Persuasive speaking

This speech was originally delivered by Sir Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 18 June 1940. It was given shortly after he took over as Prime Minister of Britain on 10 May, in the first year of World War II. The US had not yet entered the War, and at the time it looked doubtful that they would. The Germans had by then occupied most of Western Europe, and Churchill knew that he had to prepare the British people for an eventual invasion.

It is interesting to note Churchill's references to the idea that the British Empire might last a thousand years (Hitler had the same idea about the Third Reich). This illustrates Churchill's extreme attachment and faith in the Empire — its gradual dissolution in the subsequent decades was a source of great distress for Churchill. It followed from Britain's bancruptcy following the War.