For as long as wars have existed, great military leaders have used the power of the pulpit to motivate their troops. The right words, spoken in the right way at the right time, have been able to turn the tide when morale was low, casualties were high, and ammunition was scarce.
Here are 16 excerpts from the best orations delivered to key audiences at pivotal moments in history:
1. Pericles calling for war against the Spartans, 432 BC.
"When our fathers faced the Persians, they did not have the resources we have today; in fact, they even abandoned what they had, and so it was by wisdom rather than luck, by daring rather than material might, that they repelled the foreign invasion and made our city what it is today.
We must live up to what they did: we must resist our enemies in every way possible, and try to leave to those who come after us an Athens as great as ever."
2. HANNIBAL addressing his soldiers after crossing the Alps, 218 BC.
"On the right and on the left, two seas enclose you, without you possessing a single ship to escape. His soldiers, where you first encountered the enemy, you must conquer or die; and the same fortune that imposed the necessity of fighting on you reserves for you, if you are victorious, rewards that men are not accustomed to desire greater, even from the immortal gods."
3. ST. BERNARD rallying the troops before the Second Crusade, 1146
"Christian warriors, He who gave his life for you today demands yours in return. These are battles worth fighting, battles in which it is glorious to win and advantageous to die. Illustrious knights, generous defenders of the Cross, remember the example of your fathers who conquered Jerusalem and whose names are written in Heaven."
4. QUEEN ELIZABETH I supporting her military against the Spanish Armada, July 1588
"I am among you at this time, not for amusement or recreation, but because I am resolved, in the midst and heat of battle, to live or die among you all; to sacrifice, for my God, for my kingdom, and for my people, my honor and my blood."
5. GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON calming his increasingly rebellious and doubtful army, March 15, 1783
By the dignity of your conduct, you will give posterity the opportunity to say, speaking of the glorious example you have set for humanity: "If this day had not existed, the world would never have seen the last stage of perfection to which human nature is capable of attaining."
6. GENERAL NAPOLEON BONAPARTE gathering his forces before the Battle of Marengo in Italy, June 14, 1800.
"Will you allow our audacious enemies to violate the territory of the Republic with impunity? Will you allow the army that brought terror to your families to escape? You will not. March to meet him. Snatch from his brow the laurels he has won.
Teach the world that a curse falls on those who violate the territory of the Great People. The result of our efforts will be unclouded glory and lasting peace."
7. PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN addressing the 166th Ohio Regiment, August 22, 1864
"For the service you have rendered in this great struggle in which we are engaged, I offer you sincere thanks on behalf of myself and the country. I almost always feel inclined, when addressing soldiers, to impress upon them, in a few brief remarks, the importance of success in this struggle.
It is not only for today, but for all time to come that we must perpetuate for our children's children this great and free government, from which we have enjoyed all our lives. I beg you to remember this, not only for my sake, but for yourselves... . . The nation is worth fighting for, to secure such a priceless jewel."
8. PRIME MINISTER WINSTON CHURCHILL outside the House of Commons as the French retreat before Hitler, 13 May 1940
"We have before us a most painful ordeal. We have before us many long months of struggle and suffering. You ask: what is our policy?
I can say this: It is to wage war, by sea, by land, and by air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. Such is our policy."
9. FIRST JOSEPH STALIN calling on the Russian people to defend their soil against the advancing German army, July 3, 1941
"This is a matter of life and death for the Soviet state, for the peoples of the USSR. It is a matter of whether the peoples of the Soviet Union will remain free or fall into slavery.... There must be no place in our ranks for whiners and cowards, for panic-mongers and deserters. Our people must know no fear in battle and must selflessly join our patriotic war of liberation, our war against the fascist enslavers."
10. GENERAL SIR BERNARD MONTGOMERY addressing his demoralized troops before defeating Rommel's Afrika Corps, 13 August 1942
"Here we will stand and fight; there will be no further withdrawal. I have ordered that all plans and instructions for further withdrawal be burned, and immediately. We will stay here and fight. If we cannot stay here alive, then let us stay here dead."
11. GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON exhorting the Third Army, spring 1944
I don't want to get any messages saying, 'I'm holding my position.' We're not holding anything. Let the Germans do that. We're constantly advancing, and we don't want to hold on to anything except the enemy's balls. We're going to twist his balls and kick his ass all the time. Our basic plan of operation is to advance and keep advancing, no matter if we have to go over, under, or through the enemy."
12. GENERAL DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER ordering the invasion of Normandy, June 6, 1944
16 of the Best Excerpts from the Greatest Military Speeches Ever Made
"You are about to embark on the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven for many months. The eyes of the whole world are upon you.
The hopes and prayers of freedom-loving people everywhere march with you. Together with our courageous allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will achieve the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world."
13. Menachem Begin addresses the people of Israel on the radio, preparing them for an Arab attack, May 14, 1948
"We will go to battle in our own way... And we will be accompanied by the spirit of millions of our martyrs, of our ancestors tortured and burned for their faith, of our murdered fathers and slaughtered mothers, of our murdered brothers and strangled children.
And in this battle we will break the enemy and bring salvation to our people, tried in the furnace of persecution, thirsting only for freedom, righteousness and justice."
14. GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR speaking at West Point, May 12, 1962
"Let civil voices debate the merits or demerits of our processes of government; if our strength is undermined by deficit financing, indulged for too long, by federal paternalism grown too powerful, grown too rampant, by morality grown too low, by taxes grown too high, by extremists grown too violent . . .
These great national problems are beyond your professional involvement or military solution. Your guide stands like a tenfold beacon in the night: Duty, honor, homeland."
15. President JOHN F. KENNEDY prepares the nation for the Cuban Missile Crisis, October 22, 1962.
"The path we have chosen for the present is fraught with danger, as all paths are; but it is the one most consistent with our character and courage as a nation and with our commitments in the world. The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it.
And there is one path we will never choose, and that is surrender or submission. Our goal is not the victory of might, but the vindication of right; not peace at the expense of freedom, but peace and freedom, here in this hemisphere and, we hope, throughout the world. God willing, that goal will be achieved."
16. President RONALD REAGAN accelerates the fall of communism during a speech at the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987.
"There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would dramatically advance the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this door! Mr. Gorbachev, open this door! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
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