They shall not pass
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"They shall not pass" (French: "Ils ne passeront pas"), (Spanish: "¡No pasarán!") 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 (although some have attributed it to his commander, Philippe Pétain). 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.
It was again used in the defense of Madrid during the Spanish Civil War by Dolores Ibárruri Gómez ("La Pasionaria"), Communist orator and one of the founders of the Communist Party of Spain. "¡No pasarán!" became an international anti-fascist slogan, and is still used in this context in left wing political circles. It was often accompanied by the word pasaremos (we will pass) The right wing riposte to this slogan was "Han pasado" ("They have passed") said by general Francisco Franco when his forces conquered Madrid.
The phrase has been used as recently as December 2002 by Colonel Emmanual Maurin, commanding a French Foreign Legion unit in Côte d'Ivoire.
Use in Fiction
In popular media, a slight variation was used in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy by Gandalf in the Mines of Moria when fighting against the Balrog ("You shall not pass"). Interestingly, J.R.R. Tolkien fought on the Western Front, although not at Verdun. It should also be noted that in Tolkien's original book, the line is "you cannot pass".
This slogan was also quoted in Chapter 14 of In Death Ground, just before executing a plan named for Leonidas in defending the Sarasota System.
The saying was taken to ridiculous effect by Monty Python in the "Black Knight" sequence of Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail. In their defence, the Black Knight does demonstrate admirable tenacity, despite the loss of all four limbs at the hands of King Arthur.
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