*FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. We must remind them. the French Army, both by fighters and bombers; but in spite of every kind of pressure we never would allow the entire metropolitan fighter strength of the Air Force to be consumed. But for the reasons I have given to the House these will not be found so easy to apply. It was formed at a moment of crisis in order to unite all the Parties and all sections of opinion. If they seriously intend it, I shall only say that we shall be delighted to offer Signor Mussolini a free and safeguarded passage through the Strait of Gibraltar in order that he may play the part to which he aspires. That battle was lost by the unfortunate strategical opening, by the extraordinary and unforseen power of the armored columns, and by the great preponderance of the German Army in numbers. I spoke the other day of the colossal military disaster which occurred when the French High Command failed to withdraw the northern Armies from Belgium at the moment when they knew that the French front was decisively broken at Sedan and on the Meuse. Behind these we have the Local Defence Volunteers, numbering half a million, only a portion of whom, however, are yet armed with rifles or other firearms. Indeed, I indicated a fortnight ago as clearly as I could to the House that the worst possibilities were open; and I made it perfectly clear then that whatever happened in France would make no difference to the resolve of Britain and the British Empire to fight on, ‘if necessary for years, if necessary alone.” During the last few days we have successfully brought off the great majority of the troops we had on the line of communication in France; and seven-eighths of the troops we have sent to France since the beginning of the war-that is to say, about 350,000 out of 400,000 men-are safely back in this country. And this was fully up to the number which the French had been led to expect would be available in France at the ninth month of the war. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. We have under arms at the present time in this Island over a million and a quarter men. --Caramella1 09:44, 17 March 2016 (UTC) This page was last edited on 19 June 2019, at 00:01 (UTC). But we have a very powerful Air Force which has proved itself far superior in quality, both in men and in many types of machine, to what we have met so far in the numerous and fierce air battles which have been fought with the Germans. The speech lasted as long as 36 minutes and was written on 23 pages, which means that it was significantly longer than Churchill’s other famous speeches (eg “Blood, toil, tears, and sweat” and “We shall fight on the beaches”) . Helmut Lent – night pilot with more than 100 downed aircraft – 1944. We expect very large additions to our weapons in the near future, and in preparation for this we intend forthwith to call up, drill and train further large numbers. We cannot afford it. The House will have read the historic declaration in which, at the desire of many Frenchmen-and of our own hearts-we have proclaimed our willingness at the darkest hour in French history to conclude a union of common citizenship in this struggle. But the conditions in the Channel and in the North Sea are in no way like those which prevail in the Skagerrak. The Finest Hour (released in the Philippines as Desert Storm: The Final Battle) is a 1991 American war drama film starring Rob Lowe and Gale Hansen as Navy SEALs-in-training who become best friends.When a woman comes between them, however, it takes a war to bring them back together again. Everything miscarried. That I judge to be utterly futile and even harmful. In the defence of this Island the advantages to the defenders will be much greater than they were in the fighting around Dunkirk. There are many who would hold an inquest in the House of Commons on the conduct of the Governments-and of Parliaments, for they are in it, too-during the years which led up to this catastrophe. We are to have a secret Session on Thursday, and I should think that would be a better opportunity for the many earnest expressions of opinion which Members will desire to make and for the House to discuss vital matters without having everything read the next morning by our dangerous foes. The International Churchill Society (ICS), founded in 1968 shortly after Churchill's death, is the world’s preeminent member organisation dedicated to preserving the historic legacy of Sir Winston Churchill. However matters may go in France or with the French Government, or other French Governments, we in this Island and in the British Empire will never lose our sense of comradeship with the French people. Therefore, this Island was for several months particularly denuded of fighting troops. Others are still fighting with the French, and fighting with considerable success in their local encounters against the enemy. This article should be rewritten in my opinion. This loss inevitably took some weeks to repair, and in the first two of those weeks the battle in France has been lost. We have fully consulted them, and I have received from their Prime Ministers, Mr. Mackenzie King of Canada, Mr. Menzies of Australia, Mr. Fraser of New Zealand, and General Smuts of South Africa-that wonderful man, with his immense profound mind, and his eye watching from a distance the whole panorama of European affairs-I have received from all these eminent men, who all have Governments behind them elected on wide franchises, who are all there because they represent the will of their people, messages couched in the most moving terms in which they endorse our decision to fight on, and declare themselves ready to share our fortunes and to persevere to the end. The disastrous military events which have happened during the past fortnight have not come to me with any sense of surprise. They have suffered severely, but they have fought well. What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. There are too many in it. Win or lose, sink or swim, better die than submit to tyranny-and such a tyranny.” And I do not dissociate myself from them. During the great battle in France, we gave very powerful and continuous aid to. I must make it clear that, apart from the divisions training and organizing at home, only 12 divisions were equipped to fight upon a scale which justified their being sent abroad. It might suggest ideas to other people which they have not thought of, and they would not be likely to give us any of their ideas in exchange. “Their Finest Hour” is the unofficial title of a speech delivered in 1940 by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, shortly after the beginning of World War II. Here is where we come to the Navy-and after all, we have a Navy. But the great question is: Can we break Hitler’s air weapon? Their Finest Hour, 1940 . Churchill’s ‘Their Finest Hour’ Speech ©The Churchill Archive. Namely, the German army entered Paris a few days earlier, and the new French government led by Marshal Petaine was preparing to sign the capitulation. During that war we repeatedly asked ourselves the question: How are we going to win? It has worsened by the fact that the Germans have conquered a large part of the coast line of Western Europe, and many small countries have been overrun by them. There is a general curiosity in the British Fleet to find out whether the Italians are up to the level they were at in the last war or whether they have fallen off at all. We may now ask ourselves: In what way has our position worsened since the beginning of the war? However, General Weygand had to fight without them. They seek to indict those who were responsible for the guidance of our affairs. This brings me, naturally, to the great question of invasion from the air, and of the impending struggle between the British and German Air Forces. “This Was Their Finest Hour” W. Churchill, Speech about Dunkirk in 1940 Harry McElroy Willcox, AZ Edited by Paul Hilmo Quail Point, photo by L. McElroy. Dr. Stephen Bungay explains now Churchill crafted the speeches that still inspire us today “Blood, toil, tears and sweat”… “we will fight on the beaches” … “this was their finest hour” … “never was so much owed by so […] It follows the full text transcript of Winston Churchill's Finest Hour speech, delivered to the House of Commons, London, UK - June 18, 1940. I spoke the other day of the colossal military disaster which occurred when the French High Command failed to withdraw the northern Armies from Belgium at the moment when they knew that the French front was decisively broken at Sedan and on the Meuse. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.' We use cookies to ensure that we are able to give you the best experience on our website. Thus, the invasion of Great Britain would at this time require the transportation across the sea of hostile armies on a very large scale, and after they had been so transported they would have to be continually maintained with all the masses of munitions and supplies which are required for continuous battle-as continuous battle it will surely be. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilisation. All these shall be restored. Untiring vigilance and untiring searching of the mind is being, and must be, devoted to the subject, because, remember, the enemy is crafty and there is no dirty trick he will not do. If Hitler can bring under his despotic control the industries of the countries he has conquered, this will add greatly to his already vast armament output. Without this concentrated power we cannot face what lies before us. That was our constant fear: one blow after another, terrible losses, frightful dangers. Churchill’s speech was necessary to share with the British people the very real dilemma facing them. Those who are not called up, or else are employed during the vast business of munitions production in all its branches-and their ramifications are innumerable-will serve their country best by remaining at their ordinary work until they receive their summons. We have also brought back a great mass of stores, rifles and munitions of all kinds which had been accumulated in France during the last nine months. ” “Let us therefore accept our duties and hold that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last a thousand years, people will still say, ‘It was their brightest moment. Definition of Finest Hour in the Idioms Dictionary. There should be no difficulty in this, owing to our great superiority at sea. Anyone who looks at the photographs which were published a week or so ago of the re-embarkation, showing the masses of troops assembled on the beach and forming an ideal target for hours at a time, must realize that this re-embarkation would not have been possible unless the enemy had resigned all hope of recovering air superiority at that time and at that place. But the question is whether there are any new methods by which those solid assurances can be circumvented. If we are now called upon to endure what they have been suffering, we shall emulate their courage, and if final victory rewards our toils they shall share the gains, aye, and freedom shall be restored to all. What does Finest Hour expression mean? 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.. Lest the account which I have given of these large forces should raise the question: Why did they not take part in the great battle in France? Only three British divisions or their equivalent were able to stand in the line with their French comrades. '”, var mpn_wi={userId:11760,siteId:102021,widgetId:103930,widgetType:0};if(void 0===mpn_ref)var mpn_ref=[mpn_wi];else mpn_ref.push(mpn_wi);var mpn_sid=document.getElementById('monadplugscript');if(!mpn_sid){var mpn_dt=new Date,mpn_ns=document.createElement('script');mpn_ns.id='monadplugscript',mpn_ns.type='text/javascript',mpn_ns.defer=!0,mpn_ns.src='//cdn.monadplug.com/format/native/js/hood.js?v='+mpn_dt.getYear()+mpn_dt.getMonth()+mpn_dt.getUTCDate()+mpn_dt.getUTCHours();var pmn_os=document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];pmn_os.parentNode.insertBefore(mpn_ns,pmn_os)}, Whales trapped in ice in northern Alaska discovered – 1988, Russian imperial couple who toured Europe incognito (1776). For the last thirty years I have been concerned in discussions about the possibilities of oversea invasion, and I took the responsibility on behalf of the Admiralty, at the beginning of the last war, of allowing all regular troops to be sent out of the country. Churchill’s famous Finest Hour speech (1940) On June 18, 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave a famous speech in Parliament, best known today for the phrase “This was their finest hour.”. This also would be a foolish and pernicious process. We should be able to give those gentry a warm reception both in the air and on the ground, if they reach it in any condition to continue the dispute. It is absolutely necessary at a time like this that every Minister who tries each day to do his duty shall be respected; and their subordinates must know that their chiefs are not threatened men, men who are here today and gone tomorrow, but that their directions must be punctually and faithfully obeyed. 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. Therefore, I cannot accept the drawing of any distinctions between Members of the present Government. If you continue to use this website then you must agree to the terms set out in our Privacy Policy. By truthfully explaining their situation regardless of how bad it was he was appealing to reason which is the … "what tone is churchill most clearly using? We have, therefore, in this Island today a very large and powerful military force. We abate nothing of our just demands; not one jot or tittle do we recede. The Canadians had actually landed in France, but have now been safely withdrawn, much disappointed, but in perfect order, with all their artillery and equipment. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Finest Hour 112, Autumn 2001 Page 26 From September 11th his words were on every lip. Definitions by the largest Idiom Dictionary. Let each man search his conscience and search his speeches. Now I put all this aside. In the fighting over Dunkirk, which was a sort of no-man’s-land, we undoubtedly beat the German Air Force, and gained the mastery of the local air, inflicting here a loss of three or four to one day after day. In France, where we were at a considerable disadvantage and lost many machines on the ground when they were standing round the aerodromes, we were accustomed to inflict in the air losses of as much as two and two-and-a-half to one. Join to automatically receive a subscription to BOTH. Their Finest Hour ©BBC. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour.”. This was their Finest Hour – Conclusion. I recite them in order to explain why it was we did not have, as we could have had, between twelve and fourteen British divisions fighting in the line in this great battle instead of only three. After having played this scenario a year ago, in January 2014, and having had my difficulties winning as England (if I remember correctly… but then again: I’m in Ireland – I was drunk), I hadn’t expected to win the game on Deity difficulty so easily. soil and live to fight another day; whereas all the injured enemy machines and their complements will be total losses as far as the war is concerned. This decision was painful, but it was also right, because the fortunes of the battle in France could not have been decisively affected even if we had thrown in our entire fighter force. had proceeded abroad. This was their finest hour is the title commonly used for a speech delivered by Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 18 June 1940. I look forward confidently to the exploits of our fighter pilots-these splendid men, this brilliant youth-who will have the glory of saving their native land, their island home, and all they love, from the most deadly of all attacks. Czechs, Poles, Norwegians, Dutch, Belgians have joined their causes to our own. Copyright © 2021 International Churchill Society. For all of us, at this time, whatever our sphere, our station, our occupation or our duties, it will be a help to remember the famous lines: He nothing common did or mean, Upon that memorable scene. On the same day that Churchill delivered the speech, General Charles de Gaulle addressed the French by radio in an effort to encourage them to continue the fight. There remains, of course, the danger of bombing attacks, which will certainly be made very soon upon us by the bomber forces of the enemy. “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and … That was a very serious step to take, because our Territorials had only just been called up and were quite untrained. We hope to improve on the rate of three or four to one which was realized at Dunkirk; and in addition all our injured machines and their crews which get down safely-and, surprisingly, a very great many injured machines and men do get down safely in modern air fighting-all of these will fall, in an attack upon these Islands, on friendly. Finest Hour phrase. Some people seem to forget that we have a Navy. Therefore, in casting up this dread balance sheet and contemplating our dangers with a disillusioned eye, I see great reason for intense vigilance and exertion, but none whatever for panic or despair. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. Share on Linked In We have, therefore, lived under this danger, in principle and in a slightly modified form, during all these months. All I will say is that untiring vigilance and mind-searching must be devoted to the subject, because the enemy is crafty and cunning and full of novel treacheries and stratagems. Ein Beispiel vorschlagen. We have fully informed and consulted all the self-governing Dominions, these great communities far beyond the oceans who have been built up on our laws and on our civilization, and who are absolutely free to choose their course, but are absolutely devoted to the ancient Motherland, and who feel themselves inspired by the same emotions which lead me to stake our all upon duty and honour. Winston Churchill - June 18, 1940. In the meanwhile, however, we have enormously improved our methods of defence, and we have learned what we had no right to assume at the beginning, namely, that the individual aircraft and the individual British pilot have a sure and definite superiority. In the Skagerrak, because of the distance, we could give no air support to our surface ships, and consequently, lying as we did close to the enemy’s main air power, we were compelled to use only our submarines. Our fighter Air Force might easily have been exhausted as a mere accident in that great struggle, and then we should have found ourselves at the present time in a very serious plight. We have incorporated into our Defence Forces every man for whom we have a weapon. We have to think of the future and not of the past. We do not yet know what will happen in France or whether the French resistance will be prolonged, both in France and in the French Empire overseas. This Was Their Finest Hour ist nach ihrem berühmtesten Passus benannt, in dem es heißt: „Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’“ > Their Finest Hour. The ending of a story or speech is crucial especially when the goal is to invite the audience to take action. The disastrous military events which have happened during the past fortnight have not come to me with any sense of surprise. There are a good many people who say, “Never mind. I am not reciting these facts for the purpose of recrimination. Britain's Finest Hour will be when the policy of mass immigration is ended in the UK!Stand up to Hitler! In the Channel and in the North Sea, on the other hand, our superior naval surface forces, aided by our submarines, will operate with close and effective air assistance. Now, we must remember that even five divisions, however lightly equipped, would require 200 to 250 ships, and with modern air reconnaissance and photography it would not be easy to collect such an armada, marshal it, and conduct it across the sea without any powerful naval forces to escort it; and there would be very great possibilities, to put it mildly, that this armada would be intercepted long before it reached the coast, and all the men drowned in the sea or, at the worst blown to pieces with their equipment while they were trying to land. 6 “This Was Their Finest Hour” “This Was Their Finest Hour” 7 If it is of large size, then the Navy have something they can find and meet and, as it were, bite on. On the other hand, this will not happen immediately, and we are now assured of immense, continuous and increasing support in supplies and munitions of all kinds from the United States; and especially of aeroplanes and pilots from the Dominions and across the oceans coming from regions which are beyond the reach of enemy bombers. It would not be a good thing for me to go into details of this. I do not see how any of these factors can operate to our detriment on balance before the winter comes; and the winter will impose a strain upon the Nazi regime, with almost all Europe writhing and starving under its cruel heel, which, for all their ruthlessness, will run them very hard. June 18, 1940 House of Commons. Their Finest Hour For more on Churchill the War Leader, visit this section. After … Perhaps the most famous speech Churchill ever gave was the one he spent the longest time agonising over- This was their finest hour, where he stated in part, What General Weygand has called the Battle of France is over … the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon it depends ou… Their Finest Hour on Amazon.com. The History Place - Great Speeches Collection See also: The History Place - Defeat of Hitler - Britain Stands Alone When we consider the heroic resistance made by the French Army against heavy odds in this battle, the enormous losses inflicted upon the enemy and the evident exhaustion of the enemy, it may well be the thought that these 25 divisions of the best-trained and best-equipped troops might have turned the scale. Much will depend upon this; every man and every woman will have the chance to show the finest qualities of their race, and render the highest service to their cause. I frequently search mine. Having easily conquered France and signed a temporary treaty with the USSR, Adolf Hitler turned his full attention towards the conquest of the United Kingdom. I do not at all underrate the severity of the ordeal which lies before us; but I believe our countrymen will show themselves capable of standing up to it, like the brave men of Barcelona, and will be able to stand up to it, and carry on in spite of it, at least as well as any other people in the world. If invasion has become more imminent, as no doubt it has, we, being relieved from the task of maintaining a large army in France, have far larger and more efficient forces to meet it. Ultimately, the specific rhetorical strategies that are seen throughout Churchill’s “Their Finest Hour” speech is what made his message so powerful. House of Commons.] This Was Their Finest Hour (deutsch: „Dies war ihre beste Stunde") ist der Titel einer Rede, die Winston Churchill am 18. Indeed, I indicated a fortnight ago as clearly as I could to the House that the worst possibilities were open; and I made it perfectly clear then that On June 18, 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave a famous speech in Parliament, best known today for the phrase “This was their finest hour.” It is necessary to look at the context in which that speech originated. Its Members are going to stand together, and, subject to the authority of the House of Commons, we are going to govern the country and fight the war. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Why was it their finest hour? All Rights Reserved. This delay entailed the loss of fifteen or sixteen French divisions and threw out of action for the critical period the whole of the British Expeditionary Force. Prime Minister Churchill was able to reignite hope in the faint hearts of his people when he delivered his “Their Finest Hour” speech on the 18th of June, 1940. The French Government will be throwing away great opportunities and casting adrift their future if they do not continue the war in accordance with their Treaty obligations, from which we have not felt able to release them. Share by Email, The most recent issues of Finest Hour are available online to members. At the same time it rallied them to the cause of defeating fascism rather than compromising with it.