THE strange creatures rumble(发出轰隆声) out of the forest, their bodies clothed in moss, torn fabric and plastic grass; their heads veiled(遮盖，隐藏) in black netting. The Leopard tanks and Puma infantry fighting vehicles of Germany’s 45th Panzer Brigade are in fancy dress(伪装服，化装服) to hide them from hostile drones. For a month the unit trained along Lithuania’s border with Belarus, a Russian satellite state, as part of a recently completed exercise called “Freedom Shield”. The goal: to be ready to “fight tonight” to defend Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital, and hold the Suwalki corridor(苏瓦乌基走廊，战略要地), which links the Baltic states to Poland.
奇怪的生物轰隆隆地驶出森林，身体覆盖着苔藓、破布和塑料草；头部蒙着黑网。德国第45装甲旅的豹式坦克和美洲狮步兵战车正穿着伪装服，以躲避敌方无人机。该部队在立陶宛与白俄罗斯（俄罗斯的卫星国）边境训练了一个月，作为刚结束的“自由之盾”演习的一部分。目标：准备“今晚就战斗”，保卫立陶宛首都维尔纽斯，并守住连接波罗的海国家与波兰的苏瓦乌基走廊。
To that end, the 45th Brigade is not going home. For the first time since the end of the cold war, Germany is permanently deploying(部署，调度) military units abroad. These troops are the tip of the spear(尖端，先锋) of an army that is expanding to become Europe’s largest. They will get the latest armour, artillery, drones and anti-aircraft(防空的) systems as their unit grows from 1,600 soldiers to around 5,000 by the end of 2027.
为此，第45旅不会回国。这是冷战结束以来德国首次永久性向海外部署军事单位。这支部队是一支正在扩张成为欧洲最大陆军的军队的尖刀。随着该单位从1600名士兵增加到2027年底的约5000人，他们将获得最新的装甲、火炮、无人机和防空系统。
American forces in the region, meanwhile, are dwindling(逐渐减少). An American tank unit—the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment(美军第12骑兵团第1营)—trained for months in the same area. But it shipped out(离开，调离) in June, along with the rest of its brigade in Poland. Nobody knows when or if another American unit will replace it.(没有人知道何时或是否有另一支美军部队会接替它。)
与此同时，该地区的美国部队正在减少。一个美国坦克部队——第12骑兵团第1营——在同一地区训练了数月。但它已于6月随其在波兰的旅其余部分一并撤出。没有人知道何时或是否有另一支美军部队会接替它。
Teutonic tectonics
条顿板块运动
Aliquando fi
终有一日
From Ismay to dismay
从伊斯梅到沮丧