CHURCHILL’S UNUSUAL ARGUMENT. Speeches by war leaders (and football coaches) are optimistic. They rally the troops. Think of Henry V at Agincourt. Churchill presented to the 25 member Outer Cabinet the harshest possible description of continuing to fight and losing: “If this long island story of ours is to end at last, let it end only when each one of us lies choking in his own blood upon the ground.”
The wikipedia entry says: “Churchill received a standing applause from the Outer Cabinet and thus ensured that the United Kingdom would fight on.”