>The Anome: Importing Wikidata short description: "First used during the Battle of Albuera (1811) in the Peninsular War." (Shortdesc helper)

2021-05-13T18:40:01Z

Importing Wikidata short description: "First used during the Battle of Albuera (1811) in the Peninsular War." (Shortdesc helper)

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{{Short description|First used during the Battle of Albuera (1811) in the Peninsular War.}}
{{wiktionary|diehard}}
'''Die hard''' is a phrase coined by Lieutenant-Colonel [[William Inglis (British Army officer)|William Inglis]] of the [[57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot]] during the [[Battle of Albuera]]. Its original literal meaning has evolved to describe any person who will not be swayed from a belief. It is often applied to [[right wing politics]].

== Original military use ==
The phrase '''die hard''' was first used during the [[Battle of Albuera]] (1811) in the [[Peninsular War]]. During the battle, Lieutenant-Colonel [[William Inglis (British Army officer)|William Inglis]] of the [[57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot]] was wounded by [[canister shot]]. Despite his injuries, Inglis refused to retire from the battle but remained with the regimental [[Colours, standards and guidons|colours]], encouraging his men with the words "Die hard 57th, die hard!" as they came under intense pressure from a French attack.<ref name="Inglis">{{cite web|url=http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/exhibitions/shortVisits/heroes/page7.shtml|title=Lieutenant-Colonel William Inglis (1764-1835)|publisher=[[National Army Museum]]|year=2009|accessdate=2009-01-12|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001183450/http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/exhibitions/shortVisits/heroes/page7.shtml|archivedate=2006-10-01}}</ref> The 'Die Hards' subsequently became the West Middlesex's regimental nickname.<ref name="Inglis"/>

The term was later used to deride several senior officers of the Army who sought to maintain the system bequeathed to them by the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]] and who strenuously resisted [[Cardwell Reforms|military reforms]] enacted by Parliament starting in the late 1860s.

== British political uses ==

In British politics the [[adjective]] "die-hard" (best written with a hyphen) was first
used to describe those who, during the crisis caused by the Lords' rejection of [[David Lloyd George]]'s "[[People's Budget]]" of 1909, refused to accept the diminution of the [[House of Lords]]' powers by the [[Parliament Act 1911]], and who generally held right wing views, most notably [[Richard Verney, 19th Baron Willoughby de Broke]].<ref>see Gregory D. Phillips, ''The diehards : aristocratic society and politics in Edwardian England'' Harvard University Press (1979)</ref>

It was subsequently used to describe right-wing critics of Lloyd George's Coalition Government 1918–1922, several of whom had been die-hards before the War such as [[Leopold Maxse]]. There was at this time a "higher proportion of Irishmen in the Diehard group than in the rest of the parliamentary Conservative Party".<ref>Kinnear, Michael ''The Fall of Lloyd George: The Political Crisis of 1922'' Macmillan Press (1973) p79</ref>

It was later revived to describe a grouping of members of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] in the 1930s, including [[Henry Page Croft, 1st Baron Croft|Henry Page Croft]] who had been prominent among both the earlier die-hards, who amongst other things refused to accept any moves towards [[Indian independence movement|Indian independence]]. But this time it also included some who "did not necessarily share the general views of the right on other matters",<ref>Stuart Ball, ''Portrait of a Party: The Conservative Party in Britain 1918-1945'' Oxford University Press (2013) p343</ref> such as [[Winston Churchill]] who had been a ''bête noire'' of the original die-hards. Some of the die-hards, though not Churchill, flirted with [[Oswald Mosley]]'s [[British Union of Fascists]] and/or supported [[Neville Chamberlain]]'s policy of [[Appeasement#Conduct of appeasement, 1937–39|appeasement]].

== Other usage ==

The term is now commonly used to describe any person who will not be swayed from a belief, and was used as the title of the popular action [[Film series|movie series]] ''[[Die Hard (film series)|Die Hard]]'', all starring [[Bruce Willis]] as police officer [[John McClane]].

== See also ==
* [[Die hard (disambiguation)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Military history of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:History of the Conservative Party (UK)]]
[[Category:English phrases]]
[[Category:Indian independence movement]]

Die hard (phrase) - Revision history

>The Anome: Importing Wikidata short description: "First used during the Battle of Albuera (1811) in the Peninsular War." (Shortdesc helper)