溫斯頓·丘吉爾 | 我們將戰(zhàn)斗到底

節(jié)選英文版：

When, a week ago today, I asked the House to fix this afternoon as the occasion for a statement, I feared it would be my hard lot to announce the greatest military disaster in our long history. I thought and some good judges agreed with me-that perhaps 20,000 or 30,000 men might be re-embarked. But it certainly seemed that the whole of the French First Army and the whole of the British Expeditionary Force north of the Amiens-Abbeville gap would be broken up in the open field or else would have to capitulate for lack of food and ammunition.?

These were the hard and heavy tidings for which I called upon the House and the nation to prepare themselves a week ago. The whole root and core and brain of the British Army, on which and around which we were to build, and are to build, the great British Armies in the later years of the war, seemed about to perish upon the field or to be led into an ignominious and starving captivity.

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The enemy attacked us on all sides with great strength and fierceness, and their main power, the power of their far more numerous Air Force, was thrown into the battle or else concentrated upon Dunkirk and the beaches. Pressing in upon the narrow exit, both from the east and from the west, the enemy began to fire with cannon upon the beaches by which alone the shipping could approach or depart.?They sowed magnetic mines in the channels and seas; they sent repeated waves of hostile aircraft, sometimes more than a hundred strong in one formation, to cast their bombs upon the single pier that remained, and upon the sand dunes upon which the troops had their only shelter.?

Their U-boats, one of which was sunk, and their motor launches took their toll of the vast traffic which now began. For four or five days an intense struggle reigned. All their armored divisions-or what Was left of them-together with great masses of infantry and artillery, hurled themselves in vain upon the ever-narrowing, ever-contracting appendix within which the British and French Armies fought.

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Meanwhile, the Royal Navy, with the willing help of countless merchant seamen, strained every nerve to embark the British and Allied troops; 220 light warships and 650 other vessels were engaged. They had to operate upon the difficult coast, often in adverse weather, under an almost ceaseless hail of bombs and an increasing concentration of artillery fire. Nor were the seas, as I have said, themselves free from mines and torpedoes. It was in conditions such as these that our men carried on, with little or no rest, for days and nights on end, making trip after trip across the dangerous waters, bringing with them always men whom they had rescued. The numbers they have brought back are the measure of their devotion and their courage. The hospital ships, which brought off many thousands of British and French wounded, being so plainly marked were a special target for Nazi bombs; but the men and women on board them never faltered in their duty.

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Meanwhile, the Royal Air Force, which had already been intervening in the battle, so far as its range would allow, from home bases, now used part of its main metropolitan fighter strength, and struck at the German bombers and at the fighters which in large numbers protected them. This struggle was protracted and fierce. Suddenly the scene has cleared, the crash and thunder has for the moment-but only for the moment-died away.?

A miracle of deliverance, achieved by valor, by perseverance, by perfect discipline, by faultless service, by resource, by skill, by unconquerable fidelity, is manifest to us all. The enemy was hurled back by the retreating British and French troops. He was so roughly handled that he did not hurry their departure seriously.

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We must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations. But there was a victory inside this deliverance, which should be noted. It was gained by the Air Force. Many of our soldiers coming back have not seen the Air Force at work; they saw only the bombers which escaped its protective attack. They underrate its achievements. I have heard much talk of this; that is why I go out of my way to say this. I will tell you about it.

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This was a great trial of strength between the British and German Air Forces. Can you conceive a greater objective for the Germans in the air than to make evacuation from these beaches impossible, and to sink all these ships which were displayed, almost to the extent of thousands? Could there have been an objective of greater military importance and significance for the whole purpose of the war than this? They tried hard, and they were beaten back; they were frustrated in their task. We got the Army away; and they have paid fourfold for any losses which they have inflicted.

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When we consider how much greater would be our advantage in defending the air above this Island against an overseas attack, I must say that I find in these facts a sure basis upon which practical and reassuring thoughts may rest. I will pay my tribute to these young airmen. The great French Army was very largely, for the time being, cast back and disturbed by the onrush of a few thousands of armored vehicles.?

May it not also be that the cause of civilization itself will be defended by the skill and devotion of a few thousand airmen? There never has been, I suppose, in all the world, in all the history of war, such an opportunity for youth. The Knights of the Round Table, the Crusaders, all fall back into the past-not only distant but prosaic; these young men, going forth every morn to guard their native land and all that we stand for, holding in their hands these instruments of colossal and shattering power, of whom it may be said that:

Every morn brought forth a noble chance
And every chance brought forth a noble knight,
deserve our gratitude, as do all the brave men who, in so many ways and on so many occasions, are ready, and continue ready to give life and all for their native land.

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Nevertheless, our thankfulness at the escape of our Army and so many men, whose loved ones have passed through an agonizing week, must not blind us to the fact that what has happened in France and Belgium is a colossal military disaster.?

The French Army has been weakened, the Belgian Army has been lost, a large part of those fortified lines upon which so much faith had been reposed is gone, many valuable mining districts and factories have passed into the enemy’s possession, the whole of the Channel ports are in his hands, with all the tragic consequences that follow from that, and we must expect another blow to be struck almost immediately at us or at France.?

We are told that Herr Hitler has a plan for invading the British Isles. This has often been thought of before. When Napoleon lay at Boulogne for a year with his flat-bottomed boats and his Grand Army, he was told by someone. “There are bitter weeds in England.” There are certainly a great many more of them since the British Expeditionary Force returned.

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I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone.?

At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty’s Government-every man of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation. The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength.?

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, 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, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.

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節(jié)選中文版：

這次戰(zhàn)役盡管我們失利，但我們決不投降，決不屈服，我們將戰(zhàn)斗到底。

我們必須非常慎重，不要把這次援救說成是勝利。戰(zhàn)爭不是靠撤退贏得的。但是，在這次援救中卻蘊(yùn)藏著勝利，這一點(diǎn)應(yīng)當(dāng)注意到。這個(gè)勝利是空軍獲得的。歸來的許許多多士兵未曾見到過我們空軍的行動(dòng)，他們看到的只是逃脫我們空軍掩護(hù)性攻擊的敵人轟炸機(jī)。他們低估了我們空軍的成就。關(guān)于這件事，其理由就在這里。我一定要把這件事告訴你們。

這是英國和德國空軍實(shí)力的一次重大考驗(yàn)。德國空軍的目的是要是我們從海灘撤退成為不可能，并且要擊沉所有密集在那里數(shù)以千計(jì)的船只。除此之外，你們能想象出他們還有更大的目的嗎？除此而外，從整個(gè)戰(zhàn)爭的目的來說，還有什么更大的軍事重要性和軍事意義呢？他們?cè)σ愿?，但他們終于被擊退了；他們?cè)趫?zhí)行他們的任務(wù)中遭到挫敗。我們把陸軍撤退了，他們付出的代價(jià)，四倍于他們給我們?cè)斐傻膿p失……已經(jīng)證明，我們所有的各種類型的飛機(jī)和我們所有的飛行人員比他們現(xiàn)在面臨的敵人都要都好。

當(dāng)我們說在英倫三島上空抵御來自海外的襲擊，將對(duì)我們更有好處時(shí)，我應(yīng)當(dāng)指出，我從這些事實(shí)里找到了一個(gè)可靠的論據(jù)，我們實(shí)際可行而又萬無一失的辦法，就是根據(jù)這個(gè)論據(jù)想出來的。我對(duì)這些青年飛行員表示敬意。強(qiáng)大的法國陸軍當(dāng)時(shí)在幾千輛裝甲車的沖擊下大部分潰退了。難道不可以說，文明事業(yè)本身將有數(shù)千飛行員的本領(lǐng)和忠誠來保護(hù)嗎？

有人對(duì)我說，希特勒先生有一個(gè)入侵英倫三島的計(jì)劃，過去也時(shí)常有人這么盤算過。當(dāng)拿破侖帶著他的平底船和他的大軍在羅涅駐扎一年之后，有人對(duì)他說：“英國那邊有厲害的雜草。”自從英國遠(yuǎn)征軍歸來后，這種雜草當(dāng)然就更多了。

我們目前在英國本土擁有的兵力比我們?cè)谶@次大戰(zhàn)中或上次大戰(zhàn)中任何時(shí)候的兵力不知道要強(qiáng)大多少倍，這一事實(shí)當(dāng)然對(duì)抵抗入侵本土防御問題其有利作用。但不能這樣繼續(xù)下去。我們不能滿足于打防御戰(zhàn)，我們對(duì)我們的盟國負(fù)有義務(wù)，我們必須再重新組織在英勇的總司令戈特勛爵指揮下發(fā)動(dòng)英國遠(yuǎn)征軍。

這一切都在進(jìn)行中，但是在這段期間，我們必須使我們本土上的防御達(dá)到這樣一種高度的組織水平，即只需要極少數(shù)的人便可以有效地保障安全，同時(shí)又可發(fā)揮攻勢活動(dòng)最大的潛力。我們現(xiàn)在正進(jìn)行著方面的部署。

這次戰(zhàn)役盡管我們失利，但我們決不投降，決不屈服，我們將戰(zhàn)斗到底，我們將在法國戰(zhàn)斗，我們將在海洋上戰(zhàn)斗，我們將充滿信心在空中戰(zhàn)斗！我們將不惜任何代價(jià)保衛(wèi)本土，我們將在海灘上戰(zhàn)斗！在敵人登陸地點(diǎn)作戰(zhàn)！在田野和街頭作戰(zhàn)！在山區(qū)作戰(zhàn)！我們?nèi)魏螘r(shí)候都不會(huì)投降。即使我們這個(gè)島嶼或這個(gè)島嶼的大部分被征服并陷于饑餓之中——我從來不相信會(huì)發(fā)生這種情況——我們?cè)诤Ｍ獾牡蹏济?，在英國艦?duì)的武裝和保護(hù)下也會(huì)繼續(xù)戰(zhàn)斗，直到新世界在上帝認(rèn)為適當(dāng)?shù)臅r(shí)候，拿出它所有一切的力量來拯救和解放這個(gè)舊世界。

這次戰(zhàn)役我軍死傷戰(zhàn)士達(dá)三萬人，損失大炮近千門，海峽兩岸的港口也都落入希特勒手中，德國將向我國或法國發(fā)動(dòng)新的攻勢，已成為既定的事實(shí)。法蘭西和比利時(shí)境內(nèi)的戰(zhàn)爭，已成為千古憾事。法軍的勢力被削弱，比利時(shí)的軍隊(duì)被殲滅，相比較而言，我軍的實(shí)力較為強(qiáng)大?，F(xiàn)在已經(jīng)是檢驗(yàn)英德空軍實(shí)力的時(shí)候到了！

撤退回國的士兵都認(rèn)為，我們的空軍未能發(fā)揮應(yīng)有的作用，但是，要知道我們已經(jīng)出動(dòng)了所有的飛機(jī)，用盡了所有的飛行員，以寡敵眾，絕非這一次！在今后的時(shí)間內(nèi)，我們可能還會(huì)遭受更嚴(yán)重的損失，曾經(jīng)讓我們深信不疑的防線，大部分被突破，很多有價(jià)值的工礦都已經(jīng)被敵人占領(lǐng)。從今后，我們要做好充分準(zhǔn)備，準(zhǔn)備承受更嚴(yán)重的困難。

對(duì)于防御性戰(zhàn)爭，決不能認(rèn)為已經(jīng)定局！我們必須重建遠(yuǎn)征軍，我們必須重建遠(yuǎn)征軍，我們必須加強(qiáng)國防，必須減少國內(nèi)的防衛(wèi)兵力，增加海外的打擊力量。在這次大戰(zhàn)中，法蘭西和不列顛將聯(lián)合一起，決不屈服，決不投降！