Speech by Winston Spencer Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, at
the London Opera House, Sept. 11.
These are serious times, and though we meet here in an abode of
diversion and of pleasure in times of peace, and although we wish and
mean to rouse and encourage each other in every way, yet we are not here
for purposes of merriment or jollification. I am quite sure I associate
my two friends who are here tonight and who are to speak after me, and
my noble friend, your Chairman, with me when I say that we regard the
cheers with which you have received us as being offered to us only
because they are meant for our soldiers in the field and our sailors
upon the sea, [cheers,] and it is in that sense that we accept them and
thank you for them.
We meet here together in serious times, but I come to you tonight in
good heart, [cheers,] and with good confidence for the future and for
the task upon which we are engaged. It is too soon to speculate upon the
results of the great battle which is waging in France. Everything that
we have heard, during four long days of anxiety seems to point to a
marked and substantial turning of the tide.
German Plans Miscarried.
We have seen the forces of the French and British Armies strong enough
not only to contain and check the devastating avalanche which had swept
across the French frontier, but now at last, not for an hour or for a
day, but for four long days in succession, it has been rolled steadily
back. [Cheers.] With battles taking place over a front of 100 or 150
miles one must be very careful not to build high hopes on results which
are achieved even in a great area of the field of war. We are not
children looking for light and vain encouragement, but men engaged upon
a task which has got to be put through. Still, when every allowance has
been made for the uncertainty with which these great operations are
always enshrouded, I think it only fair and right to say that the
situation tonight is better, far better, than a cold calculation of the
forces available on both sides before the war should have led us to
expect at this early stage. [Cheers.]
It is quite clear that what is happening now is not what the Germans
planned, [laughter,] and they have yet to show that they can adapt
themselves to the force of circumstances created by the military power
of their enemies with the same efficiency that they have undoubtedly
shown in regard to plans long prepared, methodically worked out, and
executed with the precision of deliberation.
The battle, I say, gives us every reason to meet together tonight in
good heart. But let me tell you frankly that if this battle had been as
disastrous as, thank God, it appears to be triumphant, I should come
before you with unabated confidence and with the certainty that we have
only to continue in our efforts to bring this war to the conclusion
which we wish and intend. [Cheers.]
We did not enter upon this war with the hope of easy victory; we did not
enter upon it in any desire to extend our territory, or to advance and
increase our position in the world; or in any romantic desire to shed
our blood and spend our money in Continental quarrels. We entered upon
this war reluctantly after we had made every effort compatible with
honor to avoid being drawn in, and we entered upon it with a full
realization of the sufferings, losses, disappointments, vexations, and
anxieties, and of the appalling and sustained exertions which would be
entailed upon us by our action. The war will be long and sombre. It will
have many reverses of fortune and many hopes falsified by subsequent
events, and we must derive from our cause and from the strength that is
in us, and from the traditions and history of our race, and from the
support and aid of our empire all over the world the means to make this
country overcome obstacles of all kinds and continue to the end of the
furrow, whatever the toil and suffering may be.
Making Sure of Victory.
But though we entered this war with no illusions as to the incidents
which will mark its progress, as to the ebb and flow of fortune in this
and that part of the gigantic field over which it is waged, we entered
it, and entered it rightly, with the sure and strong hope and
expectation of bringing it to a victorious conclusion. [Cheers.] I am
quite certain that if we, the people of the British Empire, choose,
whatever may happen in the interval, we can in the end make this war
finish in accordance with our interests and the interests of
civilization. [Cheers.] Let us build on a sure foundation. Let us not
be the sport of fortune, looking for victories here and happy chances
there; let us take measures, which are well within our power, which are
practical measures, measures which we can begin upon at once and carry
through from day to day with surety and effect. Let us enter upon
measures which in the long run, whatever the accidents and incidents of
the intervening period may be, will secure us that victory upon which
our life and existence as a nation not less than the fortune of our
allies and of Europe absolutely depends. [Cheers.]
The Deeds of the Navy.
I think we are building on a sure foundation. [Cheers.] Let us look
first at the navy. [Cheers.] The war has now been in progress between
five and six weeks. In that time we have swept German commerce from the
seas. [Cheers.] We have either blocked in neutral harbors or blockaded
in their own harbors [laughter] or hunted down the commerce destroyers
of which we used to hear so much and from which we anticipated such
serious loss and damage. All our ships, with inconsiderable exceptions,
are arriving safely and punctually at their destinations, carrying on
the commerce upon which the wealth and industry and the power of making
war for this country depends. We are transporting easily, not without an
element of danger, but hitherto safely and successfully, great numbers
of soldiers across the seas from all quarters of the world to be
directed upon the decisive theatre of the land struggle. [A voice,
"Russians," and laughter.] And we have searched the so-called German
Ocean without discovering the German flag. [Cheers.] Our enemies, in
their carefully worked out calculations, which they have been toiling
over during a great many years, when the people of this country, as a
whole, credited them with quite different motives, ["Hear, hear!"] have
always counted upon a process of attrition and the waste of shipping by
mines and torpedoes and other methods of warfare of the weaker power, by
which the numbers and strength of our fleet would be reduced to such a
point that they would be able to steel their hearts and come out and
fight. [Cheers.] We have been at war for five or six weeks, and so
far--though I would certainly not underrate the risks and hazards
attending upon warlike operations and the vanity of all
overconfidence--but so far the attrition has been on their side and not
on ours, [cheers,] while the losses which they have suffered greatly
exceed any that we have at present sustained.
I have made careful inquiries as to the condition of our sailors in the
fleet under the strain put upon them, and this continued watching and
constant attention to their duty under war conditions, and I am glad to
say that it is reported to me that the health of the fleet has been much
better since the declaration of war than it was in time of peace, [loud
cheers and laughter,] both as to the percentage of sickness and the
character of the sickness, [laughter,] and that there is no reason why
we should not keep up the same process of naval control and have the
same exercises of sea power, on which we have lived and are living, for
what is almost an indefinite period.
The Nose of the Bulldog.
By one of those dispensations of Providence, which appeals so strongly
to the German Emperor, [laughter,] the nose of the bulldog has been
slanted backward so that he can breathe with comfort without letting go.
[Laughter and cheers.] We have been successful in maintaining naval
control thus far in the struggle, and there are also sound reasons for
believing that as it progresses the chances in our favor will not
diminish but increase. In the next 12 months the number of great ships
that will be completed for this country is more than double the number
which will be completed for Germany, [cheers,] and the number of
cruisers three or four times as great. [Cheers.] Therefore I think I am
on solid ground when I come here tonight and say that you may count upon
the naval supremacy of this country being effectively maintained as
against the German power for as long as you wish. [Cheers.]
The Army's Share.
Now we must look at the army....
[Transcriber's Note:
Interlinear typesetter's error indicated by ellipses.]
... Government and during all periods of modern history the darling of
the British Nation. On it have been lavished whatever public funds were
necessary, and to its efficiency has been devoted the unceasing care and
thought of successive Administrations. The result is that when the need
came the navy was absolutely ready, [cheers,] and, as far as we can see
from what has happened, thoroughly adequate to the task which was
required from it. But we have not been in times of peace a military
nation. The army has not had the facilities of obtaining the lavish
supplies of men and money for its needs which have in times of peace and
in the past, to our good fortune at the moment, been so freely given to
the navy. And what you have to do now is to make a great army. [Cheers.]
You have to make an army under the cover and shield of the navy strong
enough to enable our country to play its full part in the decision of
this terrible struggle. [Cheers.]
A Million Men Needed.
The sure way--the only sure way--to bring this war to an end is for the
British Empire to put on the Continent and keep on the Continent an army
of at least 1,000,000 men. [Cheers.] I take that figure because it is
one well within the compass of the arrangements which are now on foot
and because it is one which is well within the scope of the measures
which Lord Kitchener--[Loud cheers drowned the rest of the sentence.]
I was reading in the newspapers the other day that the German Emperor
made a speech to some of his regiments in which he urged them to
concentrate their attention upon what he was pleased to call "French's
contemptible little army." [Laughter.] Well, they are concentrating
their attention upon it [laughter and cheers] and that army, which has
been fighting with such extraordinary prowess, which has revived in a
fortnight of adverse actions the ancient fame and glory of our arms
upon the Continent, [cheers,] and which tonight, after a long,
protracted, harassed, unbroken, and undaunted rearguard action--the
hardest trial to which troops can be exposed--is advancing in spite of
the loss of one-fifth of its numbers, and driving its enemies before
it--that army must be reinforced and backed and supported and increased
and enlarged in numbers, in power by every means and every method that
every one of us can employ.
There is no reason why, if you set yourselves to it--I have not come
here to make a speech of words, but to point out to you necessary and
obvious things which you can do--there is no doubt that, if you set
yourselves to it, the army which is now fighting so valiantly on your
behalf and our allies can be raised from its present position to 250,000
of the finest professional soldiers in the world, and that in the new
year something like 500,000 men, and from that again when the early
Summer begins in 1915 to the full figure of twenty-five army corps
fighting in line together. The vast population of these islands and all
the empire is pressing forward to serve, its wealth is placed at your
disposal, the navy opens the way for the passage of men and everything
necessary for the equipment of our forces. Why should we hesitate when
here is the sure and certain path to ending this war in the way we mean
it to end? [Cheers.]
A Decisive Weight.
There is little doubt that an army so formed will in quality and
character, in native energy, in the comprehension which each individual
has of the cause for which he is fighting, exceed in merit any army in
the world. We have only to have a chance of even numbers or anything
approaching even numbers to demonstrate the superiority of
free-thinking, active citizens over the docile sheep who serve the
ferocious ambitions of drastic Kings. [Cheers.] Our enemies are now at
the point which we have reached fully extended. On every front of the
enormous field of conflict the pressure upon them is such that all their
resources are deployed. With every addition to the growing weight of
the Russian Army, [cheers,] with every addition to the forces at the
disposal of Sir John French, [cheers,] the balance must sag down
increasingly against them.
Fixing a Term to the War.
You have only to create steadily week by week and month by month the
great military instrument of which I have been speaking to throw into
the scales a weight which must be decisive. There will be no
corresponding reserve of manhood upon which Germany can draw. There will
be no corresponding force of soldiers and of equipment and of war
material which can be brought into the line to face the forces which we
in this island and in this empire can undoubtedly create. That will turn
the scale. That will certainly decide the issue. Of course, if victory
comes sooner so much the better. [Cheers.] But let us not count on
fortune and good luck. [Cheers.] Let us assume at every point that
things will go much less well than we hope and wish. Let us make
arrangements which will override that. [Cheers.] We have it in our power
to make such arrangements, and it is only common prudence, aye, and
common humanity, to take steps which at any rate will fix some certain
term to this devastating struggle throughout the whole of the European
Continent.
Let me also say this. Let us concentrate all our warlike feeling upon
fighting the enemy in the field and creating a great military weapon to
carry out the purposes of the war. There is a certain class of person
who likes to work his warlike feelings off upon the unfortunate alien
enemy within our gates.
Fight Like Gentlemen.
Of course all necessary measures must be taken for the security of the
country and for the proper carrying out of military needs; but let us
always have this feeling in our heart that after the war is over people
shall not only admire our victory but they shall say they fought like
gentlemen. [Cheers.] The Romans had a motto--
_Parcere subjectis et debellare superbos._
Let that be the spirit in which we conduct this war. Let all those who
feel under the horrible provocations of the struggle their hearts
suffused with anger and with wrath--let them turn it into a practical
channel--going to the front or if circumstances prevent them, helping
others to go, keeping them maintained in the highest state of
efficiency, giving them the supplies and weapons which they require, and
looking after those they have left behind.
The Eloquence of Brutal Facts.
I have not spoken to you much about the justice of our cause, because it
has been most eloquently set out by the Prime Minister, [cheers,] and
Sir Edward Grey, [cheers,] and by Mr. Bonar Law, [cheers,] and other
leaders of the Opposition; and much more eloquently than by any speakers
in this or any other country the justice of our cause has been set out
by the brutal facts which have occurred and which have marched upon us
from day to day. [Cheers.] Some thought there would be a German war,
some did not; but no one supposed that a great military nation would
exhibit all the vices of military organization without those redeeming
virtues which, God knows, are needed to redeem warlike operations from
the taint of shame. We have been confronted with an exhibition of
ruthlessness and outrage enforced upon the weak, enforced upon women and
children. We have been confronted with repeated breaches of the law of
enlightened warfare, practices analogous to those which in private life
are regarded as cheating, and which deprive persons or country adopting
them, or condoning them, of the credit and respect due to honorable
soldiers.
We have been confronted with all this. Let us not imitate it. [Cheers.]
Let us not try to make small retaliations and reprisals here and there.
Let us concentrate upon the simple, obvious task of creating a military
force so powerful that the war, even in default of any good fortune, can
certainly be ended and brought to a satisfactory conclusion. However the
war began, now that it is started it is a war of self-preservation for
us. Our civilization, our way of doing things, our political and
Parliamentary life, with its voting and its thinking, our party system,
our party warfare, the free and easy tolerance of British life, our
method of doing things and of keeping ourselves alive and
self-respecting in the world--all these are brought into contrast, into
collision, with the organized force of bureaucratic Prussian militarism.
That is the struggle which is opened now and which must go forward
without pause or abatement until it is settled decisively and finally
one way or the other. On that there can be no compromise or truce. It is
our life or it is theirs. We are bound, having gone so far, to go
forward without flinching to the very end. [Cheers.]
"The Terror of Europe."
This is the same great European war that would have fought in the year
1909 if Russia had not humbled herself and given way to German threats.
It is the same war that Sir Edward Grey stopped last year. [Loud
cheers.] Now it has come upon us. If you look back across the long
periods of European history to the original cause, you will, I am sure,
find it in the cruel terms enforced upon France in the year 1870,
["Hear, hear!"] and in the repeated bullyings and attempts to terrorize
France which have been the characteristic of German policy ever since.
[Cheers.] The more you study this question the more you will see that
the use the Germans made of their three aggressive and victorious wars
against Denmark, against Austria, and against France has been such as to
make them the terror and the bully of Europe, the enemy and the menace
of every small State upon their borders, and a perpetual source of
unrest and disquietude to their powerful neighbors. [Cheers.]
Claims of Nationality.
Now the war has come, and when it is over let us be careful not to make
the same mistake or the same sort of mistake as Germany made when she
had France prostrate at her feet in 1870. [Cheers.] Let us, whatever we
do, fight for and work toward great and sound principles for the
European system. And the first of those principles which we should keep
before us is the principle of nationality [cheers]--that is to say, not
the conquest or subjugation of any great community or of any strong race
of men, but the setting free of those races which have been subjugated
and conquered [cheers]; and if doubt arises about disputed areas of
country we should try to settle their ultimate destination in the
reconstruction of Europe which must follow from this war with a fair
regard to the wishes and feelings of the people who live in them.
That is the aim which, if it is achieved, will justify the exertions of
the war and will make some amends to the world for the loss and
suffering, the agony of suffering, which it has wrought and entailed,
and which will give to those who come after us not only the pride which
we hope they will feel in remembering the martial achievements of the
present age of Britain, but which will give them also a better and
fairer world to live in and a Europe free from the causes of hatred and
unrest which have poisoned the comity of nations and ruptured the peace
of Christendom.
The Unity of the Empire.
I use these words because this is a war in which we are all together,
[cheers,] all classes, all races, all States, principalities, dominions,
and powers throughout the British Empire--we are all together. [Cheers.]
Years ago the elder Pitt urged upon his countrymen the compulsive
invocation, "Be one people." It has taken us till now to obey his
appeal, but now we are together, and while we remain one people there
are no forces in the world strong enough to beat us down or break us up.
[Cheers.]
I hope, even in this dark hour of strife and struggle, that the unity
which has been established in our country under the pressure of war will
not cease when the great military effort upon which we are engaged and
the great moral causes which we are pursuing have been achieved. I hope,
and I do not think my hope is a vain one, that the forces which have
come together in our islands and throughout our empire may continue to
work together, not only in a military struggle, but to try to make our
country more quickly a more happy and more prosperous land, where social
justice and free institutions are more firmly established than they have
been in the past. [Cheers.] If that is so we shall not have fought in
vain at home as well as abroad.
With these hopes and in this belief I would urge you, laying aside all
hindrance, thrusting away all private aims, to devote yourselves
unswervingly and unflinchingly to the vigorous and successful
prosecution of the war. [Loud cheers.]
* * * * *