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用美国小孩的方法学英语比较有效(8):美国独立战争

2011-02-13 14:30
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The American Revolution

美国独立战争

Even before the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, a state of war existed between Great Britain and the American colonies. The first armed action took place in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775. British troops marched to Concord to destroy military supplies. The militia, known as Minutemen, were alerted, and they assembled in Lexington. Eight Minutemen were killed, and the British continued toward Concord. At the Concord Bridge, the British were turned away, and they began a retreat toward Boston. All along the road, the militia fired at the British and inflicted heavy casualties.  
 

在第二届大陆会议通过《独立宣言》以前,英国和美洲殖民地之间就已经战事连连。1775年4月9日,第一场战争在马萨诸塞州康科德镇的莱克星顿打响。英国军队进军康科德意图收缴当地的军用物资。号称“一分钟人”的当地民兵动作迅速,在莱克星顿武装组织起来。激战中,八名“一分钟人”牺牲。英国军队继续向康科德镇进军。进行到康科德桥时,他们不再前行,开始往波士顿撤退。在撤退途中,遭遇北美民兵的武力攻击,伤亡严重。

Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys and Benedict Arnold surprised the British at Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain with an attack on May 10, 1775. On June 17, 1775, at Breed's Hill (known as Bunker Hill) near Boston, colonial militia were able to hold off British troops for two charges, but hard to retreat when they ran out of ammunition. The British lost 1,054 men to the colonists' 449 in this bloodiest battle of the Revolution. The British troops then moved to Nova Scotia.

1775年5月10日,在尚普兰湖畔的提康德加罗城堡战役中,伊桑·艾伦和他的格林山兄弟会以及本尼迪克特·阿诺德让英军着实惊诧。1775年6月17日,在距离波士顿不远的不理智山(也就是著名的邦克山)上,大陆军击退了英军的两次进攻,然而在弹尽撤退之际却遭遇困难。在这场血腥战役中,英军丧失1054名士兵,大陆军则损失449人。之后,英军转移到新斯科舍。

On June 15, 1775, George Washington was appointed the commander in chief of the Continental Army. Arriving in Boston after the Battle of Breed's Hill, Washington gathered men and supplies, and early in 1776 placed the guns captured at Fort Ticonderoga on the heights overlooking Boston.

1775年6月5日,华盛顿被任命为大陆军的最高总指挥。不理智山战役结束后,华盛顿抵达波士顿,在当地征集士兵和军需品,并于1776年初在能够俯瞰波士顿的高地设置哨所、安置枪支——枪支是在蒂康德加要塞缴获的。

The war then shifted to New York City. Washington moved his men to Long Island and Manhattan Island. The British, commanded by General William Howe, landed 32,000 men including 9,000 German mercenaries (Hessians), on Long Island in July 1776. The inexperienced Continental Army was defeated on Long Island, Manhattan, and at White Plains, New York. However, the British failed to push their advantage, and Washington and his men were able to escape to New Jersey and across the Delaware River to Pennsylvania.

后来战争转移至纽约城。华盛顿将军把他的军队迁移到长岛和曼哈顿岛。英方的指挥军威廉·豪将军带领32,000名英军和9,000名德雇佣军(德国黑森人)于1776年7月抵达长岛。由于大陆军缺乏经验,在长岛、曼哈顿、纽约白原战役中战败。然而英军没有乘胜追击,华盛顿和他的大陆军得以逃往新泽西,后来又穿过特拉华河,抵达宾夕法尼亚州。

Before going into winter camp, Washington led his men across the Delaware River to attack a Hessian outpost at Trenton, New Jersey, on the morning of December 26, 1776. The Hessians were not expecting an attack on the day after Christmas. Over 900 Hessians were taken prisoner. Washington then moved around an army commanded by General Charles Cornwallis and attacked British troops near Princeton, New Jersey, on January 3, 1777. These victories greatly restored the patriots' hopes.

冬令营开始前,华盛顿带领他的军队于1776年12月26日清晨穿过特拉华河,进攻驻扎在新泽西特伦顿的德国黑森人。由于刚过完圣诞节,黑森人根本没料到会有敌军偷袭,所以没有丝毫防备,以至于900多人被俘。紧接着华盛顿包围了一支由查尔斯·康沃利斯将军为首的军队,并于1777年1月3日进攻驻扎在新泽西普林斯顿的英国军队。大陆军接连取得的一系列胜利大大地重建了爱国士兵们的信心。

The battles fought at Saratoga, New York, on September 19 and October 17, 1777, resulted in the surrender of the British army commanded by General John Burgoyne to U.S. General Horatio Gates. After this victory, the French recognized the independence of the United States and agreed to form an alliance with the Americans against the British.

1777年9月19日,战斗在纽约的萨拉托加打响,10月17日,英国将领约翰·伯格将军向美方将军霍雷肖·盖茨投降。萨拉托加战役胜利后,法国承认了美国的独立,并同意与美军结成联盟共同抵御英国。

Fighting then shifted to the south with battles in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. Greatly helped by the French Navy, American and French troops closed in on the British forces in Yorktown, Virginia, commanded by General Cornwallis. By late August 1781, French ships had blockaded Yorktown so that no British reinforcements could reach Cornwallis. By October, Washington's army and General Jean Rochambeau's French troops surrounded Cornwallis and bombarded the British with French artillery. General Cornwallis  formally surrendered on October 17, 1781. This was the last significant battle of the war.

战事既而转入乔治亚州、南卡罗来纳、北卡罗来纳州和维吉尼亚州。由于法国海军的大力帮助,美法联军在维吉尼亚的约克镇逼近由康沃利斯领导的英军。1781年8月底,法国海军封锁了约克镇,使得英国援军不能前来救援康沃利斯。同年10月份,华盛顿的大陆军和由吉恩·罗尚博领导的法国军队包围了康沃利斯的军队,并用法国的大炮轰炸英军。1781年10月17日,康沃利斯将军正式投降,这标志着美国独立战争的结束。

 

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