破釜沉舟之歷史故事--中國成語故事中英對照
during the late years of the qi dynasty(221-206bc), xiang yu led a rebellion. after crossing the zhang river, xiang yu ordered his men to sink all their boats and break their cooking pots. he issued each soldier three days' rations（給養(yǎng)） and warned them that there was no way to retreat; the only thing they could do to survive was to advance and fight. after mine fierce battles, the qin army was finally defeated.
this idiom is used to indicate one's firm determination to achieve one's goal at any cost.
秦朝末年，秦軍大將章邯攻打趙國。趙軍退守巨鹿(今河北平鄉(xiāng)西南)，并被秦軍重重包圍。楚懷王于是封宋義為上將軍，項羽為副將率軍救援趙國。
宋義引兵至安陽(今山東曹縣東南)后，接連46天按兵不動，對此項羽十分不満，于是要求進軍決戰(zhàn)，解困趙國。但宋義卻希望秦趙兩軍交戰(zhàn)后待秦軍力竭之后才進攻。
但此時軍中糧草缺乏士卒困頓，而宋義仍舊飲酒自顧，項羽見此忍無可忍，進營帳殺了宋義，并聲稱他叛國反楚。于是將士們則擁項羽為上將軍。項羽殺宋義的事，威震楚國，名聞諸侯。
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