They say war cannot be won without vision, and that is correct. Today we will talk about Winston Churchill, the man who pulled his country from the grim brink of defeat to an amazing victory that shook the world. In early May of 1940, Hitler and his ruthless Nazi War Machine were pushing through Europe. The free world’s future and all of its ideals hung in balance, with that so the isolationist-leaning United States was an ocean away. Yet, there was one man who stood between Hitler’s seemingly invincible army and crushing defeat and that was Winston Churchill.
Early Life
Churchill was born on November 30, 1874. Although we think of him as a bold and strong Englishman he was actually half-American. Her mom Jennie was the esteemed daughter of a wealthy New York stock speculator, that is where Churchill got his strategic prowess from. His father, Lord Randolph Churchill was an English nobleman and a very important political figure.
Winston was always fond of the power of words, and this is what he knew from the early days of schooling. He thought that the pen is mightier than the sword and this belief he carried to his grave. He used this power of words with such enthusiasm, he first became famous as a war correspondent in the 1890s, covering conflicts almost all over the world like Cuba, India, and Africa.
Churchill always wanted to be in politics like his father, but he didn’t want to forsake his career in journalism. He made a fantastic career out of journalism and later on used his family connections to launch himself in politics. His level of manner and oratory was unmatched and that marked him as a fantastic leader.
Winston Churchill’s Love Life
Winston Churchill had a long and fulfilling love life. He was married to Clementine Hozier. He had a total of five children, and he was known to have a special bond with each of them. His relationship with Clementine was strong and affectionate, and the two shared a strong mutual respect. He was also known to be quite flirtatious and had many close female friends. He had a special fondness for the British royal family, particularly for Queen Elizabeth II.
World War 1
In 1914 when World War 1 struck, he found himself as the First Lord of Admiralty which gave him the key to the British Navy, he reformed it in many ways. As the war was taking its toll on a daily basis, Winston thought in 1915 that he could end the war quite quickly. This would be possible by opening up a new front in Turkey which would strike a critical blow to Germany and its alliances, at least that is what Churchill thought.
This, unfortunately, led to the infamous Gallipoli campaign. The British and Australians gravely underestimated the Turks’ strength, which led to countless barbaric deaths. Winston Churchill of course took all the blame, more than 50,000 soldiers lost their lives in indecisive battles.
This was most probably the lowest point in his life and after that, he was dismissed from the war cabinet but this did not stop him. After six months he enlisted in the army, he saw most of the action in France. This did not stop him from going all out on his ambitions, he rose again in British politics during the 1920s and made lots of money through his passions of writing and speaking.
When Hitler started taking power in Germany in the 1930s, Winston Churchill was the first person to Alarm Britain but no one was willing to hear it as they had already suffered so much in the catastrophic World War 1. Churchill knew that a new and more severe confrontation with Germany was inevitable. And when the Inevitable did arrive with the stunning attack on France in May 1940, a desperate nation turned to him.
Churchill was ready and his weapons were his words, his pen, and his voice. One of his most famous saying in the House of Commons as the Prime Minister was: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat”.
After this things went bad really quickly, France collapsed, Belgium surrendered, and a very few amounts of British soldiers barely managed to escape from the grim horrors of Dunkirk. Even when the war news moved from dangerous to desperate to disastrous, Churchill never wavered. Perhaps that was his strongest suit. In numerous speeches, he greatly motivated the British to battle against Hitler’s devilish tyranny.
The main achievement of Churchill in 1940 is not that he stopped a German invasion, but that he stopped the British Government from making peace. Hitler wanted to fight a one-front war, but Churchill made it very impossible.
Because of Churchill’s efforts and the marvelous efforts of the British People, the United States joined up with the British and formed a powerful force that enabled them to liberate Europe from Hitler’s monstrous regime.
Life Struggles Of Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill was one of the most influential figures of the twentieth century. He was a British Prime Minister, journalist, author, and statesman who led Britain through some of its darkest days in World War II. Despite his successes, Churchill faced many struggles throughout his life and career. From his early days as a young politician to his premiership during wartime, Churchill was met with personal tragedies and public adversity. Nonetheless, he overcame these obstacles and emerged as one of the 20th century’s greatest leaders.
Political Struggles
Winston Churchill had to overcome many political struggles throughout his career, especially in the lead-up to World War II. His views on foreign policy and defense were often at odds with his Conservative Party colleagues, leading to debate and opposition. He was also a vocal critic of the appeasement policies of the 1930s, though his warnings went largely unheeded.
Personal Struggles
Churchill suffered from depression and what some belief was bipolar disorder throughout his life, and even contemplated suicide at times. Although he was a brilliant orator and leader, he was not without his personal struggles, which he overcame with a combination of stoicism and sheer willpower
Health Struggles
Churchill suffered from a number of health issues, including hypertension and a stroke in 1949. He also suffered from recurrent bouts of pneumonia and depression, and even attempted to self–medicate with alcohol. Despite these struggles, he continued to lead the UK through World War II and beyond
Now let us see some of the Amazing quotes by Winston Churchill.
Powerful and Motivational Quotes By Winston Churchill
1. “The whole history of the world is summed up in the fact that, when nations are strong, they are not always just, and when they wish to be just, they are no longer strong.”
2. “It is no use saying ‘we are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.”
3. “We shape our dwellings, and afterward our dwellings shape us.”
4. “It has been said that Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”
5. “It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time.”
6. “When I am abroad, I always make it a rule never to criticize or attack the government of my own country. I make up for the lost time when I come home.”
7. “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.”
8. “Dictators ride to and fro on tigers from which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry.”
9. “Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for.”
10. “I have never accepted what many people have kindly said, namely that I have inspired the nation. It was the nation and the race dwelling all around the globe that had the lion’s heart. I had the luck to be called upon to give the roar.”
11. “Without a measureless and perpetual uncertainty, the drama of human life would be destroyed.”
12. “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
13. “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile – hoping it will eat him last.”
14. “Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong.”
15. “Say what you have to say and the first time you come to a sentence with a grammatical ending – sit down.”
16. “Let us, therefore, brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say: “This was their finest hour.”
17. “Do not let us speak of darker days; let us speak rather of sterner days. These are not dark days: these are great days – the greatest days our country has ever lived. ”
18. “The English know how to make the best of things. Their so-called muddling through simply skills at dealing with the inevitable.”
19. “War is mainly a catalog of blunders.”
20. “In war, as in life, it is often necessary, when some cherished scheme has failed, to take up the best alternative open, and if so, it is folly not to work for it with all your might.”
21. “No one can guarantee success in war, but only deserve it.”
22. “If one has to submit, it is wasteful not to do so with the best grace possible.”
23. “All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom; justice; honor; duty; mercy; hope.”
24. “Curse ruthless time! Curse our mortality. How cruelly short is the allotted span for all we must cram into it!”
25. “We must beware of needless innovations, especially when guided by logic.”
26. “One ought never to turn one’s back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!”
27. “Success is never found. Failure is never fatal. Courage is the only thing.”
28. “Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the hard may be; for without victory there is no survival. ”
29. “We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival.”
30. “The problems of victory are more agreeable than those of defeat, but they are no less difficult.”
31. “My most brilliant achievement was my ability to be able to persuade my wife to marry me.”
32. “I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the ordeal of meeting me is another matter.”
33. “The English never draw a line without blurring it.”
34. “It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations.”
35. “There are a terrible lot of lies going about the world, and the worst of it is that half of them are true.”
36. “To build may have to be the slow and laborious task of years. To destroy can be the thoughtless act of a single day.”
37. “The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.”
38. “You have enemies? Good. It means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
39. “In finance, everything that is agreeable is unsound and everything that is sound is disagreeable.”
40. “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
41. “This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
42. “There is only one duty, only one safe course, and that is to try to be right and not to fear to do or say what you believe to be right.”
43. “It is a fine thing, to be honest, but it is also very important to be right.”
44. “I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.”
45. “Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room.”
46. “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”
47. “We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”
48. “Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.”
49. “What is adequacy? Adequacy is no standard at all.”
50. “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”
51. “Those who can win a war well can rarely make a good peace, and those who could make a good peace would never have won the war.”
52. “It’s not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what’s required.”
53. “Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have.”
54. “We shall not fail or falter. We shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down. Give us the tools and we will finish the job.”
55. “Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.”
56. “It is wonderful what great strides can be made when there is a resolute purpose behind them.”
57. “We shall show mercy, but we shall not ask for it.”
58. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts.”
59. “All the greatest things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom; justice; honor; duty; mercy; hope.”
60. “Personally I’m always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.”
61. “The first duty of the university is to teach wisdom, not a trade; character, not technicalities. We want a lot of engineers in the modern world, but we do not want a world of engineers.”
62. “The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.”
63. “When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber.”
64. “History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.”
65. “Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection.”
66. “Politics is the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterward to explain why it didn’t happen.”
67. “If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time-a a tremendous whack.”
68. “Do not let spacious plans for a new world divert your energies from saving what is left of the old.”
69. “All I can say is that I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.”
70. “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.”
71. “I may be drunk, miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly.”
72. “Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities because it has been said, it is the quality which guarantees all others.”
73. “Every man should ask himself each day whether he is not too readily accepting negative solutions.”
74. “The power of man has grown in every sphere, except over himself.”
75. “The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.”
76. “Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy then an amusement. Then it becomes a mistress, and then it becomes a master, and then it becomes a tyrant and, in the last stage, just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling him to the public.”
77. “The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.”
78. “Broadly speaking short words are best and the old words when short, are best of all.”
79. “I am never going to have anything more to do with politics or politicians. When this war is over I shall confine myself entirely to writing and painting.”
80. “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, it’s also what it takes to sit down and listen.”
81. “There is always much to be said for not attempting more than you can do and for making a certainty of what you try. But this principle, like others in life and war, has its exceptions.”
82. “Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.”
83. “If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law.”
84. “In the course of my life I have often had to eat my words, and I must confess that I have always found it a wholesome diet.”
85. “Everyone has his day, and some days last longer than others.”
86. “In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.”
87. “The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.”
88. “There are two things that are more difficult than making an after-dinner speech: climbing a wall which is leaning toward you and kissing a girl who is leaning away from you.”
89. “Difficulties mastered are opportunities won.”
90. “I am certainly not one of those who need to be prodded. In fact, if anything, I am the prod.”
91. “There is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.”
92. “We are masters of the unsaid words, but slaves of those we let slip out.”
93. “Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.”
94. “Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.”
95. “No crime is so great as daring to excel.”
96. “I always seem to get inspiration and renewed vitality by contact with this great novel land of yours which sticks up out of the Atlantic.”
97. “We are stripped bare by the curse of plenty.”
98. “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”
99. “Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.”
Recap
Winston Churchill is a legendary leader who demonstrated extraordinary courage and unwavering determination in the face of great adversity. He was a master of the English language, a brilliant strategist, and a great statesman. His legacy will live on in the pages of history, and we can all learn from his example of strength and courage in the face of great difficulty. Churchill’s resilience and his commitment to the cause of freedom are lessons we can all take to heart. His courage and perseverance have inspired generations, and his example continues to give us hope in times of trial.
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