谢尔曼在向海洋进军中纵火焚烧亚特兰大（汉译英）_一起走过的日子 ...

谢尔曼在向海洋进军中纵火焚烧亚特兰大

1864年，格兰特率领的波托马可军团与罗伯特.李将军率领的南方军在维吉尼亚州冷泉港的激战历经一个月终于结束了，这次战役使北方军推进到了南方的首都雷切蒙德附近，但尤利塞斯.格兰特将军为此付出了惨重的代价：在此次战役中他共伤亡50000余人。相比之下，南方军的损失却要少得多，大约伤亡20000人。格兰特从这次战役中学到了战争中最重要的一课，那就是防御战术的发展要比进攻战术的发展快得多。本周，我们继续向你讲述美国内战的故事。

到1864年秋，内战形势已经很明显，北方将在内战中战胜南方。南方需要大量的兵源和各种各样的补给，而现在他们想获得足够的补充以便能够打赢这场战争已经没有什么希望了。北方军越来越强大，装备也越来越好。然而尽管如此，由于新军事技术的运用，使北方军仍然遭受到重创，仍有大量的伤亡。

一种新的子弹发明出来了，这种新子弹叫迷你弹，它使枪变成一种更可怕的武器。在迷你弹发明之前，很少有士兵能够在三十米开外的地方射中目标，而有了这种新子弹，他们就可以在一百五十米之外打中目标。持有这样枪的士兵可以躲在土石墙后面射击敌人，对方想要击败他们几乎是不可能的。

然而，绝大多数美国军官们似乎不愿意接受这一事实，他们仍然继续使用迷你弹发明之前的子弹来进攻。进攻前，成百上千的士兵在敌人的阵地前排成排，进攻信号发出后，他们就向前进发，当他们靠近敌人的阵地时，他们就向敌人开火，当他们到达敌人的阵地时，他们就拔出bs或直接用手与敌人搏斗。这种进攻的思路就是想给敌人以震憾，让敌人感到可怕，从而迫使敌人逃跑。双方的军官们已经知道，这种战术已经不起作用了，进攻者根本就不可能对防御者造成真正的伤害，因为在进攻者还没有靠近之前就已经被防御者给消灭了。

经过三年半的内战，已经有数十万南北双方的将士伤亡，但战争仍然在继续。在东部，北方军已经推进到他们的主要目标：南方首都，位于维吉尼亚州的雷切蒙德。在西部，北方军已经慢慢地推进到南方的纵深。北方西部军由威廉.谢尔曼（William Sherman）将军率领。

谢尔曼有两大目标，一个是占领乔治亚州的亚特兰大市，亚特兰大是南方为数不多的工业城市之一。另一目标是消灭由乔.约翰斯顿率领的南方军。谢尔曼所率领的军事力量要比约翰斯顿强大的多，但是南方军通常都选择易守难攻的阵地进行阻击。谢尔曼不在这种情况下向敌人发起攻击，而是绕过南方军的阵地，打迂回战，从而迫使南方军不得不撤退。谢尔曼一再使用这一招。

南方的总统杰斐逊.戴维斯开始认为约翰斯顿不敢与北方作战，因此他用一个将军来替换约翰斯顿。这位新将军接任后的两天里，就向北方军发起了进攻。这次进攻没有做好充分的准备，他的进攻是基于一个虚假的信息。这次进攻简直就是一次灾难，在十{yt}的战斗中，这支在乔治亚州的南方军损失了三分之一，余下的疲惫不堪，根本就无力守卫亚特兰大，亚特兰大市被北方军攻陷。

在攻占亚特兰大后，谢尔曼将军与驻守在乔治亚州北部的南方军进行了一系列战斗，随后他决定向大西洋海岸的萨凡纳（Savannah）进攻。在他们离开亚特兰大前，他的军队纵火焚烧了这座城市，亚特兰大城里的一切几乎被彻底毁灭。萨凡纳距亚特兰大350公里，谢尔曼在向萨凡纳进军的途中，继续采取这种对付亚特兰大的恐怖手段，他开辟了一条一百多公里的毁灭之路。这次战役就是zm的“谢尔曼向海洋进军”。

谢尔曼说，他想让乔治亚州的人遭受苦难，让他们看看，南方政府已经无法保护他们的安全。北方士兵每到一个农场和村庄停顿，他们随意掠夺粮食和衣服，他们抢走了马匹、牛和其他牲畜，对于那些他们拿不了的，或不想要的，他们就毁坏它。他们纵火焚烧房屋和农场的建筑，他们烧毁了庄稼，他们摧毁了店铺和工厂，他们还烧毁了桥梁，捣毁了铁轨。日复一日，这支由谢尔曼率领的北方军切断了他们自己回乔治亚州的路。

在谢尔曼向海洋进军的路上，没有遇到什么对手，一些小股的南方骑兵也只是在这支大军的边缘进行骚扰，并没能给他们带来什么危害。1864年12月22日，谢尔曼到达了萨凡纳，他给在华盛顿的林肯总统捎去一封信，他说“我请求将萨凡纳市作为圣诞礼物送给您。”谢尔曼向海洋进军给南方的心脏地带带来了巨大的伤害，南方邦联现在所剩下的只有南卡罗莱纳州、北卡罗莱纳州和维吉尼亚州。他向海洋进军给南方人的士气予以巨大的毁灭性的打击。

谢尔曼在萨凡纳休整一个月后，于1865年2月1日开始向北进军，他的目标是要与驻扎在南方首都外围的尤利塞斯.格兰特将军会合。当谢尔曼军队穿过南卡罗莱纳州时，他们摧毁了他们视线所及的一切东西。北方士兵还清楚地记得，是南卡罗莱纳州{dy}个发动叛乱并脱离lb，他们还清楚地记得是南卡罗莱纳州打响了美国内战的{dy}枪。现在，倒过来了，北方军摧毁了他们身后的一切。南方军根本就无法阻挡他们。

同样的情况发生在雷切蒙德东北的雪兰多山谷。在美国内战初期，南方军从雪兰多山谷向北方进军，他们侵略了马里兰州和宾夕法尼亚州，并威胁华盛顿。格兰特将军认为雪兰多山谷对南方军的帮助实在是太大了，于是他派遣一部分军队进入雪兰多山谷，他们命令他们摧毁一切可能被南方军所用的东西。“吃光维吉尼亚，”他说，“尽你们所能到达的地方，qc一切。”农场被毁，庄稼被毁，农场的牲畜被带走或被杀。没有留下一点可以供人和动物吃的东西。

随后，格兰特将军派菲利普.谢里丹（Philip Sheridan）将军带领一支部队进入雪兰多山谷。谢里丹在1864年秋与一支弱小的的疲惫不堪的南方军连续作战，取了一个又一个的胜利。到这年底，北方军wq控制了雪兰多山谷。南方军{wy}的军事力量只剩下罗伯特.李所率领的部队了。

由于雪兰多山谷非常靠近南方军驻地，南方军的补给就更少了，几乎没有什么东西可以给李将军的部队。马车一次又一次地出去寻找食物，可是每次几乎都是空手而回。越来越多的南方士兵逃跑了，有些人回到了家乡，有些则直接向北方军投降。南方军领导人再也不可能找到接替这些逃兵的人了，士兵们也不再听话了。然而，在南方，还有一支庞大的力量没有应召参战，他们就是奴隶。

在南方，奴隶已经在部队中担任非作战任务，他们修路、架桥，他们驾驶马车，但他们却不能成为士兵去打战。而在北方，数以千计的自由黑人已经在部队中服役，只是他们所得的报酬要比白人士兵少。南方的立法议员终于开始讨论让奴隶当兵打战。让参加部队作战的奴隶成为自由人的法案提出来了，然而，尽管这项法案可能挽救南方邦联，许多南方领导人还是反对这项提案。有一个人说：“不要武装奴隶，你让奴隶当兵打战之日就是我们这次革命结束之时。如果奴隶成为优秀的士兵，那么就证明我们整个奴隶制度是错误的。”

罗伯特.李将军对此表示反对，他认为，如果奴隶认为他们对南方胜利感兴趣，那么这些奴隶就可能成为优秀的士兵。他提议立即给予那些当兵的奴隶以自由。南方国会于1865年3月通过了一项法案，这项法案同意奴隶可以当兵打战，不过这项法案并没有让当兵的奴隶成为自由人。然而，到此时，一切都已经太晚了，一支未经训练的奴隶军队是不可能挽救南方邦联的。

简评：

将在外，君命有所不受。

在战事最为关键的时候，南方总统不相信自己的将领，临阵换将，将乔.约翰斯顿替换，从而加速了南方的失败。

战争是可怕的，其可怕之处在于，战争会让一个有良心、有修养的人变成一个禽兽，战争让人的心灵扭曲，战争会让一个人变态。我相信，谢尔曼将军和格兰特将军在战前都是有身份、有修养的人，也是有良心的人。可是，我们看到，在战争中，他们竟然纵容士兵摧毁一切。要知道，这些人可都是他们自己的同胞呀。是什么让他们变得如此恐怖，是战争！

请让我们记住，战争本身并不太可怕，真正可怕的是战争改变了人，而在战争中的人，才是最可怕的动物！

Sherman Burns Atlanta in March to the Sea　

In eighteen sixty-four, the battle at Cold Harbor in Virginia ended a month of fighting by the Union Army of the Potomac. The campaign had brought the army almost to the edge of Richmond, the Confederate capital. But General Ulysses Grant had paid a terrible price: more than fifty thousand Union dead and wounded. Confederate losses were much lighter -- about twenty thousand. Grant was beginning to learn an important lesson of the war. The methods of defense had improved much more than the methods of attack.　This week in our series, we continue the story of the American Civil War.　　

By the autumn of eighteen sixty-four, it appeared that the North would defeat the South in the American Civil War. The southern army needed men and supplies. There was little hope of getting enough of either to win. The northern army was stronger and better-equipped. But it, too, had suffered. Much of the death and destruction was the result of new military technology.

A new kind of bullet had been invented. It was called the minie ball. It made the gun a much more deadly weapon. Before the minie ball, few soldiers could hit a target more than thirty meters away. With the new bullet, they could hit targets more than one hundred fifty meters away. Soldiers with such weapons could be put into position behind stone or earth walls. Then it was almost impossible to defeat them.

Most American generals, however, seemed unable to accept this. They continued to use the old methods of attack that had worked before the minie ball was invented. Hundreds or thousands of men were put in long lines across the front of the enemy position. A signal was given. The men began to march forward. When they got close, they fired their guns. Then they ran at the enemy and struck with their knives or hands. The idea was to shock the enemy, frighten him, and make him run away. As generals on both sides learned, this method no longer worked. The attackers were shot down before they could get close enough to hurt the defenders. 　　

After three and a half years of fighting, hundreds of thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers had been killed or wounded. Still the war continued. In the East, Union armies were slowly pushing forward toward their main target. That was the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia. In the West, Union armies were slowly pushing deeper into Confederate territory. The western armies were led by General William Sherman.

Sherman had two goals. One was to capture the city of Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta was one of the few remaining industrial cities of the Confederacy. The other goal was to destroy the Confederate army led by General Joe Johnston. Sherman's army was stronger than Johnston's army. But the Confederates usually got into better defensive positions. Sherman refused to attack in such situations. It was easier to march around the Confederates and force them to withdraw. This happened again and again.

Confederate President Jefferson Davis began to believe that General Johnston was afraid to fight. He replaced him with another general. Within two days, that general attacked the Union Army. The attack began without enough planning. It was based on false information. It was a disaster. In eleven days of fighting, one-third of the Confederate Army in Georgia was destroyed. The remaining force was too weak to defend Atlanta. The city fell. 　

After capturing Atlanta, General Sherman fought a series of small battles with a Confederate force across northern Georgia. Then he decided to march to Savannah, a city on the Atlantic coast. Before leaving, his men set fire to the city. Almost all of Atlanta was destroyed. Sherman's army would continue to do this all the way to Savannah, Georgia, three hundred fifty kilometers away. It cut a path of destruction more than one hundred kilometers wide. This campaign would be known as Sherman's March to the Sea.　　

Sherman said he wanted to make the people of Georgia suffer. He said he wanted to show the people of the Confederacy that their government could not protect them. Union soldiers stopped at every farm and village. They took food and clothing. They took horses, cows, and other farm animals. What they could not take, or did not want, they destroyed. They set fire to houses and farm buildings. They burned crops. They destroyed stores and factories. They burned bridges and pulled up railroad tracks. Day by day, the Union army of General William Sherman cut and burned its way across Georgia.　

The army faced little opposition. Small groups of Confederate horse soldiers struck at the edges of the army. But they did little damage. On December twenty-second, eighteen sixty-four, Sherman reached Savannah. He sent a message to President Abraham Lincoln in Washington. He said: "I beg to present you, as a Christmas holiday gift, the city of Savannah." Sherman's campaign had cut a great wound in the heart of the Confederacy. All that remained were the states of South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. His march to the sea had a great, destructive effect on the spirit of the South.

Sherman's army rested in Savannah for a month. Then, on February first, eighteen sixty-five, it began to move north. The goal was to join General Ulysses Grant outside the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia. As Sherman's army moved across South Carolina, it destroyed almost everything in sight. The soldiers remembered that South Carolina had been the first state to rebel and leave the Union. They remembered that South Carolina had fired the first shots of the war. This time -- against orders -- they destroyed the land they left behind. Confederate forces could not stop them.

The same thing happened in the Shenandoah River Valley northwest of Richmond. In the early years of the war, Confederate forces had moved through the valley to strike northern territory. They had invaded Maryland and Pennsylvania, and had threatened Washington, from there. General Grant decided that the Confederates had used the Shenandoah Valley long enough. He sent some of his men into the valley. He ordered them to destroy everything that might be of use to the enemy. "Eat up Virginia," he said, "clear and clean as far as you can go." Farms were burned. Crops were destroyed. Farm animals were taken away or killed. Nothing was left that could feed a man or animal. Nothing but blackened earth.

Then General Grant sent General Philip Sheridan into the Shenandoah Valley. Sheridan's army battled its way through the valley in the autumn of eighteen sixty-four. It gained victory after victory against a smaller, weaker Confederate force. By the end of the year, Union troops had complete control of the valley. The only Confederate power that remained was the army of General Robert E. Lee.　　

With the Shenandoah Valley closed to the Confederates, food supplies fell very low. There was almost nothing to feed the soldiers in Lee's army. Wagons would go out each day in search of food. They returned almost empty. More and more Confederate soldiers were running away. Some returned to their homes. Others surrendered to Union forces. Confederate leaders no longer could find soldiers to take the places of those who left. Men would not answer the army's call. There was, however, a huge labor force in the South that the army had not called: slaves. 　

Slaves had been used to do non-military work for the army. They had built roads and bridges. They had driven wagons. But they had not served as soldiers. In the North, thousands of free Negroes served in the Union army. But they received less pay than white soldiers. Confederate lawmakers finally began to discuss the idea of using slaves as soldiers. A bill was proposed that would free any slave who joined the army to fight. Many southern leaders opposed the bill, even if it would save the Confederacy. Said one: "Do not arm the slaves. The day you make them soldiers is the beginning of the end of the revolution. If slaves make good soldiers, our whole idea of slavery is wrong."　　

General Robert E. Lee did not agree. He believed slaves could be made into good soldiers if they believed they had an interest in Confederate victory. He proposed giving immediate freedom to any slave who joined the army. The Confederate Congress passed a bill in March of eighteen sixty-five to accept Negroes as soldiers. The bill did not promise to free them. By then, however, it was too late. An army of freed slaves could not be trained in time to save the Confederacy.