[Boromir88]

I don't think Tolkien purposefully used allegories. Since he has come out and said he didn't like 'em, I think he even says there are no allegories?

But, I find it hard to say that there can be no connections to WWII (but WWI especially), because something that life changing has got to have an effect on you.

I think Saruman represents the typical view of WWI, down with nature, and all "yay industry!" It was a race to see who could build the best stuff fastest, and when industry really began to take shape. WWI was called "the war to end all wars" because it was so horrific that people couldn't imagine being able to cope with such a disastrous war. If you think about it, it's really the first war (though there are cases prior) where chemical and biological weapons were used. It was the first war where if you stuck your head out of the trench, someone may be able to kill you from a mile a way. And all the technology (machine gun, generic bombers...etc) caused mass destruction and casualties. I can't see Tolkien not being effected by it and probably subconsciously encorporating it into his books.