越冒险分散了兵力。让人欣喜的是，孤注一掷取得了成效——但取胜的真相，仅是因为美国民众对这场战争深感疲倦。当“春节攻势”的图片、影像、报道在全美的新闻渠道中流传时，美国民众就已经开始意志低落，认为战争失败了。不久之后这场万众唾骂的战争结束，原因不过是美国失去了继续作战的意愿。
审校：瑶瑶Yvonne 校对：丸子 编辑：Freya然
评论
打印
