386. Nature of the Conflict. 386．战争的自然条件

The overthrow of the Confederate states proved to be very difficult. 推翻南方联盟已被证明非常困难，

The Alleghany Mountains cut the South into two great fields of war. 奥利哈尼山脉将南方分为两个大战场。

Deep and rapid rivers flowed from the mountains into the Atlantic or into the Mississippi. 一些河流不仅水深而且水流湍急，它们从山脉流向大西洋或者流入密西西比河，

Each of these rivers was a natural line of defense. 每一条河都是一条天然的屏障，

The first line was the Potomac and the Ohio. 第一道防线是波特马克和俄亥俄河，

But when the Confederates were driven from this line, they soon found another equally good a little farther south. 当从这条防线将南方同盟的人击败后，他们很快找到另一个稍靠南一些的同样好的防线，

Then again the South was only partly settled. Good roads were rare, but there were many poor roads. 于是，南方问题再次得到局部解决。很少有好一些的路，有许多糟糕的路，

The maps gave only the good roads. 而地图上仅仅给出较好的路，

By these the Northern soldiers had to march while the Southern armies were often guided through paths unknown to the Northerners, 根据这些地图北方士兵不得不长途行军，而南方军队则常常在北方人所不知道的小路上行军，

and thus were able to march shorter distances between two battlefields or between two important points. 这样他们就能够在两个战场或者两个重要据点之间走相对较少的路。

387. The Bull Run Campaign, July, 1861. 387．布尔朗战役（1861年7月）

Northern soldiers crossed the Potomac into Virginia and found the Confederates posted at Bull Run near Manassas Junction. 北方士兵穿过波特马克来到弗吉尼亚，并发现南方联盟的军队驻扎在靠近交通枢纽马纳萨斯的布尔朗，

Other Northern soldiers pressed into the Shenandoah Valley from Harper's Ferry. 另一支北方士兵从哈珀渡口挺近雪伦多亚河谷，

They, too, found a Confederate army in front of them. 他们也发现南方联盟的军队就在他们前面。

The plan of the Union campaign is now clear: General McDowell was to attack the Confederates at Bull Run, 联邦的作战计划显而易见：麦克道威尔将军要在布尔朗进攻南方联盟，

while General Patterson attacked the Confederates in the Valley, and kept them so busy that they could not go to the help of their comrades at Bull Run. 而帕特森将军则在雪伦多亚河谷向南方联盟发起进攻，并且让南方联盟的军队无暇向布尔朗的友军求援。