Why did Winston Churchill say we shall fight them on the beaches?

During WWII, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill, calls upon Britain to not give up hope during a time of defeat, to turn the tables on Germany, to take the fight to them and to win. The purpose of Churchill’s speech, “We Shall Fight on the Beaches”, is to revive the spirits of the citizens and soldiers who have relinquished their hope . He adopts an inspiring, patriotic tone in order to convey that the British cannot be easily conquered. Churchill opens his speech by establishing that no matter the circumstances, Britain will rise out of the ashes to protect its citizens and land. He appeals to the emotions of the beaten down audience by acting as their friend rather than an authoritative position. By demonstrating that…show more content…
He uses his feelings of anger and patriotism to portray how Germany would not take control over Britain. He mentions how mightier places such as “Europe and many old and famous States have fallen” to the Nazis, but he also believes that Britain “shall not flag or fail,” (Churchill). He shows his dominance in order to make the citizens feel safe and empowered. This outpouring emotion from the prime minister towards the audience, keeps them enticed during his speech. Churchill closes his speech by emphasizing that the British can go anywhere in the world to fight in a war, and win. He uses anaphora and repetition to captivate the audience's attention even more and raises his voice to tell how “we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender” (Churchill). Moving forward, he repeats “we shall” in order to get the crowd more involved and make his tone have a stronger, positive effect. Churchill conveys his anaphora diction to get a reaction from out the citizens to build their esteem back. Winston Churchill inspires the British troops to get back on the fighting grounds to represent their country with dignity. By using rhetoric, Churchill encourages the soldiers to preserve through the difficult times. Britain is a strong nation, they are not alone in this

Summary

After Nazi Victories, Churchill Vows to Fight

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave his We Shall Fight on the Beaches speech in the early months of World War II (1939–45), when Nazi Germany had swiftly taken over several countries in continental Europe. Churchill spoke on June 4, 1940, after a massive evacuation had saved the British army in Europe from destruction. Speaking to the House of Commons (the lower chamber of Parliament, Britain's legislative body), he assessed the dire situation, warned of the difficulties that the British would face in the years to come, praised the armed forces, and stated his steely resolve to fight to the bitter end. The speech was the first of several Churchill made in 1940, as he sought to encourage the British public to rise to the challenge and not give up hope.

Some historians argue that a major goal of this speech was to draw greater interest and support from the United States, which at that point was not involved in the war. In June 1940 many Americans favored isolationism, a policy of staying out of conflicts between other countries, even when allies are in danger. At the end of his speech, Churchill mentions the possibility that the United States will eventually lend its power to help the British in their struggle against Nazi tyranny and domination.

Start of World War II

In 1939, Germany, led by Adolf Hitler (1889–1945), started World War II by invading Poland. The British and French declared war soon after the invasion but were unable to stop the German advance. Hitler's troops quickly overwhelmed Polish forces, which were also under attack from the east by the Soviet Union. (The Soviets were allied with the Nazis at this time, but they later switched sides to fight with the Allies against Germany.)

Prior to 1939, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (1869–1940) had tried to prevent war with Germany through the policy of appeasement, a strategy of cooperating with Hitler in the hope of avoiding war. After Hitler invaded Poland, Chamberlain began preparing for war. He put Churchill—who had warned for years against the growing power of Hitler—back in charge of the Admiralty, the naval office in the British government that Churchill had led in early World War I (1914–18).

The "Miracle of Dunkirk"

On May 10, 1940, Germany invaded Belgium and the Netherlands. Chamberlain resigned and Churchill became the new British prime minister. On May 13, three days after taking charge, he spoke in the House of Commons, in what became known as his Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat speech, vowing that Britain would fight on and never surrender.

The next day, the Netherlands surrendered. German tanks stormed into France and attacked British, French, and Belgian troops from the east and the southwest, with the goal of trapping and crushing them. On May 27 Belgium surrendered, and Britain decided to pull most of its army from France, leading to the "miracle of Dunkirk," an ambitious and successful evacuation operation.

British troops, as well as some French and Belgian troops, assembled near the French town of Dunkirk. A collection of British Royal Navy ships and civilian boats rescued them from the beach. Over a period of little more than a week, nearly 340,000 British, French, and Belgian soldiers were saved. The operation concluded on June 4. That day, Churchill again addressed the House of Commons, giving his We Shall Fight on the Beaches speech.

Review of Events Leading to Dunkirk

Churchill opens by reviewing the events that led to Dunkirk. The German forces were powerful and very well organized. Churchill describes the Nazi troops as a scythe (a cutting blade) that has swept through northern and western Europe. He also criticizes the German national character, saying that Germans are "always so ready to be led" to squash the freedom of other peoples. Churchill notes the fierce and heroic fighting that occurred before the evacuation. Several units of the British army stalled the German advance at Calais, in northern France, holding out for days and suffering heavy losses until forced to surrender.

The situation then got even worse. Churchill places much of the blame on King Leopold III of Belgium (1901–83). The Belgian king had declared neutrality before the war and then came pleading for help when the Germans invaded his country. Britain and France came to the Belgians' rescue—a noble act, Churchill implies. But with the Nazi threat mounting, the king pulled his troops from the Allies' defensive line and surrendered. Churchill's judgments against the king are harsh. It is worth noting that Belgium was on the verge of being overrun, and the king might well have had little choice. Churchill cuts him no slack, however.

The British and French forces were cornered, with only one escape route. Their fate was uncertain and their situation desperate. They were attacked from the air, the land, and the sea. They faced the threat of being overrun by the tanks and soldiers that surrounded them, while underwater mines and U-boats (submarines) threatened to sink the ships sent to rescue them.

More than 200 naval ships and 650 civilian ships joined in a valiant effort to save the troops. They braved a difficult coast, bad weather, and constant attacks, traveling day and night without rest to rescue the soldiers. The Germans brutally bombed British hospital ships, but the doctors and nurses continued doing their work. Churchill praises them, noting that they "never faltered in their duty." In this and other speeches, Churchill often stresses the importance of duty. He suggests that doing one's duty is both highly honorable and crucially important for eventual victory, especially when faced with great difficulty.

High Praise for Britain's Royal Air Force

Churchill goes on to describe how Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) came on the scene with fighters, successfully shooting down many German planes. He carefully chooses words to stress how difficult the battle was and how well the RAF performed in it. Calling it a "miracle of deliverance, achieved by valor, by perseverance, by perfect discipline, by faultless service, by resource, by skill, by unconquerable fidelity," Churchill lauds the British forces and also suggests how Britain can eventually overcome the Nazis by following this example of courage, determination, and ability.

Britain's navy and air force, along with numerous civilian ships, saved more than 335,000 soldiers from Dunkirk. Churchill notes that despite the success, this was not a victory; it was a withdrawal. Here, he is careful to speak frankly, balancing his praise of the Dunkirk evacuation with the somber reality that the Nazis have defeated Britain and its allies in battle so far. But, he says, the huge evacuation from Dunkirk did involve a victory, won by the air force.

Founded during World War I, the RAF was still fairly new at the time of Churchill's speech. It was a relatively unproven force, while the strength of the Nazi air force, called the Luftwaffe, had already become clear. The RAF played a crucial role at Dunkirk, against a formidable enemy—facts Churchill wants to make known. He points out that even the soldiers of the British army—who had earlier seen RAF bombers withdraw from France—do not yet recognize the bravery and skill of the fighter pilots of the RAF.

Churchill thus seeks both to honor the RAF and to bolster its reputation. He devotes the next two paragraphs to making the case that the RAF is a highly skilled and crucially important new force. Sensing that others might disparage the air force or fail to recognize its worth, Churchill focuses his audience on his view of the RAF, saying "I go out of my way to say this. I will tell you about it." In this way, he signals to listeners that what he has to say about Britain's air force is particularly meaningful and important.

He first describes the "great trial of strength between the British and German Air Forces." His words convey the might of the Luftwaffe and stress the intense efforts German pilots made to prevent the evacuation and to sink Allied ships. Churchill casts the RAF as smaller but more efficient, more skilled, and more brave than the Nazi air force. He offers several anecdotes as support for this view, noting incidents in which RAF pilots bested greater numbers of German pilots. Both British planes and British pilots, he says, have now shown that they are superior. Alluding to the fear that Britain itself would soon be attacked by the Luftwaffe, Churchill tries to offer the British public concrete reasons for hope. He says the information he has related about the RAF provides solid reasons to feel reassured. His message to the public is that the RAF is a resource that will provide the country significant strength and protection.

Churchill then offers a tribute to the young pilots of the RAF, drawing on Britain's historical and literary traditions to create an image of great heroes. Stressing the youth of the pilots, he says that "the cause of civilization itself" was defended by the small, talented group of RAF pilots at Dunkirk. He suggests that these young pilots surpass the knights of the Round Table (the fictional knights in the tales of King Arthur) and the Crusaders (medieval soldiers who went to war in the Holy Land). These references elevate the status of the RAF pilots, putting them on the same level as other towering figures of bravery and might. Churchill closes his tribute to the pilots by quoting from "Morte d'Arthur," a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–92), a famous British poet. Tennyson's poem tells a story of King Arthur and celebrates his valiant knights. Churchill cites lines that stress the glory of such fighters, who are faced with opportunities and challenges that turn them into "noble knights." This is how Churchill wants his audience to think of Britain's fighter pilots.

Acknowledging British Losses and Mourning

After his poetic tribute to the British air force, Churchill turns his focus to the army, which had suffered heavy losses in the fighting in Europe. The mood of the speech turns somber but is tempered by points Churchill offers as evidence that Britain must and will persevere in the fight against the Nazis.

Churchill notes the heavy losses Britain has suffered, encompassing over 30,000 troops killed, wounded, or missing. He continues to stress how fierce the fighting was and how bravely the troops fought. But he addresses the grief of the many British families who are mourning a loved one, as well as the anxiety felt by those waiting for news of the wounded and missing. He names one official whose son has been killed and suggests that many members of Parliament have suffered losses. These comments may have been intended to show the British public that elites within the government are affected in the same ways that regular people are.

Churchill expresses sympathy for all the British people who are grieving or worried but concentrates specifically on the question of men who are missing in action. He gives a grave and fairly stoic view, recognizing that many of the missing have likely died and will never return. He tries to balance this stark truth by emphasizing the honor of the soldiers who will not be recovered from the battlefield: "it is inevitable that many have been left in positions where honor required no further resistance from them." With these words, Churchill tries to cast these war deaths in the best light possible. He also reinforces the message that honor, duty, and fighting to the end are worthy goals that Britain should embrace.

Coping with Defeat and Further Nazi Threats

Next, Churchill attempts to counterbalance the heavy losses by stating that British forces inflicted even greater losses on the Nazis. He also acknowledges that Britain has lost a huge amount of weapons and most of its armored vehicles. This is a serious setback, particularly since Britain had already been struggling to produce sufficient weapons and vehicles. Churchill offers essentially the same response to this situation as he does to the grim reality of the Allies' defeat. In both cases, his message is that there is work to be done. In terms of manufacturing war materials, he stresses the efforts already underway to step up production in Britain. He claims that "Capital and Labor"—factory owners and factory workers—have put aside their differences and are united in the goal of producing supplies for the military.

While the evacuation from Dunkirk was a major success and a huge relief for many, Churchill stresses that the British must face "the fact that what has happened in France and Belgium is a colossal military disaster." This assessment of the defeat is frank and stark. It may have startled some listeners, but it likely helped build Churchill's reputation as straightforward and trustworthy. He is willing to be blunt with the British public. He goes on to discuss the defeat of the European allies that had been fighting alongside the British and the very real possibility that Hitler would soon attempt to invade Britain. These were issues of great concern to the British public, and Churchill does not dismiss them.

However, having acknowledged the severity of the situation, Churchill then offers a vision of a strong Britain, a country with a history of fighting back against major threats. Referring to Napoleon's hope of invading Britain in the 19th century, Churchill refers to "bitter weeds in England." By this he means that the British are strong and difficult to fight. Napoleon did not succeed, Churchill reminds his listeners. Therefore, it is reasonable to hope that Britain can also hold off Hitler. Indeed, Churchill does not want Britain to be "content with a defensive war." He argues that the country must make bigger plans, not only to defend itself but to help France and other allies and eventually mount a major offensive effort against Germany. He urges members of Parliament to meet in a closed session, in order to be able to speak freely without giving away military secrets or strategies. But Churchill also offers a clear message to the public: he knows that the country and its allies have suffered a huge defeat, and his response is to make plans to overcome the crisis, working hard toward a future victory.

Measures Taken against Foreigners

Near the end of the speech, Churchill addresses a somewhat controversial issue: measures Britain has taken against foreign nationals (citizens of other countries who live in Britain) and suspected spies. He states that it has become necessary to take action not only against "enemy aliens and suspicious characters of other nationalities, but also against British subjects who may become a danger or a nuisance."

He is referring to a policy put into place when Britain declared war on Germany in 1939. Thousands of Germans and Austrians residing in Britain were classified as possible "enemy aliens." By the spring of 1940, Italians were also impacted. Tribunals categorized the individuals that were identified, ranking them according to how much of a security risk they likely posed to the country. While some of these people were simply classified and subject to some restrictions (such as being required to register with local police), many were sent to internment camps—detention camps where people who are not accused or convicted of a crime are imprisoned during wartime, based on the fear that they might help the enemy.

Thousands of individuals were rounded up and sent to camps. Some of them were Nazi sympathizers, but many were simply foreign nationals. Indeed, many of those classified and held as "enemy aliens" were Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria who had fled to Britain to escape Nazi persecution. By June of 1940 Britain began to run out space to hold residents they classified as potentially dangerous. Over 7,000 were sent to be held in camps in Canada and Australia, allies of Britain and members of the British Commonwealth (an association of countries that had been part of the British Empire).

Some of the British public and some members of Parliament objected to these measures. At the time of his speech, Churchill knew that there was some opposition to this policy, but he remained firmly committed to it. His brief discussion of the policy in his speech acknowledges that the measures are controversial but also demonstrates that he is willing to cast a wide net in order to prevent potential spies and enemy sympathizers from weakening Britain's ability to defend itself. Churchill states clearly that he is aware that many people impacted by these measures do not pose any danger to the country, but he believes that the circumstances warrant taking drastic measures regardless of how it affects people, even those who are in fact firmly opposed to the Nazi regime.

By August of 1940—3 months after Churchill's speech—opposition to the internment of foreigners had increased, and the policy was reversed. Outcry against the measures had grown throughout the summer, particularly after a boat carrying detainees to Canada was torpedoed by German submarines off the coast of Ireland on July 2, 1940. Hundreds of German and Italian detainees were killed, as well as British soldiers and sailors. This incident led to greater support and sympathy for foreign nationals. Over the next two years, the majority of those interned by the government were released.

In his speech, given a month before the attack on the ship, Churchill is resolute. He expresses regret about anyone unjustly affected by the policy, but he does not waver in his commitment to carrying it out. He is most concerned by the possibility of "Fifth Column activities"—people within Britain actively working to undermine the country's security and help the Nazis. Churchill is thankful that Parliament has given the government the authority to take strong action against such people, and he promises to use these powers to stamp out fifth column efforts.

"We Shall Fight"

Churchill concludes his speech with an impassioned argument for the British to remain confident and resolved and to prepare for a long and difficult fight. He again reminds listeners that Britain has faced attack and invasion many times in its history. Recognizing that the Nazis will no doubt use new, powerful, and brutal methods in the war, Churchill also stresses that Britain's navy and air force are strong and capable of meeting this challenge. He again stresses duty and effort as the keys to Britain's future success. Defining the war as a fight against tyranny, he calls on the country to live up to its glorious history and continue the fight against Germany, even if it lasts for years and even if Britain must fight alone.

This is a tall order, and Churchill spoke knowing that the British people were frightened and daunted by the strength and success of the Nazis. His words were also likely intended to draw admiration and support from the United States, in the hope that the Americans would enter the war. He uses elevated and impassioned rhetoric to boost spirits and encourage his listeners not to give up. This is the best-known section of his speech. He promises that the British will fight everywhere—on the beaches, the seas, the fields, the streets—and that they will never surrender. This description presents a show of strength to Britain's enemies and seeks to stir up the courage and determination of the British people.

Calling on the United States

After his rousing call to fight on and fight everywhere, Churchill makes a final point. He raises the possibility that Britain could fall to the Nazis, despite efforts to fight to the end. He engages in a careful balancing act, noting that the country might ultimately be "subjugated and starving" but also asserting that he does not believe such a fate could ever happen. Yet, he says, if that does come to pass, the countries of the British Empire would continue the fight until finally "the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old."

In 1940 the British Empire still existed, although it was beginning to come apart. Canada, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand had all become independent countries but were still closely tied to Britain through the British Commonwealth. India and several East African countries such as Kenya and Tanzania were still under the control of the empire. Churchill's reference to "our Empire beyond the seas" is a reminder that Britain has important resources and allies outside the British Isles.

The closing line of the speech, however, signals Churchill's greatest hope—that the United States would enter the war. Some historians argue that Churchill's primary goal for this speech was to persuade Americans to come to Britain's aid. The closing line deftly avoids any hint of accusation or frustration toward the United States. It frames America in positive terms and suggests that it engage in a heroic quest to rescue and liberate Europe.

The United States did not immediately enter the war. However, after Churchill's speech President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) soon agreed to sell Britain 50 old naval destroyers. This was a relatively small contribution, but it was aid that Britain desperately needed, given that it was struggling to ramp up production of war materials.

Impact of the We Shall Fight on the Beaches Speech

Churchill's speech was fairly well received by the audience who heard it in the House of Commons. However, the speech was not broadcast, so most of the British public did not actually hear Churchill deliver it. His words were reported by the press, so his message was conveyed to the British public in alternate form. However, the following day, a survey on the national mood found growing pessimism among the public, not the increased enthusiasm and resolve Churchill advocated. The survey researchers noted that many respondents mentioned Churchill's speech. Their analysis was that the serious tone made an impact on the public and might be a contributing factor to the dark mood of the country. Two weeks later, Churchill made his Their Finest Hour speech, delivering it first in Parliament and again as a radio broadcast. A survey after that speech suggested that it was more successful in inspiring hope and courage among the British public.

American journalists praised Churchill's We Shall Fight on the Beaches speech, applauding his dual effort to be honest and inspiring. The United States did not join the war effort, however, until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941. This incident led to the solution Churchill had long hoped for—American forces came to the aid of Britain and its allies. In June 1944 the Allies launched the Invasion of Normandy (D-Day). This operation was a huge offensive effort, as Churchill had proposed in his speech. Although Churchill's words did not have the power to draw the United States into the war in June 1940, his vision of the war did ultimately come to pass. Britain fought on. Its military, particularly the Royal Air Force, was able to defend the country. The empire and commonwealth provided significant support. Eventually, the New World did step in to help liberate Europe.

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