古德明《征服英语》之英语军事故事，古德明，香港英语教育作家，他开了一个《征服英语专栏》，在专栏中专门用英语写了世界近代史上的军事小故事，用英语讲述历史中那些惊心动魄的战争。
改 革 为 什 么 失 败 ？

the war of the austrian succession, 1740-48, saw the austrian army faring badly against the prussians, and maria theresa, archduchess of austria, looked for ways of improving her army's performance.

one day, watching her troops parading, maria theresa noted that their coats were too long, making them inconvenient for the men on the march. she suggested shortening their coats on the prussian model. the austrian officers, who had vested interests in the supply of uniforms, objected that the coats had to be long to keep the men warm at night, and said the prussians did not need long coats as they all slept in tents. maria theresa rejoined that her soldiers must have tents as well. the next day the officers submitted grossly exaggerated estimates of the cost of new coats and tents. the bill was so enormous that maria theresa had to give up the idea.

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