What is your favorite political speech? Heres my favorite speech of all time. It is Sir Winston Churchills address to the House of Commons, June 4th, 1940. The United States had not yet entered the war, and it was mostly up to the British and French to oppose the Nazis. In this capacity, the British had sent the British Expeditionary Force, the bulk of their ground forces, to France to help with the weakening defense there. It was a huge failure, and the British were left with only the option of retreating the entire force back to Britain. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkirk_evacuation) Nearly 350,000 troops were evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk. It was the largest amphibious evacuation in world history, and would be followed almost exactly four years later and on a stretch of beach just a couple hundred miles away, by the largest amphibious assault in world history, the D-Day assault on the beaches of Normandy. I would highly recommend listening to the entire video. The full speech is here: winstonchurchill.org/learn/speeches/speeches-of-winston-churchill/128-we-shall-fight-on-the-beaches Here is a small excerpt of my favorite part, the end: 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. At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majestys Government—every man of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation...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 Gods good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the Old.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 16:41:06 +0000
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