Not to be out done by Shakespeare, Winston Churchill roused the entire Empire to meet the Nazi menace.
In the first excerpt below, he tells the people that he has nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. The people cheered. In the second, as invasion looms he tells the people that the coming fight will be total and even if subjugated liberation would come. Shortly after these speeches, Hitler began what became known as “The Battle of Britain.” Britain prevailed due to excellent flying machines, radar, coordination, and true British courage, denying German air superiority and making an invasion impossible.
Excerpt May 1940
Excerpt June 1940
… I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone… Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail.
We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.
