We
Shall Fight on the Beaches
June 4, 1940
House of Commons |
The following is excerpted from the full
speech which can be found on
The Churchill
Centre Website :
|
 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 Majesty's
Government-every man of them. That is the
will of Parliament and the nation.
The British Empire and the French Republic,
linked together in their cause and in their
need, will defend to the death their native
soil, aiding each other like good comrades
to the utmost of their strength.
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. |
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