歷史上做出的太過糟糕的十大決定(下)

leon Invading Russia

5.拿破崙入侵俄國

In June 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia with one of the largest armies ever assembled for battle, and was so confident of his impending victory he wagered the war wouldn't last more than 20 days. It wasn't Russia Napoleon wanted, necessarily (although Napoleon and Czar Alexander I were at odds over trade with England); it was India. But due to lice infestations and subsequent typhus infections, food shortages, freezing temperatures and, eventually, Russian troops, the Grande Armee wouldn't make it beyond Moscow. More than 600,000 men from Napoleon's empire marched toward Russia, but just a few more than 100,000 were left fighting by early September 1812, and in the end Napoleon was escorted by Russian troops back to France.

1812年6月，拿破崙集結起有史以來人數最多的軍隊入侵俄國，他自信滿滿，以爲勝利唾手可得，揚言稱20天內就可結束此戰。由於針對英國的大陸經濟封鎖行動，拿破崙與俄國沙皇亞歷山大一世之間積怨已久，但是，攻下俄國卻實非拿破崙的終極目標，其真正的野心是要遠征印度。然而拿破崙的這支大軍在行軍途中大規模感染蝨症，隨之爆發斑疹傷寒的瘟疫，再加上食物短缺、極度嚴寒，法國大軍最終在遭遇俄軍反擊後敗走莫斯科。挺進莫斯科之初，拿破崙舉全國之力募兵超過60萬人，然而到了1812年9月，軍中還具有戰鬥力的只剩下區區10萬餘人。最終，拿破崙帶領的法軍在俄軍的押送下灰溜溜地回到了法國老家。

er Invading Russia

4.希特勒入侵俄國

It was a battle of giants, and the largest military invasion of WWII: Nazi Germany against Communist Russia. But the war between Germany and Russia would be the first major land defeat for Hitler, and that defeat is considered the beginning of the decline of Nazi Germany. In June 1941 Adolf Hitler broke the non-aggression pact signed in 1939 by Germany and the Soviet Union when he invaded Russia with an army of more than 3 million men, 7,000 artillery pieces, 3,000 tanks, and 2,500 aircraft. Joseph Stalin, taken by surprise, found his military overwhelmed by the German onslaught. During the first week of the invasion there were 150,000 casualties among Soviet troops, and by October that year, German troops had taken 3 million Soviet prisoners of war. German troops reached Moscow by December 1941, but the war was taking longer than anticipated -- clothing, food and medical supplies were wearing thin. When Soviet troops struck back hard to keep Moscow from falling, the Nazis failed to take Moscow.

這是大國之間的戰鬥，是二戰中規模最大的軍事侵略：納粹德國對抗共產主義蘇聯。但是德國與蘇聯之間的戰爭是希特勒的第一次主戰場失利，這次戰爭被認爲是納粹德國衰敗的開端。1941年6月，阿道夫·希特勒打破了1939年德國和蘇聯之間簽訂的互不侵犯條約，率領超過300萬的士兵，7000門大炮，3000輛坦克，2500架飛機侵俄。 約瑟夫·斯大林震驚了，發現他的軍隊在德軍的轟炸之下不堪一擊。在入侵的第一週，蘇聯軍隊中有15萬的人員傷亡。當年10月，德國軍隊俘虜了300萬蘇聯戰俘。德國軍隊在1941年12月到達莫斯科，但是戰爭比預期花費的時間長，衣物、食品和醫療用具都缺乏供應。蘇聯軍隊浴血奮戰保衛莫斯科以防失守，納粹德國最終也未能佔領莫斯科。

pting the Trojan Horse

3.接受特洛伊木馬

Legend has it that the Trojan War had been going on for a decade when the Greeks, unable to penetrate the walls of the city of Troy, decided to engage in a little subterfuge.

相傳當時特洛伊戰爭已經持續了十年之久，但希臘人仍無法攻破特洛伊城，於是他們決定採取一個詭計。

The Greeks planned to trick the Trojans into letting them behind those closed walls. They would leave a gift for the Trojans and pretend to retreat home. On orders from Odysseus, they built a horse, the Trojan Horse, and it was big enough to fit a few dozen soldiers inside. After they wheeled it to the city gates, the Greeks faked their departure, and the Trojans, convinced they'd just won the war, rolled the gift inside their walls. That night, the hidden soldiers opened the gates to additional troops, and Troy fell. Stories of the Trojan War are told by Homer in "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey," and by Virgil in "The Aeneid," but is there truth to the Trojan Horse? Evidence suggests ... maybe? Even historians don't agree on whether this war story is truth or tall tale.

希臘人計劃哄騙特洛伊人將他們帶到特洛伊城內，於是他們謀劃給特洛伊人留下一個“禮物”，並假裝撤退。奧德修斯下令做了一個木馬，這就是特洛伊木馬。它大到足以容納十幾個士兵，當木馬被推到城門時，希臘人假裝撤退，使特洛伊人相信他們已經贏得了戰爭，推着他們的戰利品（木馬）到城牆裏。當晚，藏在木馬裏的希臘士兵打開了城門讓外援部隊進入城內，裏應外合，最終戰敗了特洛伊人。荷馬在《伊利亞特》和《奧德賽》以及維爾吉（古羅馬詩人）在《埃涅伊德》中都有提到特洛伊戰爭的故事。但真的有特洛伊木馬嗎？證據表明…也許有。甚至史學家對於特洛伊戰爭是真實發生過還是隻是古老傳說也莫衷一是。

er Party 'Shortcut'

2.唐納之隊西行“捷徑”

In April 1846, a group of about 90 pioneers in about 20 wagons followed brothers Jacob and George Donner westward from Illinois to California. The California Gold Rush wouldn't be for another two years, and the Donner Party, inexperienced in the wilderness, was headed into uncharted territory. They began their journey on the California Trail, a known wagon-train route west, but decided to try a shorter, alternate route. Because of freezing temperatures and rough, mountainous terrain, the shortcut they'd hoped for turned out to be long and deadly. The Donner Party is still well-known today, although we might not all know the specifics of their journey. What they're best known for, though, is the question of whether they engaged in cannibalism for survival while trapped in the snowy Sierra Nevada mountains.

1846年4月,大約90名拓荒者駕駛約20輛馬車組成的隊伍在雅庫布·唐納和喬治·唐納兄弟兩人的帶領下由伊利諾斯州向加州進發。加州的淘金熱肯定不會再持續超過兩年了，然而沒有野外生存經驗的唐納之隊，正在駛向一個未知的地域。他們從‘加州小徑’開始了他們的探索之路，但隨後放棄了這條已知的西行馬路，取而代之選擇了一條路途較短的未知路線。山區的崎嶇不平以及嚴寒的天氣將使他們心中的‘捷徑’變成一條可怕的‘夢魘之路’。儘管我們不可能得知他們旅途的所有細節，但是唐納之隊現在依然聞名遐邇。他們最出名的是在旅途被困在白雪皚皚的內華達山脈的時候是否出現過食人的情況。

ibition

1.禁酒令

In the 1920s, if you were "going to see a man about a dog," you weren't looking for a rescue pup; you were in the mood for a tipple or two, preferably whiskey. Why so sly? During Prohibition in America, between January1920 when the 18th Amendment was signed until its repeal in 1933, it was illegal to manufacture, transport or sell alcohol (but it wasn't actually illegal to drink it). Prohibition was considered the "noble experiment." It was supposed to lower crime levels and reduce the amount of money spent on prisons. It was supposed to clean us up socially, as well as improve our health and hygiene. What resulted instead was an explosion of alcohol-related crime, and eventually a corrupt law enforcement and political system willing to take bribes or look the other way. Prohibition didn't stop people from drinking; it just changed the what and where of the equation. Because they were illegal, foot juice (slang for cheap wine around the speakeasy) and jag juice (for those who like something a little harder) were unregulated, and tainted alcohol killed an average of 1,000 during every dry year. Unexpected negative financial effects also fell on a country expecting an economic windfall. For example, states lost revenue previously gained from liquor sales.

上世紀20年代，,如果你說“”going to see a man about a dog”，你並不是去尋找一隻等待營救的小狗；你只是想去喝一、兩杯烈性酒，也許威士忌就很合你意。爲什麼說話如此隱晦呢？在美國的禁酒令時期，自1920年一月美國憲法第十八修正案簽署到1933年禁酒令廢止，製造、運輸或者銷售酒都是違法行爲（但實際上飲酒卻不違法）。禁酒令被認爲是“高貴實驗”。這項禁令被認爲可以降低犯罪率、降低監獄開支；淨化社會，進而改善人們的健康和衛生狀況。但實際結果卻是與酒相關的犯罪率飆升、政府執法腐敗和官場貪污盛行。禁酒令並未能成功地阻止人們飲酒，它只是改變了飲酒時間和地點而已。因爲飲酒是非法的，而腳汁(指非法經營銷售便宜白酒的酒吧)和缺口汁（針對於那些喜歡重口味的人的酒吧）並未受到嚴格監管，並且在禁酒年中平均每年因飲用不潔酒而死亡的人數高達1000人。美國原想借禁酒令大發橫財，卻不想招致負面財政問題。比如，美國（禁酒令期間）失去了以往從酒銷售中所獲得的稅收。

審校：郗莉紅 編輯：listen 來源：前十網