A Very Mighty Finn

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Cigar smoke filled the mahogany1mahogany紅木，桃花心木。coach, clinging to the reddish curtains and maroon2maroon褐紫紅色的。upholstery3upholstery（沙發、軟椅等的）墊襯料。. It was June 4, 1942, and Finland’s top commander was celebrating his 75th birthday. But rather than partying at a palace or posh4posh時髦的；奢侈的。hotel, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim and his colleagues had reason to meet in a secret railway siding5siding岔線；會車線。: Adolf Hitler had arrived unannounced, and Mannerheim wanted to avoid any indication that this was a formal state visit.Using the diplomacy and discretion6discretion謹慎。for which he’s now famed, Mannerheim charmed the führer for the good of his nation.

[2]His only way to save Finland from Russia was to ally himself with the Nazis, so Mannerheim played a delicate balancing game of keeping his troops strong while cordially7cordially熱情友好地；熱忱的。courting Hitler’s favor without a formal alliance. “Man-

紅木車廂中彌漫著雪茄的煙霧，連淺紅色的窗簾和褐紫紅色的軟墊也沾染了煙味，經久不散。這天是1942年6月4日，正是芬蘭最高軍事指揮官——卡爾·古斯塔夫·埃米爾·曼納海姆的75歲生辰。但是他和同事沒有選擇私人府邸或是豪華酒店聚會慶祝，而是來到了一處秘密的鐵路專用線上。這并非故弄玄虛，而是因為阿道夫·希特勒突然造訪，而曼納海姆并不想讓外界誤以為這是一次正式的國事訪問。曼納海姆素以高超的外事手腕和謹慎的行事作風為人所稱道，這幫助他贏得了希特勒的青睞，進而維護了芬蘭的利益。

[2]為了擺脫蘇聯對芬蘭的影響，曼納海姆不得不與納粹合作。他一邊竭力確保芬蘭的軍事力量不被削弱，一邊熱誠地給予希特勒幫助卻又避免與其結成正式聯盟，如同玩起了一場微妙的平衡游戲。“曼納海姆對德國人非常警惕，這與1918年的情形別無二致?！薄堵{海姆：總統、戰士和間諜》一書作者喬納森·克萊門茨對OZY日報說道?！奥{海姆與納粹并非朋友，”克萊門茨繼續說道，并且杜撰了一個含義復雜的表達——“合作交戰協議”，借此說明德國與芬蘭并非盟友，但為了抗擊共同的敵人，兩國之間確實存在軍事合作。幸運的是，曼納海姆生日當天有人偷偷錄下了兩人之間的對話。這也是希特勒為后世所知的唯一一份非公開場合的錄音。希特勒素以慷慨激昂的公開演講而聞名，但這段錄音中他的語氣卻顯得尤為平和親切。

[3]芬蘭人民對曼納海姆推崇備至。

[4]戰爭時期，芬蘭一直是一個獨特的存在，這在很大程度上得益于曼納海姆的努力。芬蘭是唯一在1939年與蘇聯接壤，到1945年時仍保持獨立的歐洲國家。當然，斯大林對于曼納海姆拒絕進攻列寧格勒的舉動大為欣賞也是原因之一。據漢魯·勞特卡利奧的《芬蘭與大屠殺》介紹，芬蘭雖與德國結為聯盟，但設法幫助本國的猶太人和幾乎所有難民免受了納粹迫害?？傊锹{海姆與希特勒的密切關系，使得納粹左右為難，陷入了困境。生日當天，希特勒的突然造訪讓曼納海姆很是為難，但他不動聲色地偷偷將希特勒送到了私人沙龍上。期間，希特勒為感謝他過去一年以來給予納粹德國的支持，送給他一輛奔馳轎車，曼納海姆禮貌而謹慎地收下了禮物。但據曼納海姆博物館檔案記載，1944年8月的總統就職典禮上，曼納海姆所使用的座駕卻并非那輛奔馳，而是他的帕卡德V12轎車。nerheim was extremely wary8wary謹防的；機警的；唯恐的。of the Germans, as he had been in 1918,” Jonathan Clements, author ofMannerheim:President, Soldier, Spy, tellsOZY9OZY為Ozymandias縮寫，是一份為新生代量身打造的電子日報。. “He was no friend of the Nazis,” Clements says, but rather created the intricately worded “co-belligerency10belligerency交戰狀態。pact” that specified how Germany and Finland,while not allies, were militarily cooperating to fight the same enemy. Luckily for posterity11posterity后裔，子孫。, a tape was surreptitiously made of the men’s birthday conversation. It’s the only known recording of Hitler speaking privately and echoes a strangely intimate tone for a leader better known for feverish public speeches.

[3]The Finns can’t get enough of12getenough of對……感到膩煩。Mannerheim.

[4]Finland remained a unique case throughout the war, thanks largely to Mannerheim’s efforts. It was the only European country bordering the Soviet Union in 1939 that remained unoccupied in 1945, thanks in part to Stalin’s admiration of the marshal for refusing to attack Leningrad. The Finns also managed to side with Germany while being spared the persecution of their native Jews and nearly all their refugees,according to Hannu Rautkallio’s bookFinland and the Holocaust. Above all,it was Mannerheim’s chummy13chummy親密的。relations with Hitler that kept the Nazis at bay14at bay走投無路。. He hid his embarrassment at the führer’s surprise birthday visit, sneaking him into his private saloon, and even when Hitler gifted him a Mercedes-Benz for choosing to ally with him in 1941, Mannerheim accepted his token graciously15graciously和藹地；仁慈地；雅致地。, and discreetly. But in August 1944, when Mannerheim was elected president, he arrived at his inauguration16inauguration就職典禮。in his Sedan V12 Packard17帕卡德（Packard）是20世紀著名的豪華汽車品牌，其精湛無瑕的汽車生產工藝馳名于世，V12是指搭載12缸發動機。,not the Mercedes, according to Mannerheim Museum archives.

[5]The cat-and-mouse18cat-and-mouse（像貓對老鼠般）恣意玩弄折磨，貓戲老鼠。game Mannerheim played with Hitler was just the culmination19culmination頂點；高潮。of a spectacular career for the 6-foot-4 war hero who hunted maneating tigers, squared up to spoke six languages and rode horseback through thousands of miles of unchartered21unchartered未得特許狀的；不合規則的。Central Asia as a secret agent.On his 75th birthday, the government granted Mannerheim his official title,“Marshal of Finland,” and 53 years after his death, he was voted the greatest Finn ever by his countrymen.20square up to擺好打架的架勢；堅決面對。Stalin,

[5]曼納海姆精通六國語言，追捕過食人的老虎，對峙過斯大林，還曾馳騁在中亞綿延數千公里尚未對外開放的領地上搜集情報。與希特勒之間貓鼠游戲不過是這位身高一米九的戰斗英雄精彩一生的頂峰時期。他在75歲生日之際，被政府授予“芬蘭元帥”稱號；逝世53周年之后，依然被芬蘭人民票選為最偉大的芬蘭人。

[6]The Marshal of Finland was born to Swedish-speaking aristocrats. His father ran off with his mistress, leaving the family bankrupt. But Mannerheim persevered, making his career in the imperial Russian army and serving the last of the czars. He traveled as a secret agent from St. Petersburg to China to spy for the Russians, crossing China on horseback and notably teaching the 13th Dalai Lama how to shoot a pistol.Mannerheim also led Finland’s defenses in its darkest hour at the ripe old age of 72, against the impossible odds of the 1939–1940 Winter War22Winter War冬季戰爭（二戰時期蘇聯與芬蘭之間的戰爭）。, when the country was up against Stalin’s heavily armed men. Finland’s 346,000-strong army went up against almost three times as many Russians and resisted longer than expected. The battle saw Mannerheim hailed a champion of Finnish liberty, and four years later, at age 77,he would accept the presidency to begin easing Finland from war to peace.

[6]曼納海姆出生于芬蘭一個以瑞典語為母語的貴族家庭。少年時，父親攜情婦私奔，家庭因此解散。但這位芬蘭元帥并沒有被生活打倒，他投身于俄軍，成為了末代沙皇麾下的戰士。后來，他受命于俄國，曾從圣彼得堡到中國秘密搜集情報。在這期間，他騎馬穿越中國，并曾指導十三世達賴喇嘛使用手槍。1939年到1940年蘇芬冬季戰爭爆發，面對全副武裝的蘇軍，盡管獲勝希望渺茫，但曼納海姆以72歲的高齡率領芬軍度過了那段尤為艱辛的歲月。當時，芬軍不過34.6萬人，而蘇軍規模是其3倍有余，但芬蘭這支勁旅的抵抗力遠超出預期。自此，曼納海姆被盛贊為芬蘭自由的捍衛者。4年后，77歲的曼納海姆當選為芬蘭總統，開始帶領芬蘭人民由戰亂逐步走向和平。

[7]Today his reputation has taken on23take on承擔；呈現；具有。mythic proportions, reflected in everything from comics and merchandise to the Kenyan filmBlack Mannerheim,in which all of the characters, including Mannerheim, are portrayed as Black.Yet Mannerheim’s personality remains obscure. Although his godmother arranged his marriage to a wealthy Russian-Serbian noble who bore him two children, the union ended in divorce,resulting in Mannerheim’s depression.But little else is known about the man’s personal life. “He didn’t appear to have many close friends,” says Eric Enno Tamm, whose bookThe Horse That Leaps Through Cloudsdocuments how he retraced24retrace追溯；折回；重描。Mannerheim’s epic Asian trek.

[8]Mannerheim’s intricately primed25prime事先交代。relations with Nazi Germany saved Finland from both Russia and Hitler—no mean feat26no mean feat絕非易事。. So while he may have struggled with marriage and friendships,he’ll forever be remembered by a grateful nation for his shrewd leadership and untiring dedication. ■

[7]如今，曼納海姆的故事中開始摻雜虛構的成分。不管是漫畫、商品，還是肯尼亞電影《黑人曼納海姆》，包括主人公在內的所有人物都被塑造成了黑人。而對于主人公個性的描寫卻仍是模糊不清。曼納海姆的教母曾為他介紹了一位俄羅斯-塞爾維亞血統有錢的貴族妻子，婚后兩人育有兩個孩子，但這段婚姻最后仍以失敗告終。曼納海姆因此一度意志消沉。除此之外，外界對于他的私人生活知之甚少?！奥{海姆關系密切的朋友似乎并不多?！卑＠锟恕ぐＶZ·塔姆表示。塔姆著有《躍過云端的馬》一書，該書記載了他追隨曼納海姆的腳步，重走當年史詩般的亞洲之旅的經歷。

[8]曼納海姆與納粹德國之間如前所述錯綜復雜的關系使芬蘭得以保全于蘇聯和希特勒之間，這絕非易事。所以說，盡管他婚姻不幸、朋友無幾，但芬蘭人民將永遠銘記他高超的領導才能和不懈的奉獻精神。 □