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The American Revolution
美國獨立戰爭
Even before the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, a state of war existed between Great Britain and the American colonies. The first armed action took place in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775. British troops marched to Concord to destroy military supplies. The militia, known as Minutemen, were alerted, and they assembled in Lexington. Eight Minutemen were killed, and the British continued toward Concord. At the Concord Bridge, the British were turned away, and they began a retreat toward Boston. All along the road, the militia fired at the British and inflicted heavy casualties.
在第二屆大陸會議通過《獨立宣言》以前，英國和美洲殖民地之間就已經戰事連連。1775年4月9日，第一場戰爭在馬薩諸塞州康科德鎮的萊剋星頓打響。英國軍隊進軍康科德意圖收繳當地的軍用物資。號稱“一分鐘人”的當地民兵動作迅速，在萊剋星頓武裝組織起來。激戰中，八名“一分鐘人”犧牲。英國軍隊繼續向康科德鎮進軍。進行到康科德橋時，他們不再前行，開始往波士頓撤退。在撤退途中，遭遇北美民兵的武力攻擊，傷亡嚴重。
Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys and Benedict Arnold surprised the British at Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain with an attack on May 10, 1775. On June 17, 1775, at Breed's Hill (known as Bunker Hill) near Boston, colonial militia were able to hold off British troops for two charges, but hard to retreat when they ran out of ammunition. The British lost 1,054 men to the colonists' 449 in this bloodiest battle of the Revolution. The British troops then moved to Nova Scotia.
1775年5月10日，在尚普蘭湖畔的提康德加羅城堡戰役中，伊桑·艾倫和他的格林山兄弟會以及本尼迪克特·阿諾德讓英軍著實驚詫。1775年6月17日，在距離波士頓不遠的不理智山（也就是著名的邦克山）上，大陸軍擊退了英軍的'兩次進攻，然而在彈盡撤退之際卻遭遇困難。在這場血腥戰役中，英軍喪失1054名士兵，大陸軍則損失449人。之後，英軍轉移到新斯科舍。
On June 15, 1775, George Washington was appointed the commander in chief of the Continental Army. Arriving in Boston after the Battle of Breed's Hill, Washington gathered men and supplies, and early in 1776 placed the guns captured at Fort Ticonderoga on the heights overlooking Boston.
1775年6月5日，華盛頓被任命為大陸軍的最高總指揮。不理智山戰役結束後，華盛頓抵達波士頓，在當地徵集士兵和軍需品，並於1776年初在能夠俯瞰波士頓的高地設定哨所、
The war then shifted to New York City. Washington moved his men to Long Island and Manhattan Island. The British, commanded by General William Howe, landed 32,000 men including 9,000 German mercenaries (Hessians), on Long Island in July 1776. The inexperienced Continental Army was defeated on Long Island, Manhattan, and at White Plains, New York. However, the British failed to push their advantage, and Washington and his men were able to escape to New Jersey and across the Delaware River to Pennsylvania.
後來戰爭轉移至紐約城。華盛頓將軍把他的軍隊遷移到長島和曼哈頓島。英方的指揮軍威廉·豪將軍帶領32,000名英軍和9,000名德僱傭軍（德國黑森人）於1776年7月抵達長島。由於大陸軍缺乏經驗，在長島、曼哈頓、紐約白原戰役中戰敗。然而英軍沒有乘勝追擊，華盛頓和他的大陸軍得以逃往新澤西，後來又穿過特拉華河，抵達賓夕法尼亞州。
Before going into winter camp, Washington led his men across the Delaware River to attack a Hessian outpost at Trenton, New Jersey, on the morning of December 26, 1776. The Hessians were not expecting an attack on the day after Christmas. Over 900 Hessians were taken prisoner. Washington then moved around an army commanded by General Charles Cornwallis and attacked British troops near Princeton, New Jersey, on January 3, 1777. These victories greatly restored the patriots' hopes.
冬令營開始前，華盛頓帶領他的軍隊於1776年12月26日清晨穿過特拉華河，進攻駐紮在新澤西特倫頓的德國黑森人。由於剛過完聖誕節，黑森人根本沒料到會有敵軍偷襲，所以沒有絲毫防備，以至於900多人被俘。緊接著華盛頓包圍了一支由查爾斯·康沃利斯將軍為首的軍隊，並於1777年1月3日進攻駐紮在新澤西普林斯頓的英國軍隊。大陸軍接連取得的一系列勝利大大地重建了愛國士兵們的信心。
The battles fought at Saratoga, New York, on September 19 and October 17, 1777, resulted in the surrender of the British army commanded by General John Burgoyne to U.S. General Horatio Gates. After this victory, the French recognized the independence of the United States and agreed to form an alliance with the Americans against the British.
1777年9月19日，戰鬥在紐約的薩拉託加打響，10月17日，英國將領約翰·伯格將軍向美方將軍霍雷肖·蓋茨投降。薩拉託加戰役勝利後，法國承認了美國的獨立，並同意與美軍結成聯盟共同抵禦英國。
Fighting then shifted to the south with battles in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. Greatly helped by the French Navy, American and French troops closed in on the British forces in Yorktown, Virginia, commanded by General Cornwallis. By late August 1781, French ships had blockaded Yorktown so that no British reinforcements could reach Cornwallis. By October, Washington's army and General Jean Rochambeau's French troops surrounded Cornwallis and bombarded the British with French artillery. General Cornwallis formally surrendered on October 17, 1781. This was the last significant battle of the war.
戰事既而轉入喬治亞州、南卡羅來納、北卡羅來納州和維吉尼亞州。由於法國海軍的大力幫助，美法聯軍在維吉尼亞的約克鎮逼近由康沃利斯領導的英軍。1781年8月底，法國海軍封鎖了約克鎮，使得英國援軍不能前來救援康沃利斯。同年10月份，華盛頓的大陸軍和由吉恩·羅尚博領導的法國軍隊包圍了康沃利斯的軍隊，並用法國的大炮轟炸英軍。1781年10月17日，康沃利斯將軍正式投降，這標誌著美國獨立戰爭的結束。
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