工作贴:一战将领 [这个贴子最后由阿修比在 2002/11/11 01:30am 编辑] Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck(弗尔贝克) Colonel Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck (1870-1964) was remarkable among military commanders of the First World War in that he served for the entire period without ever having suffered defeat. Often compared with the better-known T.E. Lawrence - Lawrence of Arabia - Lettow-Vorbeck similarly was a master of guerrilla warfare, this time in East Africa. With a force never great than 14,000 in total - comprised of 3,000 German and 11,000 Askari (native African) troops - Lettow-Vorbeck ran rings around Allied forces (for the most part British and South African) that were ten times larger than his own. Lettow-Vorbeck realised quickly that the German campaign against Allied forces in East Africa needed to be conducted on his own terms, largely by seizing (and retaining) the initiative. Prior to the war Lettow-Vorbeck had seen service during the Boxer Rebellion, and in German Southwest Africa (Namibia) during the Hottentot and Herero Rebellion of 1904-08, during which he was wounded and sent to South Africa to recuperate. Six months before the the outbreak of war in 1914, Lettow-Vorbeck - then a Lieutenant-Colonel - was given command of Germany’s forces in East Africa, which included twelve companies of Askari troops. In August he began his war by attacking the British railway in Kenya. Three months later a large mixed British and Indian invasion force landed at Tanga Bay to conquer German East Africa59; in numerical terms at least they outnumbered Lettow-Vorbeck’s available force by some eight to one. Nevertheless, right from the start he demonstrated great tactical planning. With the Allied landing a success, Lettow-Vorbeck pulled his forces some distance back, not in full retreat as seemed apparent, but simply in order to draw the British and Indian forces further inland, catching them in a crossfire and inflicting heavy casualties, quickly obliging a British retreat back to Tanga Bay to consolidate. Over the next couple of years Lettow-Vorbeck launched raids into the British colonies of Kenya and Rhodesia, the aim being to destroy forts situated there, along with railway track and carriages. His Askari troops, trained in the Prussian manner, gained in confidence and experience with each successful raid. Jan Smuts - himself an enemy of the British during the Boer War of 1899-1902, but now serving with them - was tasked in March 1916 with dealing with Lettow-Vorbeck, and in doing so launched an attack from South Africa with a force of 45,000 men. As with the British beforehand, Lettow-Vorbeck led Smuts a merry dance, although curiously this did not subsequently harm Smuts political career in any way. In 1917 the Allies turned up the heat on Lettow-Vorbeck, with attacks launched from such disparate locations as Kenya, Rhodesia, Congo and Mozambique - the latter two spearheaded by Belgian and Portuguese forces, respectively. With his forces running low on supplies - both ammunition and food - Lettow-Vorbeck was forced to live off the land, although a successful raid upon a Portuguese arms dump near the Mozambique border largely resolved his arms shortage. Lettow-Vorbeck launched fresh raids against Rhodesian forts in 1918, tackling one after another. He was in the midst of planning further large raids when news of the 11 November Armistice reached him (from a British prisoner). Far from beaten, and with a force of some 3,000 men available to him, Lettow-Vorbeck nonetheless decided to surrender to the British on 25 November at Mbaala, Zambia. Returning to Germany as a national hero (and having been promoted general in the field), Lettow-Vorbeck was likewise admired by his former enemies as a courageous, tenacious and honourable fighter. Once in Germany he immediately joined the Freikorps, and at the head of a brigade successfully crushed Spartacist forces in Hamburg. Lettow-Vorbeck was however obliged to resign from the army having declared his support for the right-wing Kapp Putsch in 1920. His memoirs of his wartime experiences were subsequently published (in English translation) as My Reminiscences of East Africa. From May 1929 until July 1930 he served as a deputy in the Reichstag, later unsuccessfully trying to establish a conservative opposition to Hitler. When Smuts, his former opponent, in the aftermath of the Second World War, heard that Lettow-Vorbeck was living in destitution, he arranged (along with former South African and British officers) for a small pension to be paid to him until his death on 9 March 1964 at the age of 94. Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck(弗尔贝克) 保罗·冯·雷托夫-福尔贝克(1870-1964),陆军上校,因其在整个一次世界大战的全胜记录而成为军队指挥官中的著名人物。 在东非其间,因为福尔贝克擅长游击战术而经常被比作著名的T.E.劳伦斯(即:阿拉伯的劳伦斯)。福尔贝克带领着从未超过14000人的杂牌军(其中德国人只有3000人,阿拉伯人有1300人),与协约国部队(由大多数英国人及少量南非人组成)打运动战,而协约国部队比福尔贝克部队强大十倍。 福尔贝克很快意识到德国在东非与协约国军对抗需要靠他自己维持部队,于是他大量的雇用当地人或抓壮丁。 在1914年战争爆发前六个月,福尔贝克陆军中尉被任命为德国驻东非部队指挥官,其中包括12支非洲民兵部队。 同年8月,福尔贝克攻击了英国在肯尼亚的铁路,从而开始了他自己的战争。3个月后,一支大型英国和印度混编部队在坦加(Tanga)海湾登陆,来攻占德属东非。这支部队在数量上与福尔贝克所属部队之比为8:1,但就是从此刻起,他向世人展示了他伟大的战术计划。 当这支协约军成功登陆后,福尔贝克将自己的部队后撤了一段距离,但这并不是撤退,而是将敌军引入内陆的交叉火力网,并对其施以了灾难性打击,迫使这支部队返回坦加(Tanga)海湾重整。 2年后,福尔贝克将攻击目标放在了英国在肯尼亚和罗得西亚的殖民地,摧毁了当地的延着铁路及运输线而建的要塞,他的阿拉伯部队在普鲁士精神的训练下、在一次又一次成功的攻击中增加了经验及自信。 让·斯姆茨(Jan Smuts)曾在1899-1902年的布尔战争(Boer War)中与英国为敌,但在1916年3月与英国军队协力对付福尔贝克,他带领着一支45000人的军队从南非发动攻击。As with the British beforehand, Lettow-Vorbeck led Smuts a merry dance,当然这并没有伤害到斯姆茨今后的政治生涯。 在1917年,盟军加大了对福尔贝克的攻击力度,在很多地区发动了攻击,比如肯尼亚、罗得西亚、刚果、莫桑比克――稍后,比利时和葡萄牙部队也分别加入对福尔贝克的围剿。 由于他部队给养的不足――包括弹药和食物,虽然他也成功的攻击了葡萄牙部队在莫桑比克边境的供给站并极大地解决了该问题,但他还是不得不撤离。 1918年,福尔贝克采取各个击破的战术对罗得西亚要塞群发起了新一轮的攻击。11月11日,正当他计划进一步攻击时,他从一个英国战俘那里获知了停战协议的消息。虽然远离被攻击的命运,并有3000人的部队可供指挥,福尔贝克还是决定与11月25日在赞比亚的姆巴拉(Mbaala)向英国人投降。 在以民族英雄的身份返回德国(在战场上被提升为将军)后,福尔贝克依然被他以前的敌人所尊重,认为他是一个勇敢、固执、正直的对手。当他一回到德国就加入了Freikorps,并成功的率领一个旅击溃了在汉堡的斯巴达克同盟的部队。 1920年,福尔贝克因公开支持右翼的Kapp Putsch而被迫辞职。 他的战争回忆录《我的东非回忆录》很快以英文版的形式出版。1929年~1930年7月,福尔贝克担任德国国会议员。随后,福尔贝克尝试建立一个反希特勒的组织,但是以失败告终。 在第二次世界大战后,当他以前的对手斯姆茨听说福尔贝克生活窘困后,连同了以前南非和英国军官为其提供了一些养老金,直至1964年3月9日他去世为止,享年94岁。 ———————————————————————— 发现原来的传记份量不够,增补一份: Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck (1870-1964): Undefeated on the Battlefield The First World War began with the treacherous murder of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife by fanatical Serbian nationalists in the city of Sarajevo, capital of present-day Bosnia-Herzigovina. The Serbs, already at this time, hoped to annex Bosnia-Herzigovina, just as they would attempt to do so again in the early 1990’s. As the French and the Russians rushed to stand by the assassins in Serbia, Germany made the decision to stand by the victim of this tragedy, Austria-Hungary. At this point, Britain had not yet made a decision about participation in the war. It did not escape the notice of the British War Ministry, however, that Germany’s far-flung colonies were essentially cut off from Germany itself and were defended only by very small German garrisons. Despite the fact that the British Empire at this time encompassed nearly one quarter of the earth’s surface, Britain’s greed for territory had not yet been satiated. The decision was made to enter the war on the side of Serbia, France, and Russia because it was assumed that Germany’s isolated colonies would be easy pickings for Britain and could be incorporated into their Empire at little or no cost. Like most other assumptions made by the various parties at the outset of the war, this assumption, too, would prove to be mistaken. A number of German colonies in Africa and the South Pacific fell quickly, but others, such as German South-West Africa, exacted a heavy toll from the British. German East Africa (present day Tanzania) would prove to be a complete disaster for the British, however, due to the skill and heroism of its commander, Oberst (Colonel) Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. Von Lettow-Vorbeck came from a famous old Prussian military family and his ancestors had distinguished themselves in the Prussian Army in the Seven Year’s War and the War of Liberation against Napoleon. At the beginning of the war, v. Lettow-Vorbeck had about 4,000 men under his command, consisting of several hundred German officers and non-commissioned officers and a handful of European volunteers. But the bulk of his force was comprised of the Askari, native African recruits serving in the German Army. The Askari were trained according to the same Prussian standards as were the German soldiers. Not surprisingly, they proved themselves as effective as their European comrades throughout the campaign. Further, there was no discrimination of any type under v. Lettow-Vorbeck’s command between black and white. Von Lettow-Vorbeck wrote in his memoirs, with great pride, how the self -confidence of the Askari grew after each successful engagement against the British. On November 3, 1914, A large British and Indian invasion force landed at Tanga to ’take possession’ of German East Africa. Their force outnumbered the Germans by at least 8 to 1. They made a successful landing at Tanga Bay, but then walked into von Lettow-Vorbeck’s trap. The British were caught in a crossfire and suffered heavy casualties, prompting a retreat back to their landing ships. As they evacuated the Bay, the British ships were raked by German machine gun and artillery fire, causing heavy damage to the British landing fleet. British casualties were 2,000 dead and well over 2,000 more wounded. German losses were only 15 Germans and 54 Askari. It was the most lop-sided victory of the entire war. Not surprisingly, the British government hushed up this humiliation until well after the end of the war. For the next 18 months, the British left von Lettow-Vorbeck alone, but he didn’t leave them alone. He proceeded to launch raids into the neighboring British colonies of Kenya and Rhodesia, attacking and destroying a number of forts there. His troops also destroyed 20 trains, as well as destroying miles of British rail tracks. In 1916, the British launched another major attack out of South Africa, commanded by the South African, Jan Smuts, with 45,000 troops. Von Lettow-Vorbeck decisively defeated the South African, however. Smuts, nonetheless, came to admire and respect von Lettow-Vorbeck for his courage, honor, and his integrity. He even saw to it that the Germans received their mail from Europe. The only assistance v. Lettow-Vorbeck received was indirectly from the German cruiser, Koenigsberg, which was, itself, cut off from Germany by a large British fleet prowling the East African coast. In 1914, the Koenigsberg surprised and sank the British cruiser, Pegasus, but was caught near the coast in 1915 by the British fleet. The commander of the Koenigsberg, after a fierce battle, ordered his ship to be scuttled. However, v. Lettow-Vorbeck managed to salvage the big guns of the Koenigsberg, built carriages for them to enable their employment on land, and incorporated them into his batteries of field artillery. By 1917, however, the overwhelming numbers of his enemies began to tell. The British attacked from Kenya and Rhodesia, the Belgians attacked from the Congo, and the Portugese attacked from Mozambique. Running low on ammunition, food, supplies, and clothes, v. Lettow-Vorbeck made the decision at this point to leave behind the wounded and prisoners in order to go over to a purely guerrilla war footing. The Askari showed them how to live off the land, how to make their own clothing, medicine, and how to procure sufficient food. Ammunition, rifles, and artillery were still a problem, however. Von Lettow-Vorbeck knew, however, that the Portugese had generous supplies of these items in a group of forts guarding the border of Mozambique. So, he launched a series of surprise attacks and captured these forts without losing a man and obtained all the munitions he required. The combination of Prussian tactics and discipline, together with the Askari knowledge of the African bush made v. Lettow-Vorbeck’s force the finest guerilla army in military history. In 1918, v. Lettow-Vorbeck launched new attacks against Rhodesian forts, knocking out one after another. He was planning a large-scale attack on a British command center in Rhodesia in November of 1918 when a British prisoner informed him that the Armistice had gone into effect on November 11, 1918. Von Lettow-Vorbeck now had to consider his options. He had the resources to continue his war against Britain for at least 2-3 more years and still had almost 3,000 men under his command, but he felt duty-bound to honor the Armistice. So, on November 17th, he reported to the British commander that he was not surrendering, but ceasing his campaign. The Germans were allowed to return to Germany with their weapons. The Askari, on the other hand, were heart-broken at the departure of the Germans. Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck never, at any time during the war, commanded more than 14,000 men. But he had succeeded in tying up over 300,000 British troops and 130 generals, inflicting over 60,000 casualties, of whom over 20,000 had been killed. Further, the campaign had cost the British over $15 Billion, at today’s price level. Yet, they had never once been able to catch or defeat v. Lettow-Vorbeck in battle. After the Second World War, v. Lettow-Vorbeck, like many other Germans, was destitute. When Jan Smuts, the former South African commander and one-time opponent of von Lettow-Vorbeck, learned of this, he persuaded a number of South African and British officers to establish a fund to pay Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck a small pension, such was their respect for this man. This pension continued to be paid to von Lettow-Vorbeck until his death at the age of 94 just 35 years ago on March 9, 1964. Under terms of the Versailles Treaty (the peace to end all peace), Britain did acquire the former German colonies in Africa. This would prove to by a Pyrrhic victory, however. In addition to nearly 1 million British battlefield deaths, the First World War had bankrupted England. And by the time of Dunkirk, in 1940, Britain’s military and financial ruin was complete. By the 1950’s and 1960’s, the British had to rid themselves of their colonial empire as fast as possible to avoid a financial disaster. Further, their heavy-handed rule incurred the lasting resentment of most of the subject peoples in the former colonies. Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, exemplified the best of the Prussian and Imperial German military tradition. Small wonder that former African and South Pacific German colonies have issued commemorative stamps bearing the images of Kaiser Wilhelm II and Bismarck in recent years. For example, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (a former German colony) issued special coins and stamps to honor the reunification of Germany in 1990. Though the events in German East Africa were only a sideshow in the great struggle of 1914-1918, Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck deserves a measure of recognition on the 35th anniversary of his death. This is because he was a man who fought (and won) against overwhelming odds and a man who won the devotion of his men, both black and white, as well as the respect and admiration of his enemies. ———————————————————— 陆军上校 保罗·冯·雷托夫-福尔贝克(1870-1964):在战场上从未失败过 一战以狂热的塞尔维亚民族主义者在波黑首府萨拉热窝对奥地利大公弗朗茨·斐迪南和他妻子卑鄙的暗杀为开端。塞尔维亚人常常试图吞并波黑,就像他们在1990年代早期再次试图去做的那样。法国和俄国贸然的支持塞尔维亚的暗杀者,而德国决定支持这场悲剧的受害者,奥匈帝国。就在这个时候,英国还没有决定参与这场战争。无论如何,英国战争大臣注意到,德国遥远的殖民地实际上被和本土隔离开来,,仅仅由相当少的德国卫戍部队防御。尽管大英帝国已经占据了接近1/4的地球表面。但英国对领土的贪婪并没有满足。最后英国决定加入塞尔维亚、法国和俄国一边,设想着德国孤立的殖民地将会被英国人轻易的握在手中,以最低成本合并到他们的帝国中。 象大多数设想开战后不得不变更一样,这个设想也被证明是错误的。一些德国的非洲殖民地还有南太平洋迅速被占领,但是其他一些象德属西南非洲,对英国展开强烈的抵抗。德属东非(现在的坦桑尼亚)最后被证明是英国计划的一场完全的灾难。这应当要归功于它的指挥官陆军上校保罗·冯·雷托夫-福尔贝克的才华和英雄品质。冯·雷托夫-福尔贝克来自一个著名而古老的普鲁士军事世家,他的祖先在七年战争和反抗拿破仑的战争中参加了普鲁士军队,有着高贵的表现。 在战争开始时,冯·雷托夫-福尔贝克指挥着4000人,其中包括几百个德国军官和预备军官,以及少数欧洲志愿者。但是大大多数他的部队是由在德军中服役的非洲土著组成的民兵。这些民兵和德国士兵一样依照同样的普鲁士标准得到训练。并不令人惊讶,他们在战斗中证明自己和他们的欧洲同伴一样拥有战斗力。而且,在冯·雷托夫-福尔贝克的指挥中也看不出对于黑人和白人有着任何的区别对待。冯·雷托夫-福尔贝克在他的回忆录中怀着极大的骄傲写道,这些民兵的自信随着每次对英军的成功作战而不断增长。 1914年11月3日,一支大型的英国和印度入侵部队在坦噶登陆以占领德属东非。这支军队对德军占有8:1的优势。他们在坦噶成功的登陆,但是他们进入了福尔贝克的圈套。英军被交叉火力网捕获,遭到了沉重的人员伤亡,不得不撤回到登陆船上。当他们撤离海湾的时候,英国船只成了德军的机枪和火炮的靶子,使得英国登陆舰队遭到了重创。英军有2000人战死和2000多人受伤,而德军的损失仅仅只有15名德国人和45名民兵。这是整场战争中最为一边倒的一场胜利。当然,英国政府掩盖了这场羞辱直到整场战争结束之后。 在随后的18个月里,英国对福尔贝克放任自流,但是他并不想让英国人平安度日。福尔贝克对临近的英国殖民地肯尼亚和罗得西亚(现津巴布韦)发动突袭,进攻和摧毁了那里的一些要塞。他的军队还摧毁了20辆火车,以及一长段英国的铁路。 1916年,英国从南非发动了另一场主要攻击,这次攻击由南非人让·斯姆茨指挥45000人。福尔贝克果断的击败了南非军队。虽然如此,斯姆茨却因为福尔贝克的勇气、荣誉和正直对他表示称赞和尊敬。 福尔贝克受到的唯一援助间接来自于德国巡洋舰卡林格斯伯格号,这支巡洋舰被在东非海岸巡游的英国舰队切断归路。卡林格斯伯格的指挥官在一场激烈的战斗后,命令他的军舰自沉。后来,福尔贝克设法打捞起卡林格斯伯格号上面的大型火炮,并为它们制造一个底座以便于他的部队能够在陆地上使用,将它们编入他的战地炮兵部队。 1917年,他开始面对压倒性的敌军。英国人从肯尼亚和罗得西亚,比利时人从刚果,葡萄牙人从莫桑比克分别发动进攻。由于弹药、食物、补给和衣服严重不足,福尔贝克决定放弃伤员和俘虏以便于展开完全的游击战。民兵指导他们如何在这片土地上生存,如何制作衣服、药品,和如何获得足够的食物。尽管如此,弹药、步枪和炮火依然是个问题。福尔贝克了解到葡萄牙人在莫桑比克边界处的要塞群拥有充足的这些给养。于是他发动了一系列令人惊讶的攻击并且没有损失一个人就占领了这些要塞,夺取了他需要的所有军需品。普鲁士战术和纪律的结合,加上民兵关于非洲灌木的知识,这些让福尔贝克成为军事史上最出色的游击队之一。 1918年,福尔贝克对罗得西亚要塞群发动了新的进攻,一个接一个攻破它们。他计划于1918年11月对英军指挥中心发动一个大规模的攻势,这时一个英国战俘告诉他停战协议已于1918年11月11日生效。福尔贝克现在不得不仔细考虑他的选择。他拥有至少维持对英继续作战2-3年的物资,而且手下还有3000名士兵,但是他觉得有义务对停战协议表示尊重。于是,他于11月17日通知英军指挥官他不打算投降,但是将停止他的战斗。德国人最后被允许携带武器回到德国,另一方面,土著民兵对德国人的离去表示伤心。 在这场战争中,福尔贝克从来没有指挥过超过14000人的兵力。但是他成功的击败了30万人的英国军队和130名将军,造成了对方60000名人员伤亡,其中包括20000人的战死者。而且这场战役按今天的物价标准,花费了英国150亿英镑。然而英国人从来没有能够在战斗中抓住或者击败冯·雷托夫-福尔贝克。 二战后,冯·雷托夫-福尔贝克象大多数德国人一样,生活窘迫。当一战时的南非军队指挥官和敌手让·斯姆茨得知这个情况后,他说服一些南非和英国的军官建立一个基金来提供福尔贝克一些养老金,以示他们对这个人的尊敬。这份养老金一直支付到35年后福尔贝克以94岁高龄去世,那时是1964年3月9日 依据凡尔赛条约,英国人获得了德国之前在非洲的殖民地。无论如何,这是一场代价沉重的胜利。将近一百万英国人在战场上死去,一战让英国濒临破产。在1940年敦克尔克撤退之后,英国的军队和财政都彻底崩溃。在1950年代和60年代,英国不得不设法尽快从它的殖民帝国中摆脱出来,以避免财政危机。而且,他们高压的统治还激起了大部分从前殖民地居民的持久不满。 保罗·冯·雷托夫-福尔贝克,是普鲁士和德意志军队传统的最好典范。近几年来,非洲和南太平洋的前德国殖民地出版了一些以威廉二世和俾斯麦号为主题的纪念邮票。例如,马绍尔群岛(前德国殖民地)发行了纪念币和邮票来祝贺德国在1990年重归统一。虽然在德属东非发生的事件只是1914年-1918年那场重大战争的一幕,但是冯·雷托夫-福尔贝克应该在他35周年的忌辰获得应受的尊敬。这是因为他是这样的一个人:他和压倒性的优势敌人作战,获得了他的战士——无论黑人和白人——的一致热爱,而且还赢得了他的敌人的尊敬和钦佩。 |