top of page

Check out this video about the Brazilian Expeditionary Force WWII Italy

BEF WWII ITALY 

1944

 

 

  • The leading politicians in Brazil were divided between two groups, Pro-Axis and Pro-USA.

  •  The United States started to worry because they didn’t want the Latin American region to shift away and towards Germany, President Franklin D. Roosevelt launched a “Good Neighbor” policy

  • The US and Brazil has becomeneutral during the outbreak of war in Europe

  • Brazil had a merchant ship sunk in 42 or 43 that showcased evidence of German’s ways of treatment for their prisoners, especially if they were Jewish

  • Brazil declared war against Germany and it’s allies on August 22nd, 1942

  • Baby boomers

  • Women had to take over men's jobs 

  • Women were overtaken with stress so they went to clubs and started smoking 

  • Women started socializing with the men that had not gone to war

  • The birth rate was very low before the war and then it rapidly increased

  • Before, Brazil relied heavily on their primary resources for exporting as the country's income, this consisted of mainly agricultural products, coffee and raw materials

  • Infrastructure was poor with a few energy plants, railroads, as well as industries

  • World War 2 had a positive impact on Brazil economically, the war effort improved facilities and reconstructed railroads

  • They were left with new modern airfields and exports stimulated for agriculture, mining, and steel

  • Brazil's army, air force and navy had gained combat experience and had the latest technology for artillery

  • The war also provided many opportunities for women to join the workforce

Lieutenant General Rui Barbosa Moreira Lima is one of three Brazilian veteran fighter pilots alive.He was in the Brazilian Expeditionary Force. His first mission was on November 6rh, 1944 he went on 94 missions, and was hit nine times, with multiple shots each time; on one occasion, there were 57 holes in his airplane, he’d taken shots in the wing, which caused significant damage to its aerodynamics, that was on April 29, 1945, he almost died. 

   

Battle

  • The Italian campaign was the name of a very important mission for the Allies to get in and out of Italy

  • The Brazilian Expeditionary Force started as a political  project to make Brazil a “special ally” of the United States

  • Britain didn't want to send them into battle

  • The Americans conceded to BEF deployment in Italy because of Brazilian wartime cooperation

  • A total of 25,335 Brazilian troops came under the command of the U.S. Fifth Army

  •  Brazilian military and political leaders rejected Allied offers to remain as an occupying force in postwar Europe

  • In late 1945, the FEB returned home and was disbanded

bottom of page