Winston Churchill’s Heartfelt Letter to FDR During Britain’s Darkest Hour

By July 30, the Battle of Britain was raging across the island for several weeks now and the Royal Air Force was being stretched to its limits. With her allies defeated, the British Empire now face the full might of Nazi Germany. Its infamous Luftwaffe pounded the island’s factories, cities, and ports. As he saw this destruction, Prime Minister Churchill sent a plea to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt for aid.

A Letter Among Leaders

With the outbreak of WWII, Great Britain and France joined their forces in continental Europe and prepared for a grinding war against Nazi Germany. However, the newly mechanized German military outmaneuvered the ill-prepared French and British armies, pushing them to their breaking point. Soon France and most of Western Europe were overrun while the British were forced to retreat across the English Channel.

Unwilling to let their opponents escape, Hitler organized Operation SEALION, a planned invasion of the British Isles to knock them out of the war. This began with a massive ariel bombardment to pound the British into submission.

On July 10, hundreds of German planes took off and crossed the channel, dropping countless bombs on the islands. This would continue for nearly four months as the Biriths Air Force stubbornly resisted German attacks. While this was happening, Winston Churchill was active on the diplomatic front to try and win over allies.

With most of their European allies defeated, he now searched across the Atlantic to try and reach out to the United States who had thus far remained neutral. To try and win over the US, Churchill sent a letter to FDR to explain the severity of their situation and asked for aid.

My dear Mr. President,

The scene has darkened swiftly. The small countries are simply smashed up, one by one, like matchwood. We expect the storm to break on us any moment. We have only to keep our spirits up, and do our utmost.

We are fighting against tremendous odds. But with your aid and if necessary with your fighting strength, I firmly believe that we shall achieve victory.

Any help you may be able to give us will be gratefully accepted.

We shall go on to the end. We are determined to 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.

Your faithful friend, Winston S. Churchill

Winston Churchill, Former British Prime Minister

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