On This Day in History: Churchill Vows 'Victory in Spite of All Terror' in Midst of World War II

Three days after taking over as Great Britain's new prime minister, Winston Churchill delivered an address to Parliament laying out his strategy for the government and the burgeoning global war.

Germany invaded Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands on the day that Churchill took office: May 10, 1940.

On May 13, 1940, Churchill told British lawmakers, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat."

Then he laid out the stakes of the country's conflict with Germany and the aggression of its leader, Adolf Hitler:

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 will 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.

Let that be realised; no survival for the British Empire, no survival for all that the British Empire has stood for, no survival for the urge and impulse of the ages, that mankind will move forward towards its goal. But I take up my task with buoyancy and hope. 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.

[sharequote="center"]"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."[/sharequote]

Listen to a portion of the speech as delivered by Churchill himself:

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