This was their finest hour
Encyclopedia
The This was their finest hour speech was delivered by Winston Churchill
to the House of Commons
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
on 18 June 1940. It was given just over a month after he took over as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
at the head of an all-party Coalition government.
It was the third of three speeches which he gave during (roughly) the period of the Battle of France
.
He justified the low level of support it had been possible to give to France since Dunkirk, and reported the successful evacuation of most of the supporting forces. He resisted pressure to purge the coalition of appeasers, or otherwise indulge in recrimination. He reviewed the forces still available to prevent or repel any attempted invasion, summing up the review as follows
and justified confidence in victory, even if it was not yet clear how that victory could be achieved
The peroration - quoted below - even at a moment of great apparent danger to British national survival talks not only of national survival and national interest, but of noble causes (freedom, 'Christian civilisation', the rights of small nations) for which Britain was fighting and for which Churchill thought the United States should - and given time would - fight.
format, which Churchill scholars consider reflective of the influence of Old Testament
psalms
on his oratory style.
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
to the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
on 18 June 1940. It was given just over a month after he took over as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
at the head of an all-party Coalition government.
It was the third of three speeches which he gave during (roughly) the period of the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
.
- the "Blood, toil, tears, and sweatBlood, toil, tears, and sweatThe famous phrase Blood, toil, tears and sweat was first uttered on 2 July 1849 by Giuseppe Garibaldi when rallying his revolutionary forces in Rome. Theodore Roosevelt also uttered the phrase in an address to the Naval War College on June 2, 1897, following his appointment as Assistant Secretary...
" speech of 13 May, given 3 days after the start of the German offensive in the West; his first speech to Parliament as Prime Minister, reporting the formation of an all-party coalition government implacably resolved to fight on to ultimate victory - the "We shall fight on the beachesWe shall fight on the beachesWe Shall Fight on the Beaches is a common title given to a speech delivered by Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 4th June 1940...
" speech of 4 June, reporting the success of the Germans in overrunning Holland, Belgium and France north of the SommeSommeSomme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
, and the evacuation of the BEFBritish Expeditionary Force (World War II)The British Expeditionary Force was the British force in Europe from 1939–1940 during the Second World War. Commanded by General Lord Gort, the BEF constituted one-tenth of the defending Allied force....
from Dunkirk, and preparing the British to fight on alone, if necessary. - This speech, made to the House of Commons after France had sought an armistice on the evening of 16 June
He justified the low level of support it had been possible to give to France since Dunkirk, and reported the successful evacuation of most of the supporting forces. He resisted pressure to purge the coalition of appeasers, or otherwise indulge in recrimination. He reviewed the forces still available to prevent or repel any attempted invasion, summing up the review as follows
I have thought it right upon this occasion to give the House and the country some indication of the solid, practical grounds upon which we base our inflexible resolve to continue the war, and I can assure them that our professional advisers of the three Services unitedly advise that we should do so, and that there are good and reasonable hopes of final victoryHe reported messages of support from the Dominions
Commonwealth Realm
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million, of which all, except about two million, live in the six...
and justified confidence in victory, even if it was not yet clear how that victory could be achieved
in casting up this dread balance-sheet, contemplating our dangers with a disillusioned eye, I see great reason for intense vigilance and exertion, but none whatever for panic or despair. During the first four years of the last war the Allies experienced,...nothing but disaster and disappointment, and yet at the end their morale was higher than that of the Germans, who had moved from one aggressive triumph to another. During that war we repeatedly asked ourselves the question, "How are we going to win?" and no one was able ever to answer it with much precision, until at the end, quite suddenly, quite unexpectedly, our terrible foe collapsed before us
The peroration - quoted below - even at a moment of great apparent danger to British national survival talks not only of national survival and national interest, but of noble causes (freedom, 'Christian civilisation', the rights of small nations) for which Britain was fighting and for which Churchill thought the United States should - and given time would - fight.
Peroration
Preparation and delivery
The speech was delivered to the Commons at 3:49 pm, and lasted 36 minutes. Churchill - as was his habit - made revisions to his 23 page typescript right up to and during the speech. The final passage of his typescript was laid out in blank verseBlank verse
Blank verse is poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the sixteenth century" and Paul Fussell has claimed that "about three-quarters of all English poetry is in blank verse."The first...
format, which Churchill scholars consider reflective of the influence of Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
on his oratory style.