History Main / TheEternalChurchill

->''...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...''
-->--'''Sir UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill''', ''Speech to the House of Commons of the British Parliament, 4 June 1940''

The human race is under attack or otherwise being menaced by alien or supernatural forces. We're outnumbered, outgunned and seemingly completely screwed. But we still refuse to surrender, and so fight back. The trope doesn't necessarily have to involve violence; any sufficiently bad threat to our survival will do, but war seems to be the norm. Almost like a species-wide LastStand, and thus often requires a species-wide RousingSpeech.

This is often why HumansAreSpecial. This is the human race as TheDeterminator that is about to have its finest hour.

When handled badly it can be frequently a source of {{Narm}} or even {{Glurge}}.

A subtrope of EmergencyPresidentialAddress. Compare TheRemnant. See also PatrickStewartSpeech.
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!!Examples:

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' is all about this trope. When the last remnant of humanity is locked within walled settlements and [[HumanoidAbomination Titans]] clawing at their gates trying to eat them, the [[RedshirtArmy Survey Corps]], the branch of the military devoted to reclaiming lost territory, is a firm believer in this.
-->'''Mike''': We will have lost only the moment humans give up fighting.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* ''Film/IndependenceDay'' is a big one. In fact, this trope seemed to be largely the premise of the entire film.
-->"We will not go quietly into the night...we will not vanish without a fight! We are going to live on! We are going to survive! Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!"
* From the ''Film/LordOfTheRings'' comes this speech:
-->[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome A day may come]] when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you [[PunctuatedForEmphasis STAND! MEN! OF THE WEST!]]
* Jason Nesmith/"Peter Quincy Taggart" in ''Film/GalaxyQuest'' is, if less eloquent, much more succinct: "Never give up -- Never surrender!" Though when he actually ''means'' it, it's not the ''human'' race that's in danger, but the Thermians.
* A general tries to invoke this in ''Film/MarsAttacks'', even quoting Churchill. [[SedgwickSpeech He is unceremoniously killed]].
* ''Film/PacificRim'' has the governments putting their differences aside, pooling their resources and start creating Jaegers to fight the Kaiju. The general attitude is summed up nicely in the prequel comic by [[AwesomeMcCoolName Stacker Pentecost]]:
--> "I've never believed in the End Times. We are [[HumanityIsSuperior mankind]]. Our ''footprints'' are on the moon. [[Literature/TheBible When the last trumpet sounds and the Beast rises from the pit]] -- we will '''[[BadassBoast kill]]''' it."

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* From Creator/FredSaberhagen's ''Literature/{{Berserker}}'' universe: "When they came, you [humans] were waiting and dug in on a hundred worlds. Because you were, some of you and some of us are now alive." The alien narrator also comments on his race's perception that humanity had suffered war for its entire history, against the day when nothing less would serve for the survival of all life.
* In the novel ''Literature/{{Footfall}}'' by Creator/LarryNiven and Jerry Pournelle, it's not so much that the humans can't be made to surrender -- it's that they won't ''stay'' surrendered, which confuses and freaks out the alien invaders.
* ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' by Creator/HGWells, especially the attack of the torpedo ram HMS Thunder Child against the Martian machines. The 1953 [[Film/TheWarOfTheWorlds1953 movie version]] had the following lines: "The redoubtable Finnish and Turkish armies, Chinese battalions and Bolivians worked and fought furiously... The people of Britain met the invaders magnificently, but it was unavailing."
* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' has several examples of this throughout the series, and it could be said that the entire premise was at least partly based on this trope.
** Indeed, even the aliens acknowledge this: one major difference between Yeerks and humans is that Yeerks will give up if they know they're going to lose, while humans won't. Some, like the Yeerk that controlled Jake or Visser Three, think this is basically pointless, but Visser One was smart enough to realize this would make conquering humans a harder task to accomplish.
** Stated almost flat-out by one of Visser One's hosts:
---> Allison: "You think you know us. You know nothing. You’ve seen the world through the eyes of a defeated soldier and a junkie bimbo. You know nothing. We’ll defeat you, Edriss."
** From Ax's "Earth Diary": "''Give me liberty, or give me death.'' A human named Patrick Henry said that. I wonder if, when the Yeerks invaded, they knew humans said things like that. I wonder if they truly knew what they were getting into."
* E.E. Knight's ''Literature/TheVampireEarth'' series has a heavy dose of this, at least when it comes to the humans that aren't [[TheQuisling Quislings]].
* This is on a smaller scale, but still significant, in ''Literature/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers''. [[spoiler:Over and over, individuals and small groups figured out what was going on. Over and over, they were captured and replaced. Yet more keep cluing in and trying to sabotage the invasion, until the aliens eventually give up and go home as the protagonist quotes Churchill]]. Sadly, the movie replaces it with a DownerEnding.
* In Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''[[Literature/VorkosiganSaga Memory]]'', Miles repeats a joke about his ancestors: that when they were invaded, they tried to surrender, but were so backwards they couldn't find anyone who could read the terms of the treaty, so they kept fighting and eventually won. This also sparks an epiphany as to which of his dual identities is the true him; because Admiral Naismith strove for victory, but Lord Vorkosigan could not surrender, so in the end Lord Vorkosigan was the persona he chose.
* Princess Leia gets a speech like this in ''[[Literature/NewJediOrder Star by Star]]'', though admittedly its an entire ''galaxy'' she's encouraging to fight back against the evil invaders and not "just" the human race.
* ''[[Literature/AlexBenedict The Devil's Eye]]'' by Jack [=McDevitt=]:
** The president of a planet that has just discovered a possible world ending catastrophe is approaching, gives a speech about perseverance that ends with "And if our world should endure for a hundred million years, it will always be known that this was our finest hour." Alex Benedict is an archeologist/treasure hunter and is the only member of the cast familiar enough with history to realize that he is cribbing, and who from.
** Earlier in the same book, the main characters had found a copy of Churchill's speeches in the president's personal library among ordinary books, and had commented it was a disgrace to see something so valuable sitting there unappreciated.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* There were a few examples of this in ''Series/DoctorWho'', which probably contributed to why the Doctor liked the human race so much.
-->'''Colonel Alan Mace:''' Attention all troops! The Sontarans might think of us as primitive, as does every passing species with an axe to grind. They make a mockery of our weapons, our soldiers, our ideals. But no more. From this point on, it stops. From this point on, the people of Earth fight back and we show them. We show the warriors of Sontar what the human race can do. <much slaughter of the Sontarans ensues>
* Near the end of Day Four of ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'': "Children of Earth", we're led to believe that this will happen. Then the trope is horribly, horribly subverted.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'' movie ''In the Beginning'' has two such speeches, in regards to the war between humanity and the Minbari Federation:
** The first comes from a voiceover by Londo Mollari:
--->The War. The humans, I think, knew they were doomed. Where another race would surrender to despair, the humans fought back with greater strength. They made the Minbari fight for every inch of space. In my life, I have never seen anything like it; They would weep, they would pray, they would say goodbye to their loved ones, and then throw themselves without fear or hesitation at the very face of death itself, never surrendering. No one who saw them fighting against the inevitable could help but be moved to tears by their courage. Their stubborn nobility. When they ran out of ships, they used guns, when they ran out guns they used knives and sticks and bare hands. They were magnificent. I only hope that when it is my time, I may die with half as much dignity as I saw in their eyes in the end. They did this for ''two years''; they never ran out of courage. But in the end, they ran out of ''time''.
** The second speech was delivered by the Earth Alliance president, in the final hours of the conflict:
--->Are we on? This is... this is the President. I have just been informed that the midrange military bases at Beta Durani and Proxima 3 have fallen to the Minbari advance. We've lost contact with Io and must conclude that they too have fallen to an advance force. Our Military Intelligence believes that the Minbari intend to bypass Mars and hit Earth directly and the attack could come at any time. We have continued to broadcast our surrender and a plea for mercy and they have not responded. Therefore we can only conclude that we stand at the twilight of the human race. In order to buy time for our evacuation transports to leave Earth, we ask for the support of every ship capable of fighting to take part in a last defense of our home world. We will not lie to you, we do not believe that survival is a possibility. We believe that anyone who joins this battle will never come home. But for every ten minutes we can delay the military advance, several hundred more civilians may have a chance to escape to neutral territory. Though Earth may fall, the human race must have a chance to continue elsewhere. No greater sacrifice has ever been asked of a people. But I ask you now to step forward one last time, one last battle to hold the line against the night. May God go with you all.
* ''Series/SpaceAboveAndBeyond'' was all about this trope: humanity banding together against the evil "chigs". In the pilot, the Secretary-General of the United Nations makes a very Churchillian speech about "the coming storm", then quotes Churchill directly (the Battle of Britain "Never has so much been owed by so many to so few" speech) after the Wildcards' first major victory.
* The ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' episode, "[[Recap/StargateAtlantisS01E07PoisoningTheWell Poisoning the Well]]," subverts this when the SG team helps the Hoffans develop a treatment to make them unpalatable to the Wraith. When it is discovered that not only does also kill Wraith who attempt to feed, but also kills 50% of those treated, the SG team are horrified to find that the Hoffans consider that acceptable even if the Wraith would likely strike against them as a threat. When the SG team leave in disgust, they mention it is reminiscent of the Churchillian spirit of victory at any price, but they are forced to disagree.
* Subverted in the 2009 remake of ''Literature/TheDayOfTheTriffids''. Torrence sees himself in this light, often shown admiring statues or paintings of UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill, but he's just a sociopath with delusions of grandeur. The government he tries to establish in London after the world goes blind soon collapses under siege from the {{Man Eating Plant}}s.

[[AC:TabletopGames]]
* The [[TheEmpire Imperium of Man]] in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' lives by this trope. Though individual worlds may enjoy centuries of peace, the Imperium as a whole has been fighting a war for survival on a hundred thousand fronts for ten millennia.
** Especially on the planet of Armageddon (the name wasn't chosen at random). The text makes you want to eat rats and roaches, crawl half naked through ventilation shafts and weld yourself into a crane to attack gargants.
** Armageddon's got it rough, but for the king of kings of this trope we turn to Cadia. The Cadian Gate is, literally, the front door to the [[NegativeSpaceWedgie Eye of Terror]], where ''virtually all the forces of Chaos come from.'' They have held the line for over ten millennia. They have turned back mad warbands, rogue cults and entire Black Crusades. Military service isn't required or expected, it's ''just how life goes'' there. And rather than be the most morbid bunch in the universe, they're not only the shining example of the Imperial Guard, they consider being born on any other world (and not becoming a SpaceMarine) a mark of ''shame''. For the Emperor, indeed. (Though this could change very soon with Abaddon's next Black Crusade...)
** The Eldar are doomed. They have been on an inevitable path to extinction for ten thousand years, and they know that nothing can prevent this.(With the [[HordeofAlienLocusts Tyranids]], the entire galaxies on an inevitable path to extinction...) Their only hope for destroying the dark god they created can only come to pass once every Eldar has died (When said time comes to pass, Slannesh will be destroyed and all the Eldar resurrected). [[TheDeterminator But they keep fighting even as every year brings them closer to annihilation]].

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* The entire ''{{X-Com}}'' series is pretty much about this. The original ''UFO Defence'' game even gave you a terrifying cutscene to show the final fate of Earth, if you get a Game Over.
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** At the end of the last DLC for ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', a [[TheMessiah Paragon]] [[TheDeterminator Shepard]] [[ShutUpHannibal also gives]] [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu this trope]] to [[EldritchAbomination Harbinger]] right after s/he already flipped them off again.
--> '''Shepard:''' "Maybe you're right: [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption maybe we can't win this]]. But we'll fight you regardless. Just like we did [[VideoGame/MassEffect1 Sovereign]], just like I'm doing now. No matter how insignificant we might be, we will fight. We will sacrifice, and we will find a way. [[HumansAreSpecial That's what]] [[HumanityIsSuperior humans do]]."
** ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' is this on a galactic level, but it starts on Earth.
--> '''Admiral Steven Hackett:''' Never before have so many come together from all quarters of the galaxy. But never before have we faced an enemy such as this. The Reapers will show us no mercy; we must give them no quarter. They will terrorize our populations; we must stand fast in the face of that terror. They will advance until our last city falls, but we will not fall. We will prevail. Each of us will be defined by our actions in the coming battle. Stand fast. Stand strong. Stand together. Hackett out.
* Partly subverted by ''The Ur-Quan Masters'' (AKA ''VideoGame/StarControl II''). At the beginning, humanity ''has'', indeed, been defeated, trapped beneath [[TheWallAroundTheWorld planetary shields]] in "[[VichyEarth Fallow Slavery]]", and the small detachment of humans left in a space-station outside the shields are nice and obedient to the eponymous Ur-Quan masters. (It helps that they can't maintain life support without Ur-Quan assistance.) Until the player character shows up with a Precursor spaceship. ''Then'' they rebel, and put together TheAlliance with great speed, before taking on the Ur-Quan directly. The Ur-Quan specifically chose to use planetary shields to [[AvertedTrope avert]] [[GenreSavvy this trope]]. Any race too courageous to agree to serve them would end up trapped in an [[SealedGoodInACan impenetrable force field]]. This allows the Ur-Quan to win against enemies who were too dumb to [[TheDeterminator know when they're beaten]], without having to KillEmAll. If you talk to Commander Hayes, he reveals that Earth kept the war going right up to the point where Ur-Quan ships were positioned in orbit, ready to glass the entire planet.
* The Terran Faction in ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' invokes this. They're a bunch of colonists descended from outcast criminals from Earth (think Australia [[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE]]) with UsedFuture technology, and fighting against both the [[HordeOfAlienLocusts insatiable rampage]] of [[BugWar the Zerg]], and the [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien hyper-advanced]] [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Protoss]]. And yet, [[BadassNormal they hold]] [[BadassArmy their own]]...
-->'''Emperor Arcturus Mengsk ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8mmX9IjkhI Inauguration Speech]])''': ''And to all the enemies of humanity, seek not to bar our way, for we shall win through - no matter the cost!''
* In ''VideoGame/StarCraftII: [[VideoGame/StarCraftIIWingsOfLiberty Wings Of Liberty]]'', the ending of the Protoss sub-campaign has about 5 of these. Every Protoss special unit has a commander and when he/she warps in they give a little speech about how the world is ending, [[Music/CobraStarship and we're throwing the party.]]
* ''VideoGame/SupremeCommander'''s President Riley fits this trope in spades, many times going out of the way to inform you in the campaign briefings, and even during the last mission how the UEF will never surrender. Perhaps subverted slightly in that the enemies are actually other factions of humans, and that by the time the Seraphim roll around, [[spoiler: he's already dead.]]
* In ''VideoGame/DeadLock'', the human faction is mainly known for its prowess in the [[HumansAreDiplomats realms of trade and diplomacy]] - greatly suited for winning the game in peaceful ways. But if they're forced into a fight, they have a special weapon too - all Human Infantry can use the 'Berserk' command in battle, injecting themselves with SuperSerum that [[TheBerserker whips them into a frenzy, granting them the incredible strength and durability they need to take on vastly more powerful alien foes]]. Unfortunately, any survivors will either be killed or crippled for life by the drug's body altering effects. Even the '''[[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Tarth]]''' find this fanatical dedication to be downright disturbing.
* ''VideoGame/{{Halo}}'': The UNSC runs off this trope, to the point where the human population at war's end was reduced from 39 billion to about ''16'' billion, and in the process earned the respect of the ProudWarriorRace of the Covenant, who initially thought that humanity would get steamrolled without issue.
* ''VideoGame/EliteBeatAgents'' and the second ''VideoGame/OsuTatakaeOuendan'' game feature this as a penultimate level. The final level involves some truly epic Sprit Bombs. Heck, EBA's second-last song ''is'' "Without A Fight"!
* The villain equivalent of this is The Helghast from ''VideoGame/{{Killzone}}''. They know to a man they cannot win, but they keep fighting for their home.
* In ''[[VideoGame/LegendOfLegaia Legaia II: Duel Saga]]'', this is the reason why humanity defeated the Kabel in the ancient war, according to Chief West Wind. The Kabel had the power of magic, but they had lost their human spirit. Humanity retained its fighting spirit and will to survive, and was able to overcome the superior foe and endure.

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* ''Literature/TheSalvationWar'' has this trope as what seems to be its dominant feature.
* The Literature/ChaosTimeline has a Sir Winston of Marlborough fighting the Socialists who's quite similar to him.

[[AC:RealLife]]
* And still to this day, ''[[UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill nobody]]'' has ''ever'' done it better.
->''I have never accepted what many people have kindly said, namely that I inspired the Nation. It was the nation and the race dwelling around the globe that had the lion heart. I had the luck to be called upon to give the roar.''
-->-- Sir Winston Churchill, November 1954.
* Lt. Col. William Barrett Travis' letter from the Alamo comes close, however, at least in part because he followed thourgh with his "BadassBoast" to "sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country — Victory or Death."
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--> "I've never believed in the End Times. We are [[HumanityIsSuperior mankind]]. Our ''footprints'' are on the moon. [[Literature/TheBible When the last trumpet sounds and the Beast rises from the pit]] -- [[BadassBoast we will]] '''[[BadassBoast kill]]''' [[BadassBoast it]]."

-->[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you]] [[PunctuatedForEmphasis STAND! MEN! OF THE WEST!]]

* In ''VideoGame/StarCraftII: Wings of Liberty'', the ending of the Protoss sub-campaign has about 5 of these. Every Protoss special unit has a commander and when he/she warps in they give a little speech about how the world is ending, [[Music/CobraStarship and we're throwing the party.]]

** ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' is this on a galactic level, but it starts on Earth.

* In ''Film/RobinHoodMenInTights'', Robin tries to rally the peasants against King John and the Sheriff of Rottingham with Churchill's actual speech. This just makes the peasants bored. However black Merry Man Achoo manages to get the peasants to join Robin with a Malcolm X speech. (Or a version thereof)

--> "I've never believed in the End Times. We are mankind. Our ''footprints'' are on the moon. [[Literature/TheBible When the last trumpet sounds and the Beast rises from the pit]] -- we will '''kill''' it."