他们已不再变老（2018）

who were straggling out and your legs
你的腿就像是自己会自动前进
seemed to go automatically forward.
我就仿佛是在梦游里走一样
I had a feeling that we were walking in our sleep.’
越来越多的人被带到前线
‘More men were brought into the line and
军团全都挤在一起了
regiments were crowded closer together.’
我们充满了战壕 像沙丁鱼一样挤在里面
‘We were filling up the trenches, packed in like sardines.’
我们队长是一个了不起的人
‘Our captain was a splendid man.
他从未怒吼着下指令
He would never bark an order at you.
他会以一种谈话的方式给出指令
He would give an order in a conversational way.
我们不知道这道战壕有多远
“We don’t know how far this trench is,
但是在200到300码之间
but it’s between 200 and 300 yards.
我会在第一波攻击里 你们在第二波
I will go over in the first wave and you’ll be in the second wave
一旦幕火被点燃 我们就前进
and as soon as the curtain fire starts, we move.
现在 直走告诉你的人准备好
Now, go along and tell your men to be ready.”
那就是我们得到的指令
And this is the sort of order we got.’
我们的两个攻击部队都不知道
‘Our two assaulting companies were ignorant of
当他们开始采取行动时他们要怎么执行
what their conduct would be when they got into action.
内维尔上尉想
Captain Neville thought it might be
如果他能给每个排装配一个足球
helpful if he could furnish each platoon
让他们踢着它向前然后追着它 会多有用
with a football and allow them to kick it forward and follow it.
我自认为这能帮上很大的忙
I think myself that it did help them
减轻他们的精神压力
enormously. Took their minds off it.’
我们的脖子上多了一个子弹袋
‘We had an extra bandolier of ammunition around our necks
要么拿着铲子 要么拿着镐
and if you didn’t have a shovel, you had a pick.’
我们到达战壕 等着攻等时刻
‘We got in the trenches and we waited for zero hour.
所有的手表都是同步的
All the watches are synchronised.’
我就是第一个刺刀队
‘I was what is called a first bayonet man,
这意味着我背着步♥枪♥和刺刀
which meant I carried the rifle with
处于进攻位置上
the bayonet in the attacking position
剩下的人背着炸♥弹♥袋
and the rest of the men carried bags of bombs.’
我们被警告要随时准备好前进
‘And we warned to be ready to advance at any moment.
随时是一段相当漫长的时间
“Any moment” was quite a long time coming.
无疑这也让我们觉得更加紧张了
Of course, that added to the tension that we were feeling.’
小心线
Mind the wire!
我的排被告知要出去试一试火
‘My platoon had been told to go out and test the fire.
我们得走出去走向敌人
We had to get out and walk towards the enemy.
我们行进了200码然后他们叫我们回来
We went about 200 yards and then they called us back again.’
前几天没有任何初步轰炸
‘There was to be no preliminary bombardment the days beforehand.
在战斗之前只有一次短促剧烈的炮击
There was only one short, sharp barrage just before the battle.’
开火
Fire!
你得让炮兵准备好
‘You’ve got to have the artillery
去把他们的铁丝砸烂
preparation to smash their wire down.’
开火
Fire!
我下令对敌人可能集结的
‘I ordered fire on possible enemy
阵地和阵营开火
assembly and forming-up positions.’
-轰击开始 -准备 开火
– ‘The bombardment started…’ – Ready! Fire!
-地动山摇 -开火
– ‘..and the ground shook…’ – Fire!
我们看见成百上千的枪弹闪耀着
‘..and we could see the hundreds and hundreds of gun flashes.’
准备 开火
Ready! Fire!
第一次开火
Fire one!
第二次开火 第三次开火
Fire two! Fire three!
第四次开火
Fire four!
轰炸一开始
‘As soon as the bombardment started,
德军的报复就来了
the Germans’ retaliation came.
长达四个小时内 我们只能坐在那里
For four hours, we had to sit there
接受对面抛给我们的一切
and take everything he slung at us.’
首先是大量的坦克加入战局
‘And, first of all, a large number of tanks went in.
我们能听见轰隆轰隆的声音
We could hear them rumbling and rattling.’
320辆坦克正在向我们移♥动♥
‘320 tanks crawling along.’
我们等待着离开的信♥号♥♥
‘We waited for the signal to move off.
每个人都很渴望离开 但是等了又等
Already, everybody was anxious to go, but we waited and waited.’
那天晚上我们没有睡觉
‘We got no sleep that night, owing to
这都归功于我们的火炮弹幕
the noise of our artillery barrage,
在整个晚上一直持续着
which was continuous the whole time.’
我们被要求把所有的个人物品上交
‘We were asked to hand over any personal
给我们的军官
belongings to our company officer,
像是我们珍视的相片和信件等
such as photographs and letters that we valued.’
我听见和别人轻声说话的声音
‘I heard soft voices talking to one another quietly
我想着我们之中有多少人能活着见到明天的日出
and I wondered how many were going to live to see the sun rise.’
在工资本上
‘In a man’s pay book, there was
有一项条款是订立有效的遗嘱
provision for making a valid will,
如果他们是第一次参加行动的话
if they were going into action for
不过我不是很在意
the first time, but I didn’t bother.
我没什么可以留给别人的
I had nothing to leave anybody. ‘
你旁边的那个人 是你最好的朋友
‘The fellow next to you, he was your best friend.
你爱他
You loved him.
你可能一天之前或者一小时之前
You perhaps didn’t know him the day before
都还不认识他
and then an hour to go…
那是生命中最长也最短的时间
They were the longest and the shortest hours in life.’
我们有无限的时间可以思考
‘We had unlimited time for thinking
我知道我自己深刻地想了很多
and I know I found myself thinking much more deeply
那些我之前从未想过的东西
than I had ever thought before.’
有些人是没有办法思考的
‘Some people might be incapable of thinking.
他们可能会将情况视作
They might have regarded the situation as being such that
他们没有能力思考
they were incapable of thought.’
我认为我们都不恐惧
‘l don’t think there was any fear.
是因为我们只是在工作罢了
It was just that we were doing a job
如果死神真的来了 就来了
and if it came, it came.’
我们都意识到 或早或晚
‘We realised that, sooner or later,
我们会被砍死的
we were going to get the chop.
你要么被杀要么受伤
You were either going to be killed or wounded.’
我并不是一点也不害怕死亡
‘l was not in the least frightened of being killed,
如果我丢了一条手臂或一只腿会更害怕
but I was terrified lest I should lose an arm or a leg.’
为一场袭击等待一个小时不是一件快活的事
‘Waiting for an hour for an attack is not a very pleasant thing.
我们有时会聊天 尝试使精神振奋
We sort of chatted away, trying to keep the spirits up, you see.
我们说下流故事也骂脏话
We told dirty stories and made crude remarks.’
在我们身后一英里处 有1000支枪聚集
‘We had 1,000 guns massed on a mile front behind us.
你可以想象所有炮火朝你身上飞来
Well, you imagine all this stuff coming over you
令一边是德军压境
with the German stuff coming the other way.’
噪音渐强 上升至前所未有的高度
‘The noise rose to a crescendo such as I’d never heard before.’
你一个字都听不见
‘You wouldn’t hear a word.’
炮弹从你身边一米处飞过
‘The shells were passing over you probably three foot, four foot,
空气如同炼狱 而你的心则是另一重炼狱
and the air, it was an inferno and your mind was another inferno.
轰炸之下 理智尽失
Reason was completely blast out of it.’
轰炸制♥造♥出一种歇斯底里的情绪
‘The bombardment created a sort of hysterical feeling.’
突然之间 一位士兵
‘All of a sudden, one of our fellas
开始哭喊 尖叫 哭喊
started crying, screaming and crying.
掌事的军官告诉中士
The officer in charge, telling the sergeant,
“找到那人 一枪崩了他 崩了他”
“Find that man and shoot him! Shoot him!”‘
你很难解释一个人
‘It’s difficult to explain the reaction
处于轰炸之中的反应
of a man when he’s in a bombardment.’
他认为那士兵的尖叫和哭喊声
‘He thought that this man’s screaming and crying
会给其他人带来危险
would be a danger to the rest of the men.’
敌方火力一减弱 我们就领到了配给的朗姆酒
‘As soon as it was light, we were given a ration of rum,
不限♥量♥ 你能喝多少就喝多少
any amount of it, as much as you could drink.’
然后我们接到了加固刺刀的命令
‘And we got the order to fix bayonets.’
-加固刺刀 -刺刀已加固
– Fix bayonets! – Bayonets fixed!
那是美丽的一天 尤其是雨夜过后的黎明
‘It was a beautiful day the way it dawned after a rainy night.
美丽的一天
A beautiful day.’
然后 就在出发前五分钟
‘Then, five minutes to go,
我想起了那些站在那里的小伙子们
I remember those lads standing there.
一片死寂 发不出一点声音了
Dead silent, couldn’t make a noise.’
坐在那儿等待出发更让我害怕
‘I was more frightened sitting waiting to start.
我那时非常害怕 真的非常害怕
I was very frightened then. Very frightened indeed.’
一位军官冲着队伍大喊 “都准备好了吗”
‘And an officer shouted along the line, “ls everybody ready?”
于是我喊道 “我的刺刀装不上步♥枪♥了 长官”
And I called out, “I can’t get my bayonet on my rifle, sir!”
他说 “该死 你这家伙 快点”
He said, “Damn you, mate! Well, hurry up!”‘
我给旅部送回消息
‘I sent back a message to brigade headquarters
说我们都准备好了
to say we were all ready,
但不幸的是 出了一点小问题
but, unfortunately, a slight mistake occurred.
他们最先感受到的是从地面传来的可怕震颤