Portugal in the Great War
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Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
did not initially form part of the system of alliances involved in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and thus remained
neutral Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...
at the start of the conflict in 1914. But even though
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
and
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
remained officially at peace for over a year and a half after the outbreak of World War I, there were many hostile engagements between the two countries. Portugal wanted to comply with British requests for aid and protect its colonies in Africa, causing clashes with German troops in the south of
Portuguese Angola Portuguese Angola refers to Angola during the historic period when it was a territory under Portuguese rule in southwestern Africa. In the same context, it was known until 1951 as Portuguese West Africa (officially the State of West Africa). I ...
, which bordered
German South-West Africa German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With a total area of ...
, in 1914 and 1915 (see German campaign in Angola). Tensions between
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and Portugal also arose as a result of German
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
warfare, which sought to blockade the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, at the time the most important market for Portuguese products. Ultimately, tensions resulted in the confiscation of German ships interned in Portuguese ports, to which Germany reacted by declaring war on 9 March 1916, quickly followed by Portugal's reciprocal declaration. Approximately 12,000 Portuguese troops died during the course of World War I, including Africans who served in its armed forces on the colonial front. Civilian deaths in Portugal exceeded 220,000: 82,000 caused by food shortages and 138,000 by the
Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case wa ...
.


1914

* July: The German and British Empires enter into secret negotiations over a possible dismemberment of Portuguese Angola; in such a case, most of the land would fall into the hands of the Germans. An ''Angola-Bund'' ("Angola League" to promote a German takeover) had been founded in 1912. * August to September: Skirmishes occur between German and Portuguese colonial troops in Africa and the Germans instigate tribal revolts. ** Maziua raid (24 August): A small German force attacked a Portuguese outpost at Maziua in
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
, resulting in the first Portuguese casualties of World War I. The German central government accepted full responsibility, and offered an official apology. * September: The Portuguese government sends reinforcements to the southern border of Angola. After the war breaks out, the border between German South-West Africa and Angola remains open. The Germans hope to supply food and possibly even arms through it. However, the Portuguese colonial government is hostile and tries to stop all of the trade. A few German nationals in Angola are interned. * October: 1600 troops arrive in Portuguese Angola and 1527 troops arrive in
Portuguese Mozambique Portuguese Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique) or Portuguese East Africa (''África Oriental Portuguesa'') were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese colony. Portuguese Mozambique originally ...
from Portugal, transported by British ships.


1915

* November: 1543 troops arrive in Mozambique, commanded by Moura Mendes. The second force is tasked to recapture the
Kionga Triangle The Kionga Triangle (german: Kionga-Dreieck, pt, Triângulo de Quionga) was a small region of German East Africa situated at the mouth of the Ruvuma River. The Ruvuma served as the border between the German colony and Portuguese Mozambique, and ...
from the Germans.


1916

When Portugal complies with the British request to confiscate the German ships interned in Portuguese ports, Germany reacts by declaring war on Portugal, thus forcing the Portuguese officially into the war. * February 23: Following a British request, Portugal interns 36 German and Austro-Hungarian ships in Lisbon. * March 9: Germany declares war on Portugal, followed by Portugal's reciprocal declaration. The Portuguese government starts to organise the participation of its troops on the Western Front. Shortly afterward, Portugal begins closing its consulates in the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
(for their part, the Ottomans do not have any representation in Portugal). * March 15: Austria-Hungary declares war on Portugal. * June 9: Finance Minister
Afonso Costa Afonso Augusto da Costa, GCTE, GCL (; born in Seia, 6 March 1871; died in Paris, 11 May 1937) was a Portuguese lawyer, professor and republican politician. Political career Costa was the leader of the Portuguese Republican Party and he was ...
participates in an Allied Economic Conference in which the Allies decide that Germany would have to return the territories of Alsace-Lorraine to
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
(occupied since 1871) and
Kionga The Kionga Triangle (german: Kionga-Dreieck, pt, Triângulo de Quionga) was a small region of German East Africa situated at the mouth of the Ruvuma River. The Ruvuma served as the border between the German colony and Portuguese Mozambique, and ...
in Mozambique to Portugal (occupied since 1894) as a condition for peace. * July 15: The
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
government formally invites Portugal to take an active part in the military operations of the Allies. * July 22: The
Portuguese Expeditionary Corps The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (CEP, Portuguese: ''Corpo Expedicionário Português'') was the main military force from Portugal that fought in the Western Front, during World War I. Portuguese neutrality ended in 1916 after the Portuguese ...
(''Corpo Expedicionário Português, CEP''), with 30,000 soldiers, is established in
Tancos Tancos is a Portuguese ''freguesia'' ("civil parish"), located in the municipality of Vila Nova da Barquinha. The population in 2011 was 243,Norton de Matos Norton may refer to: Places Norton, meaning 'north settlement' in Old English, is a common place name. Places named Norton include: Canada * Rural Municipality of Norton No. 69, Saskatchewan * Norton Parish, New Brunswick **Norton, New Brunswick, ...
. * August 7: The Portuguese Parliament accepts the participation of Portugal in the war, following the invitation of the British government. The Portuguese war effort reaches 55,000 infantry soldiers, plus 1,000 artillerymen, to be sent to France, 4,000 soldiers per month, to man 12 km of battlefront. Only the first two divisions reach France. At the same time, Portugal fields forces in its African colonies: in Mozambique to defend the colony from German colonial forces and in the south of Angola against native unrest instigated by the Germans. * December 3: The German U-boat SM U-38, captained by
Max Valentiner Captain Christian August Max Ahlmann Valentiner (15 December 1883 – 19 July 1949) was a German U-boat commander during World War I. He was the third highest-scoring U-boat commander of the war, and was awarded the Pour le Mérite for his achievem ...
, enters
Funchal Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of its high ...
harbour in Madeira and torpedoes and sinks 3 ships: CS ''Dacia'' (), () and ''Surprise'' (). The commander of the French
gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-ste ...
''Surprise'' and 34 of her crew (7 Portuguese) die in the attack. The ''Dacia'', a British cable laying vessel, which had previously undertaken war work off the coast of Casablanca and
Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...
, was in the process of diverting the German South American cable into Brest, France. Following the attack, the Germans proceed to bombard
Funchal Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of its high ...
for two hours from a range of about . Batteries on Madeira return fire and eventually force the Germans to withdraw. * December 26: The French government asks Portugal to send artillery crews to France to operate 20 to 30 heavy artillery batteries.


1917

* A few Portuguese troops are sent to the
New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, fea ...
in Britain, to help with a timber shortage in collaboration with the Canadian Forestry Corps. The stone chimney of their
cookhouse A cookhouse is a small building where cooking takes place. Often found at remote work camps, they complemented the bunkhouse and were usually found on ranches that employed cowboys, or loggers in a logging camp. Prior to the 20th century, cookh ...
is retained as a monument to them, known as the Portuguese Fireplace. * January 3: A convention with Britain regulates Portuguese participation in the Western Front. Portuguese troops of the CEP to be integrated in the BEF ( British Expeditionary Force). * January 7: The
Independent Heavy Artillery Corps The Portuguese Independent Heavy Artillery Corps (''Corpo de Artilharia Pesada Indepedente'' in Portuguese, ''Corps d'artillerie lourde portugais'' in French), or the CAPI, was a Portuguese railway heavy artillery unit that operated on the Western ...
(''Corpo de Artilharia Pesada Independente'', CAPI) is created to respond to the French request for artillery crews. Under the Portuguese Superior Command, this unit is to operate 25 heavy artillery batteries. * February 2: The first Portuguese troops arrive at the port of
Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...
in
Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
, France. * February 23: The second contingent of the CEP leaves for France. * April 4: The Portuguese troops arrive at the front. The first Portuguese casualty is Private António Gonçalves Curado, killed in action. * May 30: The First Infantry Brigade of the CEP First Division occupies a sector at the battle front. * June 4: Germans attack the sector defended by the First Brigade. * June 16: Second Infantry Brigade occupies another sector on the battle front. * July 4:
SM U-155 ''Deutschland'' was a blockade-breaking German merchant submarine used during World War I. It was developed with private funds and operated by the North German Lloyd Line. She was the first of seven -class U-boats built and one of only two used ...
bombards
Ponta Delgada Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality ('' concelho'') and economic capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67, ...
,
Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
and kills four people. United States Navy coal collier USS ''Orion'' responds with 3-inch gunfire, causing U-155 to withdraw. * July 10: CEP First Division assumes responsibility of its part of the Portuguese sector on the battle front. It is subordinated to the XI Corps of the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
under the command of General
Richard Haking General Sir Richard Cyril Byrne Haking, (24 January 1862 – 9 June 1945), was a British general who commanded XI Corps in the First World War. Arguments over the late release of Haking's Corps on the first day of the Battle of Loos were instr ...
. CEP Third Infantry Brigade occupies a sector on the front. * September 23: The Fourth Brigade, known as the Brigade of Minho (''Brigada do Minho''), part of the Second Division, reaches the front. * October 17: The first Portuguese CAPI artillery soldiers, representing Portugal's direct support to the French war effort, arrive in France. They are designated by the French as the ''Corps d'artillerie lourde portugais'' (CALP). * November 5: Portuguese command assumes responsibility for its sector in the front. Until then, it had been under the command of General Henry Horne's
British First Army The First Army was a formation of the British Army that existed during the First and Second World Wars. The First Army included Indian and Portuguese forces during the First World War and American and French units during the Second World War. F ...
. * Late 1917: In Portuguese Mozambique, German officer
Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck (20 March 1870 – 9 March 1964), also called the Lion of Africa (german: Löwe von Afrika), was a general in the Imperial German Army and the commander of its forces in the German East Africa campaign. For four ye ...
enters the colony from nearby German East Africa after a series of long-running battles with numerically superior British forces. * December 12: two German U-boats, and (captained by
Max Valentiner Captain Christian August Max Ahlmann Valentiner (15 December 1883 – 19 July 1949) was a German U-boat commander during World War I. He was the third highest-scoring U-boat commander of the war, and was awarded the Pour le Mérite for his achievem ...
), again bombard
Funchal Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of its high ...
, Madeira. The attack lasts around 30 min and 40 and shells are fired. There are 3 fatalities and 17 wounded. In addition, a number of houses and Santa Clara Church are hit. * December 17: German U-boat ''U-156'' stops and scuttles the Portuguese ship ''Açoriano'' (a wooden three-masted schooner) southeast of the
Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
. * December 26: German U-boat ''U-157'' (captained by Max Valentiner) sinks the Portuguese ship ''Lidia'' in the Azores.


1918

* February 17: German U-boat SM U-157 (captained by Max Valentiner) sinks the Portuguese ship ''Estrella de Bissao'' off the coast of South Africa. * March 16: The Portuguese artillery batteries enter in action. * March 27: A German offensive restrains the Portuguese soldiers from being released. As a third Portuguese Division is never sent to France, the Portuguese Army receives no reinforcements at all. Portuguese soldiers have to serve in the battle front for long periods and are thus among the most exhausted men in the front. * April 6: The conditions of the Portuguese soldiers become so difficult that the British finally decide to release the Portuguese. The CEP is supposed to be reorganised, the First Division going to the rear as a reserve force and the Second Division becoming part of the Eleventh Corps of the British Army, under General Haking's command. Haking visits the Portuguese troops and decides to send the Second Division to the rear from April 9, which would never happen. The Germans attack the British lines, forcing them to retreat about 60 km. Instead of being released, the Portuguese troops have to fight off the German offensive on its sector. * April 9: The Battle of La Lys, as it becomes known in Portugal, or
Operation Georgette The Battle of the Lys, also known as the Fourth Battle of Ypres, was fought from 7 to 29 April 1918 and was part of the German spring offensive in Flanders during the First World War. It was originally planned by General Erich Ludendorff as O ...
or the Battle of Estaires to the British, starts with a heavy artillery barrage from the Germans, followed by a German offensive with intensive use of lethal gas. The German Sixth Army deploys eight divisions (about 100,000 men), supported by intensive artillery fire. Against the force, the Portuguese have 20,000 soldiers and 88 guns. As a result, the Second Division is decimated during the battle. The Portuguese CEP loses 327 officers and 7,098 soldiers, about 35% of its effective fighting capacity. The survivors are sent to the rear, some of the units being integrated into the British Army later on. During this battle, one of the most courageous acts in Portuguese military history is perpetrated, as private
Aníbal Milhais Aníbal Augusto Milhais GOTE (; 9 July 1895 – 3 June 1970), nicknamed "Soldado Milhões" (; "Soldier Millions", for being "worth a million men"), was the most decorated Portuguese soldier of World War I and the only Portuguese soldier awarded t ...
(also known as "Soldado Milhões" A Soldier as good as a million others" in his commanding officer's words defends the retreating allied forces with nothing but his machine gun, allowing them to fall back and regroup. Once he runs out of bullets, he escapes the battlefield. After defeating two German regiments and forcing the remaining German forces to go around him (they find it impossible to defeat what they believe to be an heavily armed post), he gets lost along the way, having to eat nothing but the sweet almonds his family had sent him from Portugal for three days. Lost and exhausted, he is able to rescue a British major from drowning in a swamp. The major leads him to the Allied camp and tells of Milhais's deeds. * July: General Tomás António Garcia Rosado is appointed as the new Commanding Chief of the remaining CEP. * July: German forces under
Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck (20 March 1870 – 9 March 1964), also called the Lion of Africa (german: Löwe von Afrika), was a general in the Imperial German Army and the commander of its forces in the German East Africa campaign. For four ye ...
capture Namacurra in Portuguese East Africa and seize important arms and supplies for his force after similar smaller successes against Portuguese outposts had already helped reprovision his force. * July 4: CEP First Division is subordinated to the
British Fifth Army The Fifth Army was a field army of the British Army during World War I that formed part of the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front between 1916 and 1918. The army originated as the Reserve Corps during the preparations for the Brit ...
commanded by General
William Birdwood Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, (13 September 1865 – 17 May 1951) was a British Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Lord Kitchener. He saw action again in the First World War ...
. * August 25: General Garcia Rosado assumes command of the CEP in France. The German U-boat SM U-157 sinks the Portuguese ship ''Gloria'', from Porto Santo,
Madeira Islands ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
. * September 22: German U-boat SM U-157 sinks the Portuguese ship ''Gaia'', near the Azores. * October 14: In the action of 14 October 1918, Portuguese patrol boat NRP Augusto Castilho (commanded by Carvalho Araújo) is sunk by the German U-boat U-139 (commanded by Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière) after several hours of fighting. * November 11: Germany accepts the armistice proposed by the Allies. The war ends. The war causes Portugal 8,145 dead, 13,751 wounded and 12,318 prisoners or missing. At sea, 96 Portuguese ships are sunk (100,193 tons) and 5 Portuguese ships damaged (7,485 tons) by German submarines.


After the war


1919

* January 19: The Portuguese delegation at the Peace Conference in
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
, France, is led by Professor Egas Moniz. In the
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
, Germany cedes the port of
Kionga The Kionga Triangle (german: Kionga-Dreieck, pt, Triângulo de Quionga) was a small region of German East Africa situated at the mouth of the Ruvuma River. The Ruvuma served as the border between the German colony and Portuguese Mozambique, and ...
, associated with German East Africa (now mainland
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
), to Portugal. This is the only territorial gain acquired by Portugal for its participation in World War I on the side of the victorious Allies.


1921

* November 19:
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
, the last emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, goes into exile on the Portuguese island of Madeira, where he remains until his death on April 1, 1922. In 1917, he had tried to enter secretly peace negotiations with France. Although his foreign minister
Ottokar Czernin Ottokar Theobald Otto Maria ''Graf'' Czernin von und zu Chudenitz ( cs, Otakar Theobald Otto Maria hrabě Černín z Chudenic; 26 September 1872 – 4 April 1932) was an Austro-Hungarian diplomat and politician during the time of World War I, nota ...
was interested in negotiating only a general peace that would include Germany as well, Charles himself, in negotiations with the French with his brother-in-law
Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma (; 1 August 1886 – 14 March 1934) was a member of the House of Bourbon-Parma, a Belgian officer in World War I, and the central figure in the Sixtus Affair, an attempt to negotiate a treaty to end Austria-Hungary' ...
, an officer in the Belgian army, as an intermediary, went much farther in suggesting his willingness to make a separate peace. When news of the overture leaked in April 1918, Charles denied involvement until French Prime Minister
Georges Clemenceau Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (, also , ; 28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. A key figure of the Independent Radicals, he was a ...
published letters signed by Charles. That led to Czernin's resignation and forced Austria-Hungary into an even more dependent position with respect to its German ally. Determined to prevent a restoration attempt, the Council of Allied Powers agreed on Madeira as a place of exile for the former emperor because it was isolated in the Atlantic and easily guarded.


See also

*
Portugal during World War II At the start of World War II in 1939, the Portuguese Government announced on 1 September that the 550-year-old Anglo-Portuguese Alliance remained intact, but since the British did not seek Portuguese assistance, Portugal was free to remain neu ...


References


Works cited

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Portugal In World War I Portugal in World War I
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...