Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat
Churchill's first address to the British House of Commons after becoming Prime Minister on May 13, 1940, setting a resolute tone during the darkest hours of WWII.
Full Transcript
On Friday evening last I received His Majesty’s commission to form a new Administration. It was the evident wish and will of Parliament and the nation that this should be conceived on the broadest possible basis and that it should include all parties.
We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering.
You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy.
You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.
I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men. At this time I feel entitled to claim the aid of all, and I say, ‘Come then, let us go forward together with our united strength.’
Defining Key Excerpts
"I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat."
"You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror."
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