Power of English

In the movie Darkest Hour, Winston Churchill was portrayed as the unlikely
replacement of Neville Chamberlain. In fact, when it was time to look for
Chamberlain’s replacement, Viscount Halifax was the shoo-in, not Churchill. But
Halifax refused, so they looked for another candidate who could rally both the
ruling party and the opposition. Churchill was precisely that candidate.

Churchill’s policy was to wage war, while the policy of some members of his
War Cabinet was to negotiate with Hitler. In Britain’s darkest hour, however,
Churchill gave a rousing speech in the Parliament.

As Churchill’s speech ended, the member of the parliament stood and gave a
resounding applause.

And then Halifax was asked, “What just happened?”

“He mobilized the English language,” Halifax replied, “and sent it into battle.”

But it turns out the actual phrase is not said by Halifax. It is from Edward R.
Murrow, and the actual quote is this:

“Now the hour had come for him to mobilize the English language, and send it
into battle, a spearhead of hope for Britain and the world. We have joined
together some of that Churchillian prose. It sustained. It lifted the hearts of an
island of people when they stood alone.”1

1
https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/quotes/quotes-faq/