History Main / TheEternalChurchill

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect'':

* ''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"!

* Ditto the film versions of ''[[LordOfTheRings The Two Towers]]'' and ''[[LordOfTheRings Return of the King]]''.
** [[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!]]
** What makes it even better is that portions of the speech are derived from the Eddas, just as they were in the book. Particularly in Aragorn's usage of 'an hour of wolves and shattered shields', which mirrors the terms used to describe Ragnarok.
* Not sure if this is playing it straight or not, (a DoubleSubversion possibly) but in ''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)

* A general tries to invoke this in ''MarsAttacks'', even quoting Churchill. [[SedgwickSpeech He is unceremoniously killed]].
* 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]]:

* FredSaberhagen's "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.

** Those countries aren't entirely random, incidentally. Within recent memory, the Finns had held off the full might of the Soviet Union in 1939-40, while the Turkish contingent in Korea had fought bravely and won unit citations in 1951. The Chinese of course were also involved in Korea, on the other side, while Bolivia had recently undergone a revolution and deposed a dictator in favour of democracy...

* This is on a smaller scale, but still significant, in ''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 LoisMcMasterBujold's ''[[Literature/VorkosiganSaga Memory]]'', Miles repeats a joke about his ancestors (which I'm sure is based on a real joke with the ethnicities switched): 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 ''[[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.
* In ''[[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.

--->'''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.

* ''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 ''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.
** And the Tragic Irony is that the most disgusted is Doctor Carson Beckett, proud British (well, Scottish) citizen, who even grimly remarks on the irony as they leave.
* Subverted in the 2009 remake of ''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.

* The entire ''{{X-Com}}'' series is pretty much about this. The original ''UFO Defence'' game even gave you a nice NightmareFuel cutscene to show the final fate of Earth, if you get a Game Over.
** [[{{Irony}} Ironically,]] the UK is often one of the first countries to surrender to the aliens. The [[GloriousMotherRussia Russians]], however, continue fighting until the bitter end.
* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' is this on a galactic level, but it starts on Earth.

* Partly subverted by ''The Ur-Quan Masters'' (AKA ''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 ''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]]...

** However, Mengsk is one of the less evil villains, and his only goal is more and more power.
*** True, but at least he seems to be trying to keep his promise, up until the UED starts kicking apart his empire.
** In Starcraft 2: 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.]]

* In ''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.
* {{Halo}}: The UNSC also 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.
* ''EliteBeatAgents'' and the second ''{{Ouendan}}'' game feature this as a penultimate level. The final level involves some truly epic {{Sprit Bomb}}s. Heck, EBA's second-last song ''is'' "Without A Fight"!
* The villain equivalent of this is The Helghast from ''{{Killzone}}''. They know to a man they cannot win, but they keep fighting for their home.

* [[TheSalvationWar Salvation War]] has this trope as what seems to be its dominant feature.

* Except AdolfHitler. Even after his armies were slaughtered and it became obvious that Germany could not win the war, he refused to surrender and pursued the fights. It had some tragic consequences.

* In the novel ''Literature/{{Footfall}}'' by LarryNiven and JerryPournelle, 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.
** Granted, the aliens got their advanced technology from plans left behind by the {{Precursors}}, and therefore weren't even close to psychologically prepared to deal with other civilizations' paradigms. As proven by their decision that establishing dominance with an orbital bombardment is a good way to say "hello".
* ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' by 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."

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

* The villain equivilant of this is The Helghast from ''{{Killzone}}''. They know to a man they cannot win, but they keep fighting for their home.

** Armageddon's got it rough, but for the king of kings of this trope we turn to noble Cadia. The Cadian Gate is, literally, the front door to the [[NegativeSpaceWedgie Eye of Terror]]; a.k.a. 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.

** Armageddon's got it rough, but for the king of kings of this trope we turn to noble Cadia. The Cadian Gate is, literally, the front door to the Eye of Terror; a.k.a. 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 Dark 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.
** 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. Their only hope for destroying the dark god they created can only come to pass once every Eldar has died. But they keep fighting even as every year brings them closer to annihilation.

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' is all about this trope. When the last remnant of humanity is locked within walled settlements, 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."

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' is all about this trope.

* ''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 Wildcard's first major victory.
* The ''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 victor at any price, but they are forced to disagree.

* ''Series/BabylonFive'' movie ''In the Beginning'' has two such speeches, in regards to the war between humanity and the Mimbari Federation:

* Subverted in the 2009 remake of ''TheDayOfTheTriffids''. Torrence sees himself in this light, often shown admiring statues or paintings of WinstonChurchill, but is 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.

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

* And still to this day, ''[[WinstonChurchill nobody]]'' has ''ever'' done it better.

* {{Halo}}: The UNSC also runs off this trope, to the point where the human population at war's end was reduced from 39 billion to about ''16'' billion.

* A general tries to invoke this in ''MarsAttacks'', even quoting Churchill. [[SedgewickSpeech He is unceremoniously killed]].

** [[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 woes 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 stand!]] [[PunctuatedForEmphasis MEN! OF THE WEST!]]

* Not sure if this is playing it straight or not, (a DoubleSubversion possibly) but in ''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)

* A general tries to invoke this in ''MarsAttacks'', even quoting Churchill. He is unceremoniously killed.

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

--> '''Shepard:''' "Maybe you're right: [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption maybe we can't win this]]. But we'll fight you regardless. Just like I did with [[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]]."

* [[SupremeCommander Supreme Commander]]'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.]]

--> '''Shepard:''' "Maybe you're right: [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption maybe we can't win this]]. But we'll fight you regardless. Just like I did with [[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]]."

* Subverted in the 2009 remake of ''TheDayOfTheTriffids''. Torrence sees himself in this light, often shown admiring statues or paintings of WinstonChurchill, but is just a sociopath with delusions of grandeur. The empire he tries to establish in London after the world goes blind soon collapses under siege from the {{Man Eating Plant}}s.

* Jason Nesmith/"Peter Quincy Taggart" in ''Film/GalaxyQuest'' is, if less eloquent, much more succinct: "Never give up -- Never surrender!"