The We shall fight on the beaches speech was a famous speech made by Sir Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the British Parliament on 4 June 1940. It was given shortly after he took over (on 10 May) as Prime Minister of Britain, in the first year of World War II. The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS (November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965) was a British statesman, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War II. At various times an author, soldier, journalist, and politician, Churchill is generally regarded as... British House of Commons Canadian House of Commons In some bicameral parliaments of a Westminster System, the House of Commons has historically been the name of the elected lower house. ... Insert non-formatted text hereInsert non-formatted text here:This article is about the legislative institution. ... June 4 is the 155th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (156th in leap years), with 210 days remaining. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... May 10 is the 130th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (131st in leap years). ... The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and is a complete wanker and pussy boy is the head of government and so exercises many of the executive functions nominally vested in the Sovereign, who is head of state. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II...

It was the second of three famous speeches which he gave during the period of the Battle of France. This speech (and the two others, the "Blood, toil, tears, and sweat" speech of 13 May, and the "This was their finest hour" speech of 18 June) were a great inspiration to the embattled United Kingdom as it entered what was probably the most dangerous phase of the entire war. Combatants Allies (France, Britain, Canada, Poland, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) Germany, Italy Commanders Maurice Gamelin, Maxime Weygand (French) Lord Gort (British Expeditionary Force) Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group A) Fedor von Bock (Army Group B) Wilhelm von Leeb (Army Group C) H.R.H. Umberto di Savoia (Army Group West) Strength... On 13 May 1940 Winston Churchill made his famous blood, toil, tears, and sweat speech to the House of Commons of the British Parliament, three days after replacing Neville Chamberlain as Prime Minister in the first year of World War II. Churchill gave the brief speech after calling for a... May 13 is the 133rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (134th in leap years). ... On 18 June 1940 Winston Churchill made his famous This was their finest hour speech to the House of Commons of the British Parliament, shortly after taking over as Prime Minister in the first year of World War II. It was given as France continued to reel from the stunning... June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ...

It was given in the wake of the withdrawal of the British Expeditionary Force from France at Dunkirk, after it was cut off by the massive German breakthrough at Sedan, France, and as France reeled, shortly to be overcome. In it he tried to temper the national euphoria engendered by this seemingly miraculous delivery (almost the entire army was rescued, a feat thought most improbable beforehand), and send a message to the rest of the world that there would be no negotiated settlement. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the British army sent to France and Belgium in World War I and British Forces in Europe from 1939 - 1940 during World War II. The BEF was established by Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Second Boer War in case the... Evacuation at Dunkirk, June 1940. ... For other uses of Sedan, see Sedan (disambiguation). ...

The phrase "we shall fight them on the beaches" arose as a common misquotation from this speech. A misquotation is an accidental or intentional misrepresentation of a persons speech or writing, involving one or more of: Omission of important context: The context can be important for determining the overall argument the quoted person wanted to make, for seeing whether the quoted statement was restricted or even...

Excerpts

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.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

We shall fight on the beaches

The Deaths Head emblem similar to Skull and crossbones, often used as the insignia of the Gestapo The (help· info) (contraction of Geheime Staatspolizei; secret state police) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikisource – The Free Library – is a Wikimedia project to build a free, wiki library of source texts, along with translations of source-texts into any language and other supporting materials. ...

Radio Broadcast

It is often suggested that Churchill refused to repeat his speech for radio after the House Of Commons oration, and that the speech broadcast on the BBC on 4 June 1940 was read by an actor. British House of Commons Canadian House of Commons In some bicameral parliaments of a Westminster System, the House of Commons has historically been the name of the elected lower house. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the largest publicly-funded radio and television broadcasting corporation of the United Kingdom (see British television) and the world. ... June 4 is the 155th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (156th in leap years), with 210 days remaining. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ...

This version of events is refuted here.[1]

See also

• Never was so much owed by so many to so few

The Never was so much owed by so many to so few speech was a famous speech made by Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the British Parliament on August 20, 1940, at the height of the Battle of Britain, often viewed as the most critical turning point...

External links

• The Churchill Centre: We Shall Fight on the Beaches, with a short introduction