| Brazilian Expeditionary Force | |
|---|---|
| Força Expedicionária Brasileira | |
.svg) Brazilian Expeditionary Force shoulder sleeve insignia (Army component) with a
smoking snake | |
| Active | 1942–1945 |
| Country |  Brazil |
| Allegiance | United Nations |
| Branch | Brazilian Army Brazilian Air Force |
| Type | Expeditionary Force |
| Role | Aerial warfare Combined arms Expeditionary warfare |
| Size | 25,900 |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Mascarenhas de Moraes, General Commander
Olympio Falconiere da Cunha, General Inspector Euclidés Zenóbio da Costa, Divisional Infantry Commander Oswaldo Cordeiro de Farias, Divisional Artillery Commander |
The Brazilian Expeditionary Force (Portuguese: Força Expedicionária Brasileira, FEB), nicknamed Cobras Fumantes (literally "the Smoking Snakes"),[1] was a military division of the Brazilian Army and Air Force that fought as part of Allied forces in the Mediterranean Theatre of World War II. It numbered around 25,900 men, including a full infantry division, liaison flight, and fighter squadron.[2]
Placed under United States command, Brazilian troops fought primarily in the liberation of Italy from September 1944 to May 1945, while the Brazilian Navy and Air Force took part in the Battle of the Atlantic from mid-1942 until the end of the war.[1] The FEB operated mostly at the platoon level,[3] seeing heavy combat at the arduous Gothic Line and during the 1945 final offensive. By the end of the war, it took 20,573 Axis prisoners, including two generals and close to 900 officers. The division lost 948 men killed in action across all three services.[4][2]
Vargas era Brazil was the only independent South American country to send combat troops overseas during the Second World War.[1] Known for its tenacity and bravery, the FEB was well-regarded by both allies and adversaries; it served with distinction in several battles, most notably at Collecchio, Camaiore, Monte Prano, and Serchio Valley.[1] Brazil's navy and air force played important roles in protecting Allied shipping and crippling Axis maritime power, inflicting disproportionately high losses on enemy munitions, supplies, and infrastructure.[1]
- ^ a b c d e Stilwell, Blake. "Why Brazilian troops had the best unit patch of World War II". Business Insider. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
- ^ a b Ibidem Maximiano, Bonalume, Ricardo N. & Bujeiro, 2011.
- ^ Frank D. McCann, "Brazil and World War II: The Forgotten Ally. What did you do in the war, Ze Carioca?" University of New Hampshire, p. 61.
- ^ Frank D. MacCann – 'Estudios Interdisciplinarios de America Latina y el Caribe', vol. 6, No. 2, 1995.