Army chief says people of UK are ‘prewar generation’ who must be ready to fight Russia
-Ministry of Defence clarifies it has no plans for conscxtion after Gen Sir Patrick Sanders says UK should take steps to place society on war footing

陆军司令说，英国人是“战前一代”，他们必须准备好与俄罗斯开战
——在帕特里克·桑德斯将军表示英国应该采取措施使社会处于战争状态后，国防部澄清称并没有征兵计划


(Gen Sanders said that in the last 30 years, the British army has halved in size.)

（桑德斯将军说，在过去的30年里，英国军队的规模减少了一半。）
新闻：

Downing Street has dismissed a warning from the head of the British army that the UK public must be prepared to take up arms in a war against Vladimir Putin’s Russia because today’s professional military is too small.

英国军方负责人警告称，英国公众必须做好拿起武器对抗弗拉基米尔·普京领导下的俄罗斯的准备，因为如今的职业军队规模太小，但英国政府对此不予理会。

Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson said the prime minister did not agree with comments made by Gen Sir Patrick Sanders in a speech on Wednesday, and was forced to insist there would be no return to national service, which was abolished in 1960.

苏纳克的发言人表示，首相不同意帕特里克·桑德斯爵士周三在一次演讲中发表的言论，并被迫坚称不会恢复1960年废除的国民服役制度。
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


“Hypothetical scenarios” involving possible future wars was “not helpful”, the No 10 spokesperson added, as the row opened up a rift between the Conservatives and the military at a time when cuts mean the army is at its smallest for more than 300 years.

唐宁街10号的发言人补充说，涉及未来可能发生战争的“假设情景”是“没有帮助的”，随着在削减开支意味着英国军队处于300多年来最低水平之际，这场争吵打开了保守党和军方之间的裂痕。

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) also distanced itself from the speech, which was released by the British army on behalf of the senior general, who is due to leave in the summer, having missed out on becoming head of the armed forces three years ago.

英国国防部也与这篇演讲保持距离，这篇演讲是由英国陆军代表这位高级将军发表的，他三年前错过了成为武装部队最高负责人的机会，将于今年夏天离任。

Speaking at a military conference, Sanders starkly described the British people as part of a “prewar generation” who may have to prepare themselves to fight in a war against an increasingly aggressive Russia. The chief of general staff highlighted the example of Sweden, which has just reintroduced a form of national service as it closes in on joining Nato.

在一次军事会议上发表讲话时，桑德斯直言不讳地将英国人描述为“战前一代”的一部分，说他们可能不得不做好准备在一场对抗日益咄咄逼人的俄罗斯的战争中作战。这位司令强调了瑞典的例子——瑞典在即将加入北约之际，刚刚重新实施了一种国民服役形式。

During the speech in London, the army chief said the UK needed to broadly follow Stockholm’s example and take “preparatory steps to enable placing our societies on a war footing”. Such action was “not merely desirable, but essential”, he added.

在伦敦的演讲中，这位陆军司令表示，英国需要广泛效仿斯德哥尔摩的榜样，采取“准备步骤，使我们的社会处于战争状态”。他补充说，这样的行动“不仅是可取的，而且是必要的”。

The foundations for “national mobilisation” could not be confined to countries neighbouring or close to Russia, and as a result ordinary people in the UK would be forced to join the UK’s 74,110 full-time regular army to see off an active threat to mainland Europe.

“全国动员”的基础不能局限于与俄罗斯相邻或接近的国家，其结果是，英国的普通民众将被迫加入英国74110名全职正规军，以击退对欧洲大陆的积极威胁。

He said: “We will not be immune and as the prewar generation we must similarly prepare – and that is a whole-of-nation undertaking. Ukraine brutally illustrates that regular armies start wars; citizen armies win them.”

他说：“我们不能幸免，作为战前的一代，我们必须做好同样的准备——这是整个国家的任务。”乌克兰残酷地证明了正规军引发战争，而公民军赢得胜利。”

Sanders has previously complained publicly and privately about defence cuts. A year ago, in an attempt to ensure politicians plugged the gap with future spending, he warned that gifts of weapons to Ukraine would “leave us temporarily weaker”.

桑德斯此前曾公开和私下抱怨国防削减。一年前，为了确保政客们用未来的开支填补缺口，他警告说，向乌克兰赠送武器将“让我们暂时变得更弱”。

Such public arguments over money have led him into conflict with the MoD, amid reports of clashes with the chief of defence staff, Adm Sir Tony Radakin. Some allies believe Sanders should have been promoted to replace Radakin, but he was asked to step down early after serving two of three years as army chief.

这种关于资金的公开争论导致他与国防部发生冲突，有报道称他与国防参谋长托尼·拉达金发生冲突。一些盟友认为，桑德斯本应被提拔取代拉达金，但他在担任陆军司令三年任期中的两年后，被要求提前辞职。

In his speech, Sanders said the cold war peace dividend was over, noting that “over the last 30 years, the army has been halved in size; in the last 12 years, we’ve absorbed a 28% reduction”. Recruitment remained a challenge, he said, although applications to join were “the highest in six years”.

桑德斯在演讲中表示，冷战的和平红利已经结束，他指出，“在过去30年里，军队规模减半；在过去的12年里，我们已经承受了28%的减少量。”他表示，招募仍是一项挑战，尽管申请入伍的人数是“6年来最高的”。
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


Before Sanders gave his speech, the MoD issued a clarification, saying it had no plans to advocate a return to national service.

在桑德斯发表演讲之前，国防部发表了一份澄清声明，称其没有计划提倡重启国民服役。

“The British military has a proud tradition of being a voluntary force and there is absolutely no suggestion of a return to conscxtion,” the MoD said, adding that £50bn was being invested in the military during the current year.

英国国防部表示：“英国军队有自愿参军的光荣传统，绝对没有恢复征兵制的迹象。”国防部还补充说，今年英国在军事方面投入了500亿英镑。

With an election looming, the military is hoping politicians make further pledges over defence spending. Labour has avoided making any firm spending commitments, but has criticised cuts to the size of the army and promised to launch a defence review if elected.

随着大选的临近，军方希望政客们在国防开支方面做出进一步的承诺。工党避免做出任何明确的开支承诺，但批评削减军队规模，并承诺如果当选，将启动国防审查。

Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, this month repeated that the UK wants to increase defence spending from 2.1% of GDP to 2.5% in the future.

本月，国防大臣格兰特·沙普斯重申，英国希望在未来将国防开支从GDP的2.1%提高到2.5%。

But Sanders said: “The army has a generous £44bn programme over 10 years, but that money is just 18% committed. During an electoral cycle, uncommitted money is vulnerable.”

但是桑德斯说：“军队在未来10年里有440亿英镑的慷慨计划，但这笔钱只投入了18%。在选举周期中，未承诺的资金是脆弱的。”