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| • "Spanish
Troops at Pensacola" Florida, 1780 • "The Borinqueneers" South Korea, February 2, 1951 • Cuidado - Take Care, Bushmasters! |
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| DefenseLINK |
| DefendAmerica |
| FirstGov |
 ecause
of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (BEF), Brazil had the distinction
of being the only Latin American nation whose participation in World
War II was represented in division strength. The first Brazilians
to fight in Europe were the men of the 6th Regimental Combat Team,
committed in Italy on 14 September 1944. Other elements of the BEF
followed and were assigned to sectors at the front controlled by the
U.S. IV Corps of the Fifth Army. In 401 days of continuous operation
as part of the IV Corps, the Brazilians took part in the liberation
of 24,580 square miles of Italian soil, including more than six hundred
towns and cities. One of the unit's more memorable engagements was
an attack in support of the IV Corps 10th Mountain Division assigned
to take a series of mountain peaks and ridges which had been used
by the Germans to observe U.S. troop movements along one of the two
main arteries to Bologna and the Fifth Army s front. Two objectives
of the Mountain Divisions attack were Riva Ridge and the Monte Belvedere-Monte
della Torraccia. Riva Ridge was a cliff that rose almost fifteen hundred
feet from the valley floor, all of which had to be scaled prior to
gaining access to Monte Belvedere. Covering on the right, the BEF
was to hold a three-mile sector between the Mountain Division's right
flank and the Reno River in front of the Fifth Army. During the operation,
the BEF seized Monte Castello, about one mile southeast of Monte della
Torraccia. Soon after nightfall, on 23 February 1945, the Brazilians
assaulted the crest and seized their objective, thereby protecting
the Mountain Division's right flank from enemy counterattack. Featured
in this painting are members of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force
in the final stages of defeating the enemy on Monte Castello. The
men of the BEF are firing an 81-mm mortar and are attired in typical
American uniforms of the World War II period: wool trousers, M1943
field jacket, and the modified M1910 individual equipment which included
the M1 rifle, Ml carbine, and the M1A1 Thompson submachine gun. Source |
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