15 In the center of Russia, Hitler's goal was the capture of Moscow. Because the Germans had anticipated a quick victory, they had made no plans for winter supplies. October arrived with heavy rains. "General Mud" slowed down the movement of the Germans' lightning attack.
在俄国中部,希特勒的目标是占领莫斯科。由于德国人指望速战速决,他们没有准备过冬的补给。10月来临,大雨不停。“泥泞将军”拖延了德国人闪电式进攻的行动。
16 As Hitler's armies drew closer and closer to Moscow, an early, severe winter settled over the Soviet Union, the harshest in years. Temperatures dropped to minus 48 degrees Celsius. Heavy snows fell. The German soldiers, completely unprepared for the Russian winter, froze in their light summer uniforms. The German tanks lay buried in the heavy snowbanks. The Russian winter brought the German offensive to a halt.
正当希特勒的军队逼近莫斯科时,寒冷的冬季早早地降临苏联,那是多年不遇的严寒。气温降到摄氏零下48度。大雪纷飞。对俄国的严寒冬季毫无思想准备的德国士兵身着单薄的夏装,一个个被冻伤。德国人的坦克掩埋在深深的雪堆中。俄罗斯的冬季阻止了德国人的攻势。
17 By the summer of 1942, Hitler had launched two new offensives. In the south, the Germans captured Sevastopol. Hitler then pushed east to Stalingrad, a great industrial city that stretched for 48 kilometers along the Volga River. Despite great suffering, Soviet defenders refused to give up Stalingrad.
到1942夏天,希特勒又发起两场新的攻势。在南方,德国人占领了塞瓦斯托波尔。希特勒随后向东推进到斯大林格勒,那是沿伏尔加河绵延48公里的一座大工业城市。尽管艰苦卓绝,苏联抵抗者拒绝放弃斯大林格勒。
18 In November 1942, the Russians launched a counterattack. With little or no shelter from the winter cold in and around Stalingrad, German troops were further weakened by a lack of food and supplies. Not until January 1943 did the Germans give up their siege. Of the three hundred thousand Germans attacking Stalingrad, only ninety thousand starving soldiers were left. The loss of the battle for Stalingrad finally turned the tide against Hitler. The German victories were over, thanks in part to the Russian winter.
1942年11月,俄国人发起了一场反攻。德国军队在斯大林格勒城内外几乎没有挡风避寒的地方,食品和补给的匮乏更使其元气大伤。直到1943年1月德国人才放弃围城。进攻斯大林格勒的30万德国人只剩下9万忍饥挨饿的士兵。斯大林格勒一战的失利最终使希特勒时乖运蹇。部分地由于俄罗斯的冬季,德国人走向失败。
19 During 1943 and 1944, the Soviet armies pushed the German front back toward the west. In the north, the Red Army broke the three-year siege of Leningrad with a surprise attack on January 15, 1944. Within two weeks, the heroic survivors of Leningrad saw their invaders depart. By March 1944, the Ukraine farming region was again in Soviet hands. On May 9, 1944, Sevastopol was liberated from the Germans. The Russians were now heading for Berlin.
在1943年与1944年期间,苏联军队将德军阵线往西逼退。在北方,1944年1月15日,红军发起突然袭击,解除了列宁格勒长达3年之久的围困。列宁格勒那些英勇无畏的幸存者看着入侵者在两个星期内全部撤离。到了1944年3月,乌克兰的农村又回到了苏维埃手中。1944年5月9日,塞瓦斯托波尔从德国人手中被解放出来。至此,俄国人向柏林进发。
20 For Hitler, the invasion of the Soviet Union had turned into a military disaster. For the Russian people, it brought unspeakable suffering. The total Soviet dead in World War II reached almost 23 million.
就希特勒而言,对苏联的入侵成为一场军事灾难。对俄罗斯人民来说,这场入侵带来了无法形容的苦难。苏维埃在第二次世界大战中死亡的人数几乎达到2300万。
Russia's Icy Defender
21 The elements of nature must be reckoned with in any military campaign. Napoleon and Hitler both underestimated the severity of the Russian winter. Snow, ice, and freezing temperatures took their toll on both invading armies. For the Russian people, the winter was an icy defender.
俄罗斯的冰雪卫士
任何军事行动都必须考虑到自然的因素。拿破仑和希特勒都低估了俄罗斯冬季的严酷。冰雪和极低的气温使两支侵略军付出惨重的代价。对俄罗斯人民而言,严冬是他们的冰雪卫士。