Men Will Say, This Was Their Finest Hour.

In a stirring oration in the House of Commons on June 18^th 1940, Mr Churchill reviewed the question of imminent invasion and summarized the means by which the enemy would be frustrated and thrown back from these shores.

The greater part of the Prime Minister’s speech is reprinted below, including the very moving peroration.

We have in arms at present time in this island over 1,250,000 men.

          Behind these we have the Local Defence Volunteers, numbering 500,000, only a portion of whom, however are yet armed with rifles or other firearms.

          We have incorporated into our defence forces every man for whom we have a weapon.

          We expect a very large addition to our weapons in the near future, and in preparation for this we intend to call up, drill, and train, further large numbers at once.

          Those who are not called up or otherwise employed those who are employed in the vast business of munitions production in all branches, and which runs through every kind of grade ,they serve their country best by remaining at their ordinary work until they are required.

          We also have Dominion Armies here, Canadians had actually  landed in France , but have now been safely withdrawn, much disappointed but in perfect order, with all their artillery and equipment, and these very high class forces from Dominions will now take part in the defence of the Mother Country….

          The invasion of Great Britain would, at this time require transportation across the sea of hostile armies upon a very large scale, and after they had been so transported, they would require to be continually maintained with all their mass of munitions and supplies which  are required for continuous battle ,as we continuous battle it would be.

          Here is where we come to the Navy.

          After all, we have a Navy.

          Some people seem to forget that.

We must remind them, for more then thirty years I have been concerned in discussions about the possibility of overseas invasion, and I took the responsibility on behalf of the Admiralty at the beginning of the last war of allowing the Regular troops to be sent out of the country, through the Territorials had been only just called up and were quite untrained.

Navy’s Part in Meeting Invasion

          The Admiralty had confidence at that time in their ability to prevent mass invasion, even though at that time the Germans had a magnificent battle fleet in the proportion of 10 to 16, even though they were capable of fighting a general engagement any day.

          Now they only have a couple of heavy ships worth speaking of.

          We are also told that the Italian navy is to come to gain sea superiority in these waters.

          Well, if that is seriously intended, I can only say that we shall be delighted to offer Signor Mussolini free safeguarded passage through the Straits of Gibraltar in order that he may play the part he aspires to do.

          There is a genuine curiosity in the British Fleet to find out whether the Italians are up to the level they were at the last war or whether they have fallen off.

          The point seems to be that so far as sea borne invasion on a large scale is concerned we are more capable of meeting it today than we were at many periods in the last war and during the early months of this war before our other troops were trained and while the B.E.F. was already abroad and still abroad.

          The Navy have never pretended to be able to prevent raids by bodies of 5,000 or 10,000 men flung suddenly across at several points of the coast some dark night or foggy morning.

          The efficacy of sea power, especially in modern conditions, depends upon the invading force being of large size.

          It has got to be of large size, in view of our military strength, to be of any use.

          If it is of large size the Navy have something they can meet and bite on…

          We also have a great system of minefields, recently largely reinforced, through which we alone know the channels.

          If the enemy tries to sweep vessels through those minefields it will be the task of the Navy to destroy the minesweepers or any other force employed to protect them.

These are the regular well tested, well proved arguments on which we have relied during the many years in peace and war.

          But the question is whether there are any new methods by which those solid assurances can be circumvented.

          Odd as it may seem some attention has been given to this by the Admiralty, whose prime duty it is to destroy any large sea borne expedition before it reaches us or at the moment it reaches these shores.

          It would not be useful to go into details.

All I would say is that untiring vigilance and mind searching must be devoted to the subject, because the enemy is crafty, cunning, and full of novel treacheries and strategies.

The House may be sure that the utmost ingenuity is being displayed and imagination is being invoked from a large number of competent officers, well trained in planning and thoroughly up to date , to measure and to counter all novel possibilities, of which many are suggested….

Glorious Mission of the R.A.F.

It seems quite clear that no invasion on a scale beyond the capacity of our land forces to crush speedily is likely to take place from the air until our Air Force has been definitely overpowered.

In the meantime, there may be raids by parachute troops and attempted descents by air borne soldiers.

We ought to be able to give these gentry a warm reception both in the air and if they reach the ground in a condition to be able to continue the dispute.

The great question is, can we break Hitler’s air weapon?

It is a very great pity we have not got an air force at least equal to that of the most powerful enemy within reach of our shores, but we have a very powerful Air Force which has proved itself far superior, in quality, both of men and of many types of machines, to what we have met so far in the numerous fierce air battles which have been fought….

I look forward confidently to the exploits of our fighter pilots , who will have the glory of saving their island home and all they love from the most deadly of all attacks.

There remains the danger of the bombing attacks, which will certainly be made very soon upon us by the bomber forces of the enemy.

It is quite true that the German bomber force is superior in numbers to ours, but we have a very large bomber force also, which we should use to strike at military targets in Germany without intermission.

I do not 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.

They will be able to stand up to it and carry on in spite of it as well as any other people in the world.

Much will depend on them, and every man and every woman will have the chance of showing the finest qualities of the race, and of rendering the highest services to their cause…..

What General Weygand called the “Battle of France” is over.

I expect that the “Battle of Britain” is about to begin.

Upon this battle depends the survival of the Christian civilization?

Upon it depends our own British life and the long continued history of our institutions and our Empire.

The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us.

Hitler knows that he will have to break us on this island or lose the war.

If we can stand up to him all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad and sunlit uplands.

If we fail , then the whole world, including the United States, and all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new dark age made more sinister and perhaps more prolonged by the light of a perverted science.

Let us therefore, do our duty and so bear ourselves that if the British Commonwealth and the Empire lasts a thousand years men will say, “This was their finest hour”.