Pvt. Francisco de Paula of the 1st ED. Brazilian artillery in the Brazilian Expeditionary Force

Pvt. Francisco de Paula of the 1st ED. Brazilian artillery in the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (Portuguese: Força Expedicionária Brasileira, or FEB), prepares to load a 105 mm M2A1 howitzer, placing a shell into the breech of his gun with the inscription “A cobra está fumando" ("The snake is smoking") during the Italian Campaign.

The soldiers of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force called themselves Cobras Fumantes (literally, Smoking Snakes) and wore a divisional shoulder patch that showed a snake smoking a pipe.

Near Massarosa, Tuscany, Italy. 29th September 1944.

One of my favorite musical genres is Bossa Nova, which derives from Brazilian samba, and as such I figured I would cover the lesser known but important group of Brazilians who fought in the Second World War with the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB).

Brazil had assisted the Entente in the First World War and when she was called upon for a second time during the Second, she answered. Brazil provided crucial shipments of food and various other supplies to an enbattled Britain, and in 1944 sent her sons to the frontlines of the Italian Theater.

The FEB first arrived in Italy in July 1944 under American command, allowing some American units to rotate to the western European Theater which was now in the process of stagnation. Brazilian combat operations would commence that September around the Serchio valley.

Winter meant the FEB were unable to effectively advance from their positions along the Gothic Line. The men endured harsh weather conditions, shelling, assaults, and stiffening German resistance.

Between the end of February and the beginning of March 1945, in preparation for the Spring offensive, the Brazilian Division and the U.S. 10th Mountain Division were able to capture important positions in the northern Apennines (noteworthy in the Brazilian sector, for Monte Castello and Castelnuovo), which deprived the Germans of key artillery positions in the mountains, whose effective fire had since the fall of 1944 blocked the Allied path to Bologna.

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