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Brazilian Army |
| Brazilian Army Exército Brasileiro |
|
|---|---|
 President Lula reviews the soldiers who will participate in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti |
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| Active | 1824 - |
| Country |  Brazil |
| Branch | Army |
| Size | 190,000 active personnel 82 aircraft |
| Part of | Ministry of Defence |
| Command Headquarters | Brasília/DF |
| Patron | Luís Alves de Lima e Silva |
| Motto | Braço Forte, Mão Amiga |
| March | "Canção do Exército" |
| Anniversaries | August 25 (Soldier's Day) April 19 (Brazilian Army Day) |
| Engagements | War of Independence Argentina-Brazil War War of Tatters War of the Triple Alliance World War I World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Commander-in-Chief | President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva |
| Commander | General Enzo Martins Peri |
| Notable commanders |
Luís Alves de Lima e Silva Eurico Gaspar Dutra Artur da Costa e Silva |
| Insignia | |
| Insignia |  |
The Brazilian Army is the land arm of the Brazilian Military. The Brazilian Army has fought in two major international conflicts, the War of the Triple Alliance and the Second World War.
Contents |
After the Brazilian declaration of independence from Portugal in 1822, the Brazilian Army was created to defeat the Portuguese resistance (especially in Bahia) but also to avoid a fragmentation of the new Brazilian Empire. It destroyed any separatist tendencies of the early years, supporting the authority of Emperor Dom Pedro I across his vast country and was complemented by the National Guard, a paramilitary militia supported by the big slave and land owners, aka as Colonels.
In the Regency Era period, after the renunciation of the first Emperor (but before the second emperor become old enough to be ascend the throne) the Army had to repress a host of popular movements for political autonomy and/or against the slavery and colonels' power across Brazil.
On May 1 1865, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina signed the Triple Alliance to defend themselves against aggression from Paraguay, which was ruled by the dictator Francisco López, whose troops after had invaded Brazilian territory through the state of Mato Grosso and the north of Argentina was heading for south of Brazil and north of Uruguay. Many slaves had been incorporated into the Brazilian forces to face the increasingly serious situation. As a result of their solid performance during the conflict, the Armed Forces developed a strong sense against slavery. After 5 years of a terrible warfare (the largest in South American history), the Alliance lead by Brazil defeated Lopez.
During World War I the Brazilian government sent three small military groups to Europe soon after declaring war upon Central Powers in October 1917. The first two units were from the Army; one consisted of medical staff and the other of a sergeants-officers corps, and both were attached to the French Army in the Western Front in 1918.
Between 1893 and 1926, the first Republican Period, the Army had to deal with various movements: some were derived from Navy and Army corps who were unsatisfied with the regime and clamoring for democratic changes, while others had popular origins without conventional political intentions guided by messianic leaders.
From October 1930 to 1945, the Army give the necessary support for the Getulio Vargas regime against its opposition, defeating the Constitutionalist Revolt in 1932 and two separate coup d’état attempts: by Communists in 1935 and by Fascists in 1938. The Army also helped to formalize the dictatorship in 1937.
In August 1942, after German and Italian submarines sunk many Brazilian merchant ships, popular mobilization forced the Brazilian government to declare war on Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. In July 1944, after almost two years of public pressure, one expeditionary force was sent to Europe to join the Allied forces in the Italian campaign.
During eight months of campaign the ground forces of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force managed to take 20,573 Axis prisoners (two generals, 892 officers and 19,679 other ranks) and had 443 men killed in action. It also had support from the FAB (Brazilian Air Force) recently created to fight in that war.
In the night of March, 31 1964, the Brazilian Army, then led by General Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco seized power through a coup d’état, beginning the Military Dictatorship in Brazil, which lasted 21 years until March 1985. This was the first of a series of coups d’état that discharged elected liberal governments by force, setting military regimes in their place, that would rule the South American Political scene until 1980's.
In this period the Army employed all means it judged necessary to speak a decisive word over any group that tried to object the dictatorship: legally; changing the law, first abolishing and repealing civil and political rights little by little, after harassing and pursuing those who tried to make democratic demands, and militarily; with support of police forces and militias, proceeding with methods of counter-guerrilla and counter-insurgency warfare to defeat the guerrilla movements that tried to combat the regime by force. The urban guerrillas were active in Brazil between 1968 and 1971 while in the rural areas the 2 main movements subdued by the Army were respectively, one in the region where are today the Caparaó National Park (1967) and the other in the region of Araguaya River (1972-74).
Internationally, in 1965 the Brazilian Army joined forces with US marines intervening in the Dominican Republic, in Operation Powerpack, along with cooperation with armies from other South American countries giving and receiving advisement about counter-guerrilla and counter-insurgency methods as well as information about political dissidents.
Since the 1950's it has taken part in some United Nations missions as for example: Suez 1956-67, East Timor 1999-2004 and Haiti since 2004, being the latest, the most recent outside intervention in Haiti.
Active troops: 287,000
Reserves:
General HQ:
Military Commands:
Military Regions:
The Brazilian Army has four Jungle Infantry Brigades (1st, 16th, 17th and 23th Jungle Infantry Brigades) and a Jungle Warfare Training Center. [1]
The Special Operations Brigade is Brazil's primary army special operations force, and is the only unit of the Army trained in conducting unconventional warfare. Although administratively assigned to the Plateau Military Command, the brigade prepare and employment is under the direct control of the Land Operations Comand. [2]
Special Forces was initially formed in 1957 as a parachute trained rescue unit, which specialized in conducting deep jungle rescues along the Amazon basin. After conducting it's initial selection, a US Army Special Forces Mobile Training Team (MTT) conducted the unit's first training course. [3]
| Equipment | Origin | Type | Versions | In service[4] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leopard Tank |  Germany |
tank | 1A1 | 128 | |
| Leopard Tank | Germany |
tank | 1A5 | 0 | ordered 240 (ex-German Army) |
| M-60 |  United States |
tank | A3 | 91 | |
| M-41 | United States |
light tank | M-41B/C | 112 | |
| EE-9 Cascavel | Brazil |
armored car/recon | EE-9 | 409 | 45 being upgraded |
| EE-11 Urutu | Brazil |
armoured personnel carrier | EE-11 | 213 | 121 being upgraded |
| M-113 | United States |
armoured personnel carrier | M-113 | 584 | 350 being upgraded |
| M108 | United States |
self-propelled artillery | 105 mm | 72 | |
| M-109 | United States |
self-propelled artillery | 155 mm | 38 | |
| ASTROS II | Brazil |
multiple rocket launcher | 108/180/300 mm | 20 | |
| M578 | United States |
command armor vehicle | 17 | ||
| M114 | United States |
towed howitzer | 155 mm | 92 | |
| L118 |  United Kingdom |
towed howitzer | 105 mm | 36 | |
| OTO Melara Mod 56 |  Italy |
towed howitzer | 105 mm | ? | |
| M101 | United States |
towed howitzer | 105 mm | 320 | |
| M2 | Brazil |
towed mortar | 120 mm | 60 | |
| M30 | United States |
towed mortar | 107 mm | 209 | |
| M936 AGR | Brazil |
towed mortar | 81 mm | ? | |
| RO | United Kingdom |
towed mortar | 81 mm | ? | |
| M949 AGR | Brazil |
light mortar | 60 mm | ? | |
| Brandt 60 |  France |
light mortar | 60 mm | ? | |
| Oerlikon 35mm |  Switzerland Italy |
towed aa artillery | 35 mm | 38 | |
| Bofors 40mm L/70 |  Sweden |
towed aa artillery | 40 mm | 24 | |
| Bofors 40mm L/60 | Sweden |
towed aa artillery | 40 mm | 103 | |
| M40 | United States |
recoiless rifle | 106 mm | 105 | |
| Carl Gustav | Sweden |
recoiless rifle | 84 mm | 127 | |
| AT4 | Sweden |
rocket laucher | 84 mm | ? | |
| ERYX | France |
anti-tank guided missile | 20 | ||
| MILAN |  European Union |
anti-tank guided missile | 12 | ||
| Igla |  Russia |
SAM missile | SA-18 | 56 | |
| Roland | European Union |
SAM missile | Roland II | 4 | not operational |
The Army operates 82 helicopters, of which the 16 Helibras HB 350 represent the only Brazilian-produced aircraft.
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Versions | In service[5] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurocopter AS 532 Cougar | France Germany Spain |
transport helicopter | AS 532UE | 8 | |
| Eurocopter AS 550 Fennec | France Germany Spain |
scout/liaison/attack helicopter | AS 550A-2 | 20 | |
| Eurocopter AS 365 Panther | France Germany Spain |
transport/attack helicopter | AS 365K | 34 | |
| Helibras HB 350 | Brazil |
utility/attack helicopter | HB 350-1 | 16 | |
| Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk | United States |
transport helicopter | S-70A | 4 |
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