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Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB)
The Brazilian Expeditionary Force (Portuguese: Força Expedicionária Brasileira, FEB), nicknamed Cobras Fumantes (literally "the Smoking Snakes"), was a military division of the Brazilian Army and Air Force that fought with Allied forces in the Mediterranean Theatre of World War II. It numbered around 51,600 men, including a full infantry division, liaison flight, and fighter squadron.
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 participated in the Battle of the Atlantic from mid-1942 until the end of the war. The FEB operated mostly at the platoon level, 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.
References:
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_Expeditionary_Force
Montese's Museum
http://www.lineagoticamontese.eu/en/15-immagini-di-servizio/5-carti...
Brazilian Government Website
https://www.gov.br/en/government-of-brazil/latest-news/2022/the-bra...
Article: Why Brazilian troops had the best unit patch of World War II
https://www.businessinsider.com/why-brazilian-troops-had-best-world...
AEXP Campinas
https://www.aexpcamp.org.br/c%C3%B3pia-a-declara%C3%A7%C3%A3o-do-es...
Legião da Infantaria
http://www.legiaodainfantaria.eb.mil.br/htm/feb-3heroisbrasileiros.php
“The Snakes Are Smoking” The Brazilian Expeditionary Force in WW2
https://gruntsandco.com/snakes-smoking-brazilian-expeditionary-forc...
Brazilian Troops with 5th Army in Italy - Youtube
https://youtu.be/SIVPDImSdPE
Why Brazil's Noble Efforts in World War 2 Shouldn't be Forgotten - Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr20qE9EBCI
Grazie Soldato Brasiliano! (Thanks Brazilian soldier!) - Youtube. Language: Italian, subtitles in Portuguese.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJDD-e-QVho
Gaggio Montano - Commemora i caduti della Feb ((Força Expedicionária Brasileira) a Monte Castello - Youtube
https://youtu.be/3OrSAH-r1Uk
Audios of BBC with Brazilian soldiers - Youtube
https://youtu.be/YIytHkR1Cvc
SABATON - Smoking Snakes (Official Lyric Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3QMnxy2Grk
Books:
MAXIMIANO, Cesar (mit Bonalume, Ricardo N. & Bujeiro, Ramiro): Brazilian Expeditionary Force in World War II. Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2011. ISBN 978-1-849084833 (Print version).
MASCARENHAS DE MORAIS, João Baptista.: The Brazilian Expeditionary Force, By Its Commander. US Government Printing Office, 1966.
EDWARDS, Paul M.: Between the Lines of World War II: Twenty-One Remarkable People and Events. McFarland & Co. Inc. Publishers 2010 ISBN 978-0-786446674. Chapter 9 "The Smoking Cobras".
FERRAZ, F. C. Os Brasileiros e a Segunda Guerra Mundial. Jorge Zahar Editor, 2005.
ALVES, V. C. O Brasil e a Segunda Guerra Mundial: história de um envolvimento forçado. Editora PUCRJ, 2002.
SEITENFUS, R. A entrada do Brasil na Segunda Guerra Mundial. Editora PUCRS, 2000.
MORAES, J. B. M. de. A FEB pelo seu comandante. Rio de Janeiro: Bibliex, 2005.
A FORÇA EXPEDICIONÁRIA BRASILEIRA (FEB) foi uma força militar terrestre composta por 25.834 homens e mulheres, que durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial foi responsável pela participação do BRASIL ao lado dos Aliados na Campanha da ITÁLIA, em suas duas últimas fases (o rompimento da LINHA GÓTICA e a Ofensiva Aliada final naquela frente). A FEB era constituída pela 1ª DIVISÃO DE INFANTARIA EXPEDICIONÁRIA (1ª DIE). Seu lema de campanha, “A cobra está fumando”, era uma alusão irônica ao que se afirmava à época, que seria “mais fácil uma cobra fumar cachimbo do que o Brasil participar da guerra na Europa”
Fontes:
ADIEX
https://www.adiexitalia.org/index.php/pt/forca-expedicionaria-brasi...
Wikipedia
https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/For%C3%A7a_Expedicion%C3%A1ria_Brasil...