They Shall Not Pass!

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

I was listening to the song "Viva la Quinta Brigada" by Christy Moore, the song is about the Irish socialist volunteers who went to Spain to fight against Franco and the fascists during the Spanish Civil War.

There where some bits I did not understand so I looked up the song and found this passage in the refraint.

""No Pasarán" the pledge that made them fight."

"No Pasarán" means "They Shall Not Pass", apparantly the most famouse version is the french "Ils ne passeront pas"

it is a propaganda slogan used to express determination to defend a position against an enemy. It was most famously used during the Battle of Verdun in World War I by French General Robert Nivelle. It appears on propaganda posters, such as that by Maurice Neumont after the Second Battle of the Marne, as On ne passe pas!, which was later adopted on uniform badges by units manning the Maginot Line.

I know that Tolkien was not at the Battle of Verdun, but he did serve on the west-front.

My question is this: Does Tolkien ever speak about whether this was his inspiration for Gandalfs "You shall not pass" and if not what do you think?

Do any of you think that Tolkien is making any point by using this phrase or did he just think that it was brilliant?

Personaly I don't like making connections to actual events, but I would still like to know what you think on the subject.