The infamous and ingenious Ho Chi Minh Trail - Cameron Paterson

Translator: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Bedirhan Cinar

翻译人员: Minji Seo 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

Deep in the jungles of Vietnam,

在越南丛林的深处，

soldiers from both sides

双方士兵

battled heat exhaustion and each other

与热衰竭和彼此斗争了

for nearly 20 long years.

将近 20 年。

But the key to Communist victory

但共产政权的胜利

wasn't weapons or stamina,

并不是归功于武器或持久战，

it was a dirt road.

而是一条泥泞的道路。

The Ho Chi Minh Trail,

胡志明小径，

winding through Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia,

蜿蜒连接越南、老挝和柬埔寨，

started as a simple network of dirt roads

它始于简单的泥土路网络，

and blossomed into the centerpiece

最后演变为促成越战期间

of the winning North Vietnamese strategy

北越战略获胜的

during the Vietnam War,

重要一环，

supplying weapons,

为南方提供武器供应，

troops,

军队，

and psychological support to the South.

和心理支持。

The trail was a network of tracks,

这条小径是包含铁路，

dirt roads,

泥土道路和

and river crossings

渡河的网络，

that threaded west out of North Vietnam

它从北越向西穿出，

and south along the Truong Son Mountain Range

再沿着越南和老挝

between Vietnam and Laos.

中间的安南山脈南下。

The journey to the South originally took six months.

一趟向南的旅程 原本需要六个月的时间。

But, with engineering and ingenuity,

但是越南人发挥了聪明才智，

the Vietnamese expanded and improved the trail.

运用工程学改善和延伸了道路。

Towards the end of war,

贯穿整个战争阶段，

as the main roads detoured through Laos,

作为一条绕道老挝的主干道，

it only took one week.

连接南北越只需一个礼拜。

Here is how it happened.

一切是这样发生的。

In 1959, as relations deteriorated

在1959年，

between the North and the South,

南方和北方关系恶化，

a system of trails was constructed in order to infiltrate

为了将士兵、武器和粮食输送到南越，

soldiers, weapons, and supplies into South Vietnam.

北越修建了一系列道路。

The first troops moved in single-file

开路先锋成一字纵队，

along routes used by local ethnic groups,

沿着地方居民使用的小路前进，

and broken tree branches at dusty crossroads

并在泥土路的岔路口

were often all that indicated the direction.

折断树枝作为记号。

Initially, most of the Communist cadres

最初，沿路下来的

who came down the trail

共产党干部

were Southerners by birth who had trained in North Vietnam.

大都是南越出生、在北越受训的人。

They dressed like civilian peasants

他们打扮得和普通农民一样，

in black, silk pajamas with a checkered scarf.

黑色宽松衣裤和方格花纹的头巾。

They wore Ho Chi Minh sandals on their feet,

他们脚上穿着用切割后的轮胎

cut from truck tires,

制成的胡志明凉鞋，

and carried their ration of cooked rice

并用“象肠带”随身携带

in elephants' intestines,

烹饪好的米食，

a linen tube hung around the body.

这是一种缠在身上的亚麻筒带。

The conditions were harsh

条件很艰苦，

and many deaths were caused by exposure,

很多人死于炎热，

malaria,

疟疾，

and amoebic dysentery.

和阿米巴性痢疾。

Getting lost,

迷路，

starving to death,

饥饿，

and the possibility of attacks by wild tigers or bears

还有被野生老虎和熊攻击的可能性

were constant threats.

也时时危及着他们的生命。

Meals were invariably just rice and salt,

食物是一成不变的米和盐，

and it was easy to run out.

而且很容易就耗尽。

Fear, boredom, and homesickness

恐惧、空虚和思乡的情绪

were the dominant emotions.

始终萦绕心头。

And soldiers occupied their spare time

于是士兵们通过

by writing letters,

写信，

drawing sketches,

画画，

and drinking and smoking with local villagers.

和与当地居民抽烟喝酒来打发时间。

The first troops down the trail

第一批沿着小径走下来的部队

did not engage in much fighting.

并没有遭遇很多敌人。

And after an exhausting six month trip,

在筋疲力尽的六个月旅程后，

arriving in the South was a real highlight,

抵达南方是最值得纪念的事，

often celebrated by bursting into song.

他们通常会高歌庆祝。

By 1965, the trip down the trail could be made by truck.

到了1965 年， 这趟旅程可以用卡车完成。

Thousands of trucks supplied by China and Russia

中国和苏联援助的上千辆卡车

took up the task amidst ferocious B-52 bombing

成为 B-52 轰炸机最明显的目标，

and truck drivers became known as pilots of the ground.

而卡车司机被称为“地面飞行员”。

As traffic down the trail increased,

当小径上的车辆越来越多，

so did the U.S. bombing.

美军空袭也越来越密集。

They drove at night or in the early morning

驾驶员开始在夜晚或凌晨开车

to avoid air strikes,

来躲避空袭，

and watchmen were ready

而哨兵则会准备

to warn drivers of enemy aircraft.

对司机通报敌方飞机的行踪。

Villages along the trail organized teams

沿路的村民会组织起来

to guarantee traffic flow

确保车流顺畅，

and to help drivers repair damage caused by air attacks.

并帮助司机修复空袭所造成的损伤。

Their catch cries were,

他们的口号是

"Everything for our Southern brothers!"

“一切为了我们的南方兄弟！”

and, "We will not worry about our houses

和“在车子还没通过前，

if the vehicles have not yet gotten through."

我们不会去管自己的房子。”

Some families donated their doors

有些家庭捐出门板

and wooden beds to repair roads.

和木床用来维修道路。

Vietnamese forces even used deception

越南军甚至诱使美军

to get the U.S. aircraft to bomb mountainsides

对山脚进行轰炸。

in order to make gravel for use

为了取得建造和维护道路

in building and maintaining roads.

所需的砾石。

The all-pervading red dust seeped into every nook and cranny.

这条道路延伸到了每一个角落。

The Ho Chi Minh Trail had a profound impact

胡志明小径对于越战

on the Vietnam War

有着深远的影响，

and it was the key to Hanoi's success.

也是河内获胜的关键。

North Vietnamese victory was not determined by the battlefields,

北越的胜利并不是在战场上，

but by the trail,

而是由一条小径决定的，

which was the political,

这是政治，

strategic,

and economic lynchpin.

战略，

和经济各层面的结合。

Americans recognized its achievement,

美国认识到了这条路的重要性，

calling the trail,

并将它称作

"One of the great achievements

‘“20世纪军事工程上

in military engineering of the 20th century."

最伟大的成就。”

The trail is a testimony to the strength of will

这条道路见证了越南人民的

of the Vietnamese people,

坚韧意志，

and the men and women who used the trail

而所有穿梭于这条小径的人们，

have become folk heros.

都被尊为民族英雄。