The Summary and Analysis of “So Few” Winston Churchill’s speech “The Few” is one worthy as any of admiration. In this speech Churchill addresses the contrast between the brutality of World War One and World War Two. He speaks of how despite the lessening of bloodshed, much of Europe has lost more than they had in “The Great War”. However, he follows this disheartening reality, with another hope inspiring reality. Churchill reminds all of the audience of England’s upper hand of the sea, her allie America, and her inevitable victory. He then guarantees people’s hopes by reminding them of the vicious air battles which they have not only been fighting, but winning. The admiration for the fighter pilots is one felt by the whole of the country, this is so evident that Churchill himself states, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” A remarkable quote, holding more meaning than that of the words alone. Despite great efforts, Hitler seemed to be an unbeatable force. This was the mindset which much of Europe unfortunately succumbed to during WW2. Churchill’s speech “So Few” was made to address this very mind set and dash its validity, but not before addressing the sound reasoning behind it. Churchill is able to use logic to explain the issue of Hitler’s army to his people, for one must first know his enemy before he is able to defeat him. He is then able to articulate the strategy by which they shall overcome the enemy. While presenting the
Adolf Hitler was arguably one of the world’s most powerful dictators of all time. Hitler used the Jews as a scapegoat throughout his rise in power. Using antisemitism to preach hatred and blame on the Jews for all of Germany’s problems, including the loss of World War I. Hitler had gained the support of other countries to include Italy and Japan and was going to stop at nothing to ensure that the German people would reign supreme. Hitler had his Army ready for war and was confident that a victory for Germany was certain, he just needed an opportunity to strike. In this paper we will discuss the history of WWII, to include Hitler’s rise to power, world conquest and the transition of Cost Artillery to today’s Air Defense.
Following the collapse of France during World War II, the conditions the Allied powers faced became bleaker by the day. The United Kingdom was standing alone in the face of Germany, and under Hitler’s reign, the German “blitzkrieg” or “lightning war,” a tactic involving bombardment, tanks, and ground troops in quick offense proved too much for many countries. Winston Churchill would be the one to place hope in the hearts of the British people, delivering his “Their Finest Hour” speech on the 18th of June, 1940. Churchill utilized persuasive rhetoric whilst appealing to the people's logic and emotions, to raise morale and spirit in the United Kingdom to fight.
The history of the world consists of important events which have been shaped by the will of the government's leaders. When put in a position of leadership, one individual is literally granted the power the change the world around him or her. Great leaders are those individuals who can take power without abusing it and instead utilize their influence to better the lives of those that look to them for guidance (Northouse 2010, page 7). In times of war, the leaders of opposing factions have two responsibilities: finding strategies which will allow them to defeat their enemies and fulfill their geopolitical goals, and also to inspire the people to fight against the enemy and to believe in the ideal that one day the strife will be over. During the Second World War, people in England were being daily affected by the German government and its soldiers. Before, during, and after the war, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was heralded as a leader beyond most other leaders. His legacy has inspired generations, even decades after his passing. In 2002, a survey of British citizens voted Winston Churchill as "The Greatest Briton of all time" (Great 2006). At a time when the nation was at its lowest point and the people were depressed and perhaps even willing to become part of the new German empire just to end the violence and bloodshed, Churchill picked them up and encouraged people to continue fighting both at home and abroad.
Hitler impresses the Reichstag with the ethos, credibility, of his leadership. Referring to the success of his government, Hitler entreats, “Allow me now to give you a short excerpt from our economic life which proves in plain figures whether and to what extent National Socialism has solved these problems.” Hitler then presents a simple, yet powerful statistic: a tremendous rise in annual German births. Hitler does not pick this statistic blindly. He chooses a statistic that he knows will be important, impactful, and personal to his audience. Not only is a rise in births a sign of increased prosperity (for people are unlikely to have kids if they are not in love and with the means of supporting their children), but it is also a statistic dear to his audience’s heart. After World War I, so many loved ones died. Accordingly, the babies and new life mentioned in the statistic must have brought great joy to a hurting nation. Further, Hitler reinforces his ethos as a leader when he remembers, “It was as an unknown German soldier at the front that I put together this bold program, fighting for fourteen years…” Mr. Hitler is proving his credibility as a planner and a thinker, describing his process of invention, how he carefully came up with the idea while fighting at the front. The thoughtful and planned politicians of the German Reichstag surely appreciate the care and attention their leader invested in this program. For his audience, Hitler could have no better credibility than that provided by increased birth statistics and his claim of careful
The year was 1940; the world’s second great World War was in full swing, with Britain and Germany at the forefront. The fall of Britain’s closest ally, France, stunned the British Empire and threw it into disarray. Through the chaos, Winston Churchill emerged. Churchill would be an inspiring leader who was able to rally the entire nation in times of hardship. Through his leadership, the “British Bulldog” would face the Axis powers and come out victorious, as well as become a public hero for the British people. Yet, immediately after the war, Churchill did not return to the prime minister seat because of a shocking defeat in his re-election, despite his immense reputation he gained from the war. Though lauded by the British population for his prowess as a wartime leader, Churchill’s conservative politics were out of touch with a population ready for post-war relief and led to his defeat in the 1945 election.
In a total war, the home front must be entirely united to continue to fight and fund a war effort, and Churchill appeals to unity and patriotism. He asks the people of Britain to give what Churchill himself will be offering ‘“blood, toil, tears, and sweat”’ (32). If the Prime Minister can give his everything to fight in the war, it encourages the audience to want to participate as well. Churchill continues to appeal to unity through his use of words like ‘we’ and ‘our’ to unite the country with the government as they fight for one cause. By creating a ‘team’, they can effectively rally the audience into action. The public opinion may believe that the Germans are unstoppable, but Winston’s emotionally charged words that with total effort and war from all fronts with the support of God, the feat can be achieved (35). Because of the war, the Prime Minister conveys the necessity for “victory; victory at all costs; victory in spirt of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival” (38-40). By bringing the risk of destruction of the country should they fail, it further persuades the audience to want to give their all so they can win the war. After riling up the crowd with the emotionally charged pathos arguments, Churchill closes with a final remark: ‘“Come then, let us go
In Winston Churchill’s speech, ‘We Shall Fight On the Beaches’ he presents a powerful call to action directly to the British House of Commons in the year of 1940 on the forth of June. Winston uses the techniques of figurative language to capture his audience’s attention in a way they could understand the importance of his message, without disregarding his high level of intellect. In order for one to truly understand Churchill’s message one must understand the difficult task he was coined with prior to delivering this powerful message.
Sir Winston Churchill’s speech, ‘We Shall Fight on the Beaches’ was a wonderful piece of moving rhetoric. The diction that Churchill uses to deliver his message is not so advanced that one cannot understand him easily, but still manages to portray a sense of Churchill’s deeply intellectual status
Although, the West fought bravely throughout WW2, many think that WW2 could’ve not existed. In Stalin’s response to Winston
Winston Churchill’s Their Finest Hour speech propelled Great Britain’s involvement in World War II. After the great defeat of the francophone countries by the Nazis, Winston’s words provided motivation and encouragement for the country to not give up. Churchill is commonly known as a great orator by his use of pathos in his speech. In this speech he makes plain that the war with France has ended, and now the battle for britain is about to begin. He appeals to the emotions of the audience. In this thought provoking statement, Churchill states “But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science.” At the time of the speech, Britain was under attack by the germans using Blitzkrieg bombing, and Paris was defeated by Germans.
Winston Churchill was a leader with an unmatched vision for the future of his country. The 1930’s found Europe in a post war depression and Churchill foresaw the impending aggression from Germany. Throughout this decade he would often declare the increasing numbers of Germany’s growing weaponry and planes (Humes, 2012). As his party was out of power he was relegated to the back bench of the House of Commons. At the time, his predictions of a belligerent Germany were unwelcome to the ears of a war weary and economically depressed populace. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met with Hitler in 1938 to secure peace which resulted in the German occupation of part of Czechoslovakia, and caused Churchill to say “This is
He was not sure if England would go for this, and if they did not, he knew that the time had come to force them to do so. He could not shake Churchill, no matter how many other leaders crumbled. Hitler's generals wanted to use force, but Hitler remained reluctant. The author effectively exhibits Hitler's hesitance. He makes the evil man seem human saying that Hitler ''wanted to make a peace proposal on a great and generous scale.''(159). However, it
Churchill begins “We Shall Never Surrender” by providing vivid descriptions of the life and environment of war to describe the hardships, then follows up with showing that the strength that the troops had together helped them overcome specific events. He continues to use repetition to emphasize the importance of staying together and not losing hope in order to provide small victories, one at a time. Churchill’s courage to speak up during such a disturbing time helped assist the nations morality by providing hope and encouragement in the bloodshed time of war. When a nation felt defeated Winston Churchill used his powerful voice in “We Shall Never Surrender” to lift the nation’s spirits
Nevertheless, it was his excellent leadership skills, his instinct for making beneficial wartime decisions, and motivational speeches, which inevitably lead to the success of Great Britain in World War II. Britain and the world free of Hitler and the Nazis looked to Winston Churchill for leadership. Because of his soldier's training, his historical knowledge, and a statesman's beliefs that had filled his mind for a long time, he considered the burden of leadership to be very light. Many still regard him as the greatest British leader of the last century.
Being confident is one of the most important leadership quality to me. I choose Winston Churchill because he was confident in his opinion to Adolf Hitler, that no one should believe or think that Adolf Hitler was being honest. Winston Churchill said that Hitler will not keep his promise and he will do whatever he thinks is right.