THE LEADERS: Churchill

Dan Snow's History Hit

History Hit

History

4.7 • 12.9K Ratings

🗓️ 7 March 2025

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Does Churchill deserve the legacy he has? He took the reigns from a foundering Chamberlain and proved himself to be the man the country needed. But of course, he is not a man without controversy or contradiction. In the second episode of The Leaders series, Dan and Professor Phillips O'Brien look at Churchill's biggest strategic moves of the war & how he went from a ridiculed outsider to an energising orator.

Phillips O'Brien is a Professor of Strategic Studies at the University of St Andrews. His book is called 'The Strategists'.

Produced by Dougal Patmore and Mariana Des Forges.

We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.

You can also email the podcast directly at [email protected].

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	We shall fight on the seas and oceans.
0:04.0	We shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air.
0:10.0	We shall defend our island, whatever they cost may be.
0:14.0	We shall fight on the beaches.
0:16.0	We shall fight on the landing grounds.
0:19.0	We shall fight in the fields and in the streets. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields and in the streets.
0:23.2	We shall fight in the hills.
0:25.6	We shall never surrender.
0:31.6	Whenever anyone talks about leadership, you can bet this speech pops up. It's Churchill at his most steadfast,
0:42.6	his most superb, imperious. It was a speech he gave to the House of Commons in the summer of
0:49.0	1940, a rallying cry after setback, after a disaster, actually.
0:56.4	The British Army had been humiliated.
0:58.5	The British Army has evacuated via Dunkirk.
1:02.2	And Churchill is here to report that wars are not won by evacuations, but by fighting, by resisting.
1:14.7	At this point, the outcome of the war seemed to be balanced on a knife edge.
1:20.8	There was a very real threat of a German invasion of Britain, an eventual Allied victory. Well,
1:29.0	far from certain. Winston Churchill's wartime leadership has been mythologised, starting with Winston Churchill himself.
1:34.8	It is though true that he took the reins from Neville Chamberlain, the Prime Minister who was foundering, and he proved himself to be the man the country needed at that moment.
1:44.9	He was a wartime leader, unlike any other.
1:49.1	But of course, he's also a man, he's also human, he's full of contradiction, he's full of
1:54.4	controversy. And it's always interesting to remember that, were it not for 1940, he might
1:58.5	be remembered for, well, the first great chunk of his career
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in -22 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Hit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of History Hit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.