Legendary politician and military strategist Winston S. Churchill was a master not only of the battlefield, but of the page and the podium. Over the course of forty books and countless speeches, broadcasts, news items, and more, he addressed a country at war and at peace, thrilling with victory but uneasy with its shifting role on the world stage. In 1953, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for “his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values.” During his lifetime, he enthralled readers and brought crowds roaring to their feet; in the years since his death, his skilled writing has inspired generations of eager history buffs.
This fifth and final volume in the series of the great orator’s wartime speeches, broadcasts, public messages, and other communications take readers through the momentous final events of World War II, culminating in Allied victory. Passionate, inspiring, informative, and amusing, no fan of WWII military history should be without this comprehensive, fascinating series.
Legendary politician and military strategist Winston S. Churchill was a master not only of the battlefield, but of the page and the podium. Over the course of forty books and countless speeches, broadcasts, news items, and more, he addressed a country at war and at peace, thrilling with victory but uneasy with its shifting role on the world stage. In 1953, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for “his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values.” During his lifetime, he enthralled readers and brought crowds roaring to their feet; in the years since his death, his skilled writing has inspired generations of eager history buffs.
This fifth and final volume in the series of the great orator’s wartime speeches, broadcasts, public messages, and other communications take readers through the momentous final events of World War II, culminating in Allied victory. Passionate, inspiring, informative, and amusing, no fan of WWII military history should be without this comprehensive, fascinating series.
eBookDigital Original (Digital Original)
Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
Related collections and offers
Overview
Legendary politician and military strategist Winston S. Churchill was a master not only of the battlefield, but of the page and the podium. Over the course of forty books and countless speeches, broadcasts, news items, and more, he addressed a country at war and at peace, thrilling with victory but uneasy with its shifting role on the world stage. In 1953, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for “his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values.” During his lifetime, he enthralled readers and brought crowds roaring to their feet; in the years since his death, his skilled writing has inspired generations of eager history buffs.
This fifth and final volume in the series of the great orator’s wartime speeches, broadcasts, public messages, and other communications take readers through the momentous final events of World War II, culminating in Allied victory. Passionate, inspiring, informative, and amusing, no fan of WWII military history should be without this comprehensive, fascinating series.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780795329494 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | RosettaBooks |
| Publication date: | 02/12/2019 |
| Series: | Winston S. Churchill War Speeches , #5 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 397 |
| Sales rank: | 869,016 |
| File size: | 10 MB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
"PREPARATION, EFFORT, RESOLVE"
A SPEECH TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS ON THE PROGRESS OF THE WAR FEBRUARY 22, 1944
January 1. Victorious Russian troops made further advances to the Polish frontier.
R.A.F. dropped a thousand tons of bombs on Berlin in the ninth major assault in six weeks.
January 3. General Montgomery arrived in Britain to take up his appointment as Commander-in-Chief of the armies under General Eisenhower.
R.A.F. made another thousand-tons attack on Berlin.
January 6. Russians captured Kokitno, 15 miles inside Polish border.
It was revealed that Britain was using a jet-propelled fighter aeroplane, invented by Group-Captain Whittle.
January 7. Russians launched new offensive, surrounded Kirovograd, and routed five German divisions.
January 9. Fifth Army troops captured San Vittore on the road to Rome.
January 11. Russians established a 40-miles front in Poland and advanced on Kovno.
Americans made big daylight air-raid on Germany, destroying 152 enemy fighters for the loss of 60 bombers and five fighters.
January 12. Russians captured Sarny, first big town in Poland to fall into their hands.
January 14. Mozyr and Kalinkovichi were captured by the Russians.
January 16. Announced that Mr. Churchill had met General de Gaulle at Marrakesh.
January 17. Germans strengthened their resistance to the Russian offensive on the railway running from Novo-Sokolniki to Leningrad.
Fifth Army troops advanced on Rome and reached the River Rapido.
January 18. Russians launched a new offensive on the Leningrad front.
Mr. Churchill arrived in London fully recovered from his illness.
January 19. Russian troops pressing on in the new Leningrad offensive captured many 16-in. guns which had been bombarding the city for months.
January 20. R.A.F. dropped 2,300 tons of bombs on Berlin, the city's heaviest raid of the war.
January 21. In retaliation for Berlin raid the German air force attacked London and S.E. England in strength.
January 22. Allied troops with sea and air support landed at Anzio south of Rome, taking the Germans by surprise.
January 23. Fifth Army troops penetrated several miles inland following the landings south of Rome.
Russian offensive in the Leningrad region developed into a general attack on a 50- miles front.
January 24. Fifth Army advanced another four miles inland and captured Nettuno.
January 25. Forward troops from the landing south of Rome reached the Appian Way.
January 27. Russians captured Tosno on the Leningrad-Moscow railway.
Troops of the Hermann Göring Panzer Division were repulsed by the Fifth Army near Littoria.
January 29. Russians captured Novo Sokolniki, Chudovo and Smyela.
U.S. bombers dropped more than 1,800 tons of bombs in daylight raid on Frankfort.
January 31. Fifth Army launched offensive from the Nettuno-Anzio bridgehead.
February 1. U.S. forces, it was announced, had landed on the Marshall Islands, the biggest Pacific operation so far.
Russians crossed the Estonian frontier.
February 2. Fifth Army troops broke through the Gustav Line in Italy.
February 3. Russians announced their greatest victory since Stalingrad — encircling of 100,000 Germans west of the Middle Dnieper.
February 5. British troops in the Anzio beachhead held off heavy counter-offensive.
February 6. Russians broke through German defences on the Lower Dnieper and routed seven enemy divisions.
February 7. Enemy forces assembled for a major attack on the Anzio beachhead were dispersed by artillery fire.
February 8. Russians captured Nikopol.
February 9. Germans announced that a general attack had been launched against the Anzio beachhead. Fifth Army encountered bitter fighting in Cassino.
February 11. Heavy bombers called in to smash German counter-attack on Anzio beachhead.
February 12. It was announced that reports from General Wilson and General Alexander expressed confidence that the battle for Rome would be won.
February 15. R.A.F. made its biggest attack so far on Berlin, dropping well over 2,500 tons of bombs in 20 minutes.
February 16. Fifth Army repulsed a tank attack on Anzio beachhead.
Bombing of the Monte Cassino Abbey destroyed the strongest German defence on the road to Rome.
February 17. Powerful U.S. naval task force attacked Truk, Japanese stronghold in the Caroline Islands.
Allies directed heaviest air assault ever against the Germans attacking the Anzio beachhead.
Russians announced that 52,000 Germans had been trapped and wiped out in a pocket at Kanyev.
February 18. German air force attempted a reprisal fire blitz on London.
February 19. Allies held German attacks on the Anzio beachhead and inflicted heavy casualties.
U.S. Marines captured Japanese air base at Engebi.
February 20. R.A.F. dropped more than 2,300 tons of bombs on Leipzig.
It was announced that in the attack on Truk 19 Japanese ships were sunk and 201 aircraft destroyed.
February 21. R.A.F. dropped nearly 2,000 tons of bombs on Stuttgart and another great force of U.S. bombers also joined in the attack on Germany.
February 22. Mr. Churchill reviewed the war in a speech to the House of Commons.
Marshal Stalin announced the capture of Krivoi Rog.
[February 22, 1944.
This is no time for sorrow or rejoicing. It is a time for preparation, effort and resolve. The war is still going on. I have never taken the view that the end of the war in Europe is at hand, or that Hitler is about to collapse, and I have certainly given no guarantees, or even held out any expectations, that the year 1944 will see the end of the European war. Nor have I given any guarantees the other way. On the whole, my information — and I have a good deal — goes to show that Hitler and his police are still in full control, and that the Nazi party and the Generals have decided to hang together. The strength of the German Army is about 300 divisions, though many of these are substantially reduced in numbers. The fighting quality of the troops is high. The German General Staff system, which we failed to liquidate after the last war, represents an Order comprising many thousands of highly-trained officers and a school of doctrine of long, unbroken continuity. It possesses great skill, both in the handling of troops in action and in their rapid movement from place to place. The recent fighting in Italy should leave no doubt on these points.
It is true that the results of our bombing have had a noteworthy effect upon Germany's munitions production. In the people they have produced a dull apathy, which also affects munitions production and all A.R.P. services. The splendid victories of our Soviet Allies on the Eastern front are inflicting immense losses upon the enemy. The fact that so many of the enemy's divisions have been drawn into Italy and into Yugoslavia, while other large bodies of his troops are held in France and the Low Countries by the fear of invasion, has been a help to these victories. Moreover, the Anglo-American bombing of Germany, absorbing, as it does, above three million Germans, has drawn, together with other British and American activities, four-fifths of the German fighter force to the British and American front; and I believe a large proportion of their bombers are employed against us and our American Allies.
This also has been of assistance to the Soviet Union. I think these statements should be made in justice to the Western Allies. They in no way detract from the glory of the Russian arms. It must also be be borne in mind, in surveying the general foundations of the scene as we see it to-day, that as the German troops retreat westwards they will find many opportunities of narrowing their front, and that if they choose to cut their losses in the Balkans or in the Italian peninsula at any time, a considerable number of divisions can be made available for the purpose of strengthening their central reserve. It is far from my wish to make any boastful statements about the part which this island is playing in the war. It has, however, been borne in on me that the interests of the Alliance as a whole may be prejudiced if its other members are left in ignorance of the British share in the great events which are unfolding. The Dominions also have the right to know that the Mother Country is playing its part.
I think it is therefore my duty to state a few facts which are not perhaps generally realized. For instance, since January 1st, 1943, up to the present time, the middle of February, ships of the Royal Navy and aircraft of the Royal Air Force, that is to say the Forces of the Mother Country only, have sunk more than half the U-boats of which we have certain proof in the shape of living prisoners, and they have also destroyed 40 per cent. of the very large number of other U-boats of which either corpses or fragments provide definite evidence of destruction. Again, on the naval side, apart from enemy U-boats we have sunk by British action alone since January 1st, 1943, 19 enemy warships and also a large number of E-boats, escort vessels, mine- sweepers and other auxiliaries. British action has been predominantly responsible for sinking during this period 316 merchant ships aggregating 835,000 tons. In that same period, 7,677 officers and men of the Royal Navy and about 4,200 Merchant Navy officers and men have lost their lives in British ships. This last, however, does not at all represent the total war sacrifice to date of our merchant seamen, because matters have improved so much lately. Since the beginning of the war the proportion of merchant seamen hailing from these islands alone who have been lost at sea on their vital duty has been about one- fifth of the average number engaged in this service. The total of personnel, officers and men, of the Royal Navy lost since the war started is just over 30 per cent. of its pre-war strength, the figures being 41,000 killed out of 133,000, which was its total strength on the outbreak of war. Since January 1st, 1943, ships of the Royal Navy have bombarded the enemies' coasts on 716 occasions. In the same period we have lost in action or had disabled for more than a year — serious disablement — 95 ships of war.
Turning to the air, the honour of bombing Berlin has fallen almost entirely to us. Up to the present we have delivered the main attack upon Germany. Excluding Dominion and Allied squadrons working with the Royal Air Force, the British islanders have lost 38,300 pilots and air crews killed and 10,400 missing, and over 10,000 aircraft since the beginning of the war — and they have made nearly 900,000 sorties into the North European theatre. As for the Army, the British Army was little more than a police force in 1939, yet they have fought in every part of the world — in Norway, France, Holland, Belgium, Egypt, Eritrea, Abyssinia, Somaliland, Madagascar, Syria, North Africa, Persia, Sicily, Italy, Greece, Crete, Burma, Malaya, Hong Kong. I cannot now in this speech attempt to describe these many campaigns, so infinitely varied in their characteristics, but history will record how much the contribution of our soldiers has been beyond all proportion to the available man-power of these islands. The Anglo- American air attack upon Germany must be regarded as our chief offensive effort at the present time. Till the middle of 1943 we had by far the larger forces in action. As the result of the enormous transportations across the Atlantic which have been made during 1943 the United States Bomber Force in this Island now begins to surpass our own, and will soon be substantially greater still, I rejoice to say.
The efforts of the two forces fit well together, and according to all past standards each effort is in itself prodigious. Let me take the latest example. During the 48 hours beginning at 3 a.m. on February 20th, four great raids were made upon Germany. The first was against Leipzig on the night of 19–20th by the Royal Air Force, when nearly 1,000 machines were dispatched, of which 79 were lost. On Sunday morning a tremendous American raid, nearly 1,000 strong, escorted by an even greater number of fighters, American and British, but mostly American, set out for German towns, including Leipzig, in broad daylight. The losses in this raid were greatly reduced by the fact that the enemy fighters had been scattered beforehand by the British operations of the night before. The fighters descend at bases other than their own and cannot be so readily handled on a second rapidly-ensuing occasion, and the full effect of the American precision bombing could therefore be realized.
Following hard upon this, on the night of 20–21st another British raid was delivered, this time on Stuttgart, in very great strength — about 600 or 700. The effect of the preceding 24 hours' bombing relieved this third raid to a very large extent. Finally, the American force went out on Monday, again in full scale, and drove home in the most effective manner our joint air superiority over the enemy. Taking them together, these four raids, in which over 9,000 tons of bombs were dropped by the two Allied and complementary air forces, constitute the most violent attacks which have yet been made on Germany, and they also prove the value of saturation in every aspect of the air war. That aspect will steadily increase as our forces develop and as the American forces come into their full scope and scale.
The Spring and Summer will see a vast increase in the force of the attacks directed upon all military targets in Germany and in German- occupied countries. Long-range bombing from Italy will penetrate effectively the southern parts of Germany. We look for very great restriction and dislocation of the entire German munitions supply, no matter how far the factories have been withdrawn. In addition, the precision of the American daylight attack produces exceptional results upon particular points, not only in clear daylight, but now, thanks to the development of navigational aids, through cloud. The whole of this air offensive constitutes the foundation upon which our plans for overseas invasion stand. Scales and degrees of attack will be reached far beyond the dimensions of anything which has yet been employed or, indeed, imagined. The idea that we should fetter or further restrict the use of this prime instrument for shortening the war will not be accepted by the Governments of the Allies. The proper course for German civilians and non-combatants is to quit the centres of munition production and take refuge in the countryside. We intend to make war production in its widest sense impossible in all German cities, towns and factory centres.
Retaliation by the enemy has, so far, been modest, but we must expect it to increase. Hitler has great need to exaggerate his counter- attacks in order to placate his formerly deluded population; but besides these air attacks there is no doubt that the Germans are preparing on the French shore new means of assault on this country, either by pilotless aircraft, or possibly rockets, or both, on a considerable scale. We have long been watching this with the utmost vigilance. We are striking at all evidences of these preparations on occasions when the weather is suitable for such action and to the maximum extent possible without detracting from the strategic offensive against Germany. An elaborate scheme of bombing priorities, upon which a large band of highly skilled American and British officers are constantly at work, in accordance with the directions given by the combined Chiefs of Staff in Washington, has governed our action for some time past and is continually kept up to date and in relation to our strategic needs and aims. I do not believe that a better machinery could be devised. It is always flexible enough to allow us to turn aside for some particularly tempting objective, as, for instance, Sofia, the capital of hated Bulgaria. The weather, of course, remains the final factor in the decision where each day's or night's activities shall be employed. That leaves very great responsibility in the hands of the officers who actually handle these enormous masses of aircraft. The use of our air power also affects the general war situation by the toll which it takes of the enemy's fighter aircraft both by day and night, but especially the Americans by day, because they have fought very great actions with their formations of Flying Fortresses against enemy fighter aircraft.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "The Dawn of Liberation"
by .
Copyright © 2013 RosettaBooks, LLC.
Excerpted by permission of RosettaBooks.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
"PREPARATION, EFFORT, RESOLVE." A Speech to the House of Commons on the progress of the War. February 22, 1944,
A TRIBUTE TO THE PHYSICIANS. A Speech at a luncheon in London. March 2, 1944,
BASIC ENGLISH. A Statement to the House of Commons. March 9, 1944,
FUTURE OF THE ITALIAN FLEET. A Statement to the House of Commons. March 9, 1944,
WAR DECORATIONS. A Speech to the House of Commons. March 22, 1944,
"OUR GREAT AMERICAN ALLY." A Speech to an American force in Great Britain. March 23, 1944,
"THE HOUR OF OUR GREATEST EFFORT IS APPROACHING." A World Broadcast. March 26, 1944,
A TEST OF CONFIDENCE. Speeches in the House of Commons. March 29 and March 30, 1944,
ANSWERS IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. January, February, March, 1944,
MESSAGES. January, February, March, 1944,
BRITISH EMPIRE WAR CASUALTIES. A Statement in an Answer to a House of Commons question. April 4, 1944,
"SPIRIT OF THE EMPIRE." A Speech to the House of Commons. April 21, 1944,
EMPIRE PRIME MINISTERS MEET. A Speech at the opening of a Conference at No. 10 Downing Street. May 1, 1944,
BRITISH EMPIRE'S AID TO RUSSIA. A Statement to the House of Commons. May 10, 1944,
TRIBUTE TO MR. CURTIN. A Speech at a London luncheon in honour of the Prime Minister of Australia. May 18, 1944,
A WORLD SURVEY. A Speech to the House of Commons. May 24, 1944,
THE INVASION OF FRANCE. Statements to the House of Commons. June 6 and 8, 1944,
GENERAL DE GAULLE. A Statement to the House of Commons. June 14, 1944,
RIGHTS OF SMALL NATIONS. A Speech at a luncheon given by the Mexican Ambassador. June 15, 1944,
BRITISH CASUALTIES IN ITALY. A Statement to the House of Commons. June 27, 1944,
ANSWERS IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. April, May, June, 1944,
MESSAGES. April, May, June, 1944,
THE FLYING BOMB. Statements to the House of Commons. July 6 and July 25, 1944,
SERVICE PAY AND ALLOWANCES. A Statement to the House of Commons. July 11, 1944,
THE WAR SITUATION. A Speech to the House of Commons. August 2, 1944,
WITH THE TROOPS IN ITALY. Extracts from Speeches to the men of the Fifth and Eighth Armies in Italy. August 19 and 20, 1944,
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE ITALIANS. A Message at the end of the Prime Minister's visit to Italy. August 28, 1944,
QUEBEC PRESS CONFERENCE. A Statement during a joint Press Conference with President Roosevelt at the Citadel, Quebec, Canada. September 16, 1944,
AT THE CITADEL, QUEBEC. A Speech on receiving an Honorary Degree from McGill University. September 16, 1944,
THE QUEBEC CONFERENCE. A joint Statement issued by the Prime Minister and President Roosevelt. September 17, 1944,
A REVIEW OF THE WAR. A Speech to the House of Commons. September 28, 1944,
ANSWERS IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. July, August, September, 1944,
MESSAGES. July, August, September, 1944,
TRIBUTE TO LORD CECIL OF CHELWOOD. A Letter of Greetings on his Eightieth Birthday, September 14, 1944,
EPIC OF WARSAW. A Statement to the House of Commons. October 5, 1944,
TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING BILL. A Speech to the House of Commons. October 6, 1944,
VISIT TO MARSHAL STALIN. A Speech before departing from Moscow. October 19, 1944,
THE LAST LAP. A Speech on the War Situation to the House of Commons. October 27, 1944,
DEATH OF PRINCESS BEATRICE. A Speech to the House of Commons. October 31, 1944,
PROLONGATION OF PARLIAMENT. A Speech to the House of Commons. October 31, 1944,
DEATH OF LORD MOYNE. A Speech to the House of Commons following the assassination of the Resident,
Minister in the Middle East. November 7, 1944,
THE FRUITS OF 1944. A Speech at the Lord Mayor's Luncheon at the Mansion House, London. November 9, 1944,
V2 ROCKET. A Statement to the House of Commons. November 10, 1944,
THE VISIT TO PARIS. A Speech at a luncheon given by General de Gaulle. November 11, 1944. A Speech to the Paris Liberation Committee. November 12, 1944,
LEAVE FOR OVERSEAS FORCES. A Statement to the House of Commons. November 17, 1944,
PALESTINE TERRORISM. A Statement to the House of Commons. November 17, 1944,
THANKSGIVING DAY. A Speech at the Royal Albert Hall. November 23, 1944,
"THE TASKS WHICH LIE BEFORE US." A Speech to the House of Commons. November 29, 1944,
FUTURE OF LEND-LEASE. A Statement to the House of Commons. November 30, 1944,
SHELLS FOR BRITISH TROOPS. A letter to Sir Walter Citrine. November 30, 1944,
BRITAIN'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS. A Speech to the boys of Harrow School. December 1, 1944,
THE CRISIS IN GREECE. A Speech to the House of Commons. December 8, 1944,
THE FUTURE OF POLAND. A Speech to the House of Commons. December 15, 1944,
TROOPS' WELFARE IN THE FAR EAST. A Speech to the House of Commons. December 20, 1944,
CONFERENCE IN ATHENS. A Speech at a meeting attended by representatives from all Greek parties. December 26, 1944,
THE GREEK SITUATION. A Statement at a Press Conference in Athens. December 27, 1944,
SOME PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS. October, November, December,
THE WAR AGAINST THE U-BOATS. Twelve monthly statements issued during 1944 by the Prime Minister and,
President Roosevelt,
HOPE FOR 1945. A Message to the Primrose League. December 31, 1944,