The Brazilian Expeditionary Force (, FEB), nicknamed (), 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.Ibidem Maximiano, Bonalume, Ricardo N. & Bujeiro, 2011.

Placed under United States command, Brazilian troops fought primarily in the Italian campaign 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. The FEB operated mostly at the platoon level,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. 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.Frank D. MacCann – 'Estudios Interdisciplinarios de America Latina y el Caribe', vol. 6, No. 2, 1995.

Brazil was the only independent South American country to send combat troops overseas during the Second World War. 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. 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.

Overview Brazil's participation in World War II on the Allied side was not a foregone conclusion. Although it had supported the Triple Entente in World War I—as had now-Axis-aligned Japan and Romania—the country's contribution to the war took place in its waning years and was primarily naval, although it also sent a small military mission to the Western Front. In the years leading up to World War II, Brazil was the biggest non-European consumer of German products and ranked ninth among Germany's trading partners overall. It also hosted a large and influential German community that engendered closer ties to Germany.

As in 1914, Brazil in 1939 maintained a position of neutrality, initially trading with both Allied and Axis countries. As the war progressed, trade with the Axis became subject to British and U.S. diplomatic and economic pressure. These efforts included the creation of the Joint Brazil-U.S. Defense Commission, chaired by U.S. Army Major General James Garesche Ord, which was broadly aimed at strengthening military ties between the countries; however, its central goal was to reduce the likelihood of Axis attacks on U.S. shipping across the Atlantic and minimize Axis influence in South America.Stetson Conn, Byron Fairchild, Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, The Framework of Hemisphere Defense, 1960, p. 319

Although Brazil was officially neutral, it increasingly cooperated with the Allies, particularly the U.S., shortly after the latter entered World War II in December 1941. The Pan American States Conference, which took place in Rio de Janeiro from 15–28 January 1942, was convened in the wake of the U.S. declaration of war against the Axis powers. The meeting centered on U.S. offers of economic assistance to Latin America countries in return for security cooperation and the severing of diplomatic ties with Axis members; Brazil consequently ended diplomatic relations with Germany, Japan, and Italy by the end of January."Avalon Project – A Decade of American Foreign Policy 1941–1949 – Havana Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the American Republics, July 21–30, 1940". Avalon.law.yale.edu. Retrieved 2016-09-10 With the country's entry into the war, the government created internment camps to imprison POWs and citizens of the Axis countries suspected of being a risk to national security.Duarte, Alexandre. Garattoni, Bruno.

Pursuant to the conference, Brazil permitted the U.S. to set up air bases on its territory in return for assistance in developing a domestic steel industry, Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional, which would serve the American war effort and afterwards benefit the Brazilian economy. The bases were located in the north-central states of Bahia, Pernambuco, and Rio Grande do Norte, where the city of Natal hosted part of the U.S. Navy's VP-52 bombing squadron, which later became the largest overseas U.S. airbase. Brazil also hosted U.S. Task Force 3, which included a squadron equipped to attack submarines and merchant vessels attempting to trade with Japan.

Nevertheless, unlike in 1917, the Brazilian government sought to avoid war and instead maintain economically beneficial ties with both sides.Jefferson Caffery to Cordell Hull, Rio, April 22, 1939, 832.00/1255, RG59, National Archives (NA) Washington. Notwithstanding its formal neutrality and reticence to declare war, Brazil's cooperation with the U.S. and break in diplomatic relations prompted immediate German reprisals. From the end of January to August 1942, German U-boats sank 18 Brazilian merchant vessels; the spate of attacks was especially severe after June 16, when Hitler personally called for a "submarine blitz" against Brazil, having considered its closer ties with the U.S. to be tantamount to an act of war. By mid-August, the Germans were targeting shipping closer to Brazil's coast; alone sank five Brazilian vessels in two days, causing more than 600 deaths:VEJA Edição Especial – O Brasil na Guerra

On August 15, the Baependy, traveling from Salvador to Recife, was torpedoed at 19:12. Its 215 passengers and 55 crew members were lost. Less than an hour later, U-507 torpedoed the Araraquara, also traveling from Salvador towards the north of the country. Of the 142 people on board, 131 died. Seven hours after the second attack, the Anníbal Benévolo was attacked, killing all 83 passengers and all but four of its 71 crew. On August 17, close to the city of Vitória, the Itagiba was hit at 10:45, resulting in 36 deaths. Another Brazilian ship, the Arará, traveling from Salvador to Santos, was targeted as it stopped to help the crippled Itagiba, suffering 20 fatalities.

In all, 21 German and two Italian submarines sank 36 Brazilian merchant ships, resulting in the deaths of nearly 2,000 people. The wave of August attacks proved to be a breaking point, especially since the victims included army soldiers and religious pilgrims. Brazil "erupted in a wave of revulsions" as anti-Axis demonstrations, some of them violent, spread across most major cities, including Rio de Janeiro. Protestors burned the flags of the Axis powers and chanted "We want war!"; in some cases, German communities were harassed.Hélio Silva, "1942 Guerra no Continente" The passive position of the Vargas government proved untenable in the face of public opinion, and on August 22, within a week of the last U-boat attack, the Brazilian cabinet approved a declaration of war against the Axis nations.McCann, Frank D. (January 1, 1995). "Brazil and World War II The Forgotten Ally. What did you do in the war, Zé Carioca". Estudios Interdisciplinarios de América Latina y el Caribe. 6 (2). .

Although Brazil continued to provide much needed supplies, war material, and strategic territory for foreign bases, the decision to contribute troops came several months later, at the Potenji River Conference of 28 and 29 January 1943. Held in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte aboard the , the meeting between U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Getúlio Vargas resulted in greater political, economic, and military cooperation between the U.S. and Brazil, including invitations for the latter to play a larger role in the postwar global order. Vargas and Foreign Minister Oswaldo Aranha saw the commitment of soldiers as a means of solidifying the strategic partnership with the U.S., and of enhancing Brazilian prestige and influence on the global stage.

Navy

The participation of the Brazilian Navy in World War II was not directly connected to the FEB and the Italian Campaign, as it was largely engaged in the Battle of the Atlantic. Axis naval attacks caused nearly 1,600 deaths, which included 500 civilians, 470 merchant seamen, and 570 sailors of the Navy; roughly one in seven Brazilian sailors would perish in the campaign. A total of 36 ships were sunk by the Germans, with an additional three lost (and 350 killed) in accidental sinkings.Relação de navios brasileiros afundados

The main task of the Brazilian Navy was, together with the Allies, to ensure the safety of ships sailing between the central and south Atlantic to Gibraltar. Alone or in coordination with Allied forces, it escorted 614 convoys that protected 3,164 merchant ships and troop transports.Votaw: 1950, pp. 10579ff. 1951, p. 93. In the battle against German submarines, Brazilian frigates and submarines used mines and depth charges. According to German documents, the Brazilian Navy attacked German submarines a total of 66 times.

Allied forces are confirmed to have destroyed twelve German submarines along the Brazilian coasts: the U-boats U-128, U-161, U-164, U-199, U-507, U-513, U-590, U-591, U-598, U-604 and U-662.Heden, 2006. Pages: 58 (6, Wed.), 59 (13, Wed.), 64 (15, Thu.), 66 (17, Mon.), 70 (9, Fri.), 72–73 (19, Mon), 74 (30, Fri. and 31, Sat.); Chapters 6 (German Submarine Losses) & 7 (Italian Submarine Losses).Several, James L. p. 17, section "1.16.5 Brazil".Barone, 2013. Chapter 2 (final).

Among the warships lost by the Brazilian Navy were the minelayer Camaquã, which capsized during a storm while escorting a convoy in July 1944, and the light cruiser Bahia due to a gunnery accident in July 1945;Bonalume, 1995. p. 216. the majority of the latter's crew were lost. Of the three Brazilian military ships lost during the war, only the freighter-troopship Vital de Oliveira was due to the action of an enemy submarine, being sunk by the U-861 on July 20, 1944.Rohwer, 1999. p. 183.

By the end of the war, the entirety of the South Atlantic convoy had been turned over to the Brazilian Navy, thereby relieving American and British vessels for urgently needed service elsewhere.The Brazilian Navy in World War II | Proceedings - May 1950 Vol. 76/5/567 (usni.org)

Command

The Brazilian 1st Division of the FEB was subordinate to the Allied 15th Army Group under Field Marshal Harold Alexander (later succeeded by General Mark Clark), via the US Fifth Army of Lieutenant General Mark Clark (later succeeded by Lieutenant General Lucian Truscott) and the US IV Corps of Major General Willis D. Crittenberger. The entry for the Gothic Line order of battle provides the layout for the Allied and German armies in Italy.

FEB headquarters functioned as an administrative headquarters and link to the Brazilian high command under the secretary of war, General Eurico Gaspar Dutra in Rio de Janeiro. General Mascarenhas de Morais (later marshal) was the commander of the FEB, with General Zenóbio da Costa as chief of the 6th Regimental Combat Team (RCT) of Caçapava (the first FEB RCT to land in Italy), and General Cordeiro de Farias as commander of artillery.