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"We Shall Fight on the Beaches" (excerpt) by Winston Churchill.
Delivered June 4, 1940; House of Commons, London
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.