Jump to content

Brazilian Army

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 199.246.2.11 (talk) at 16:55, 29 March 2012 (→‎History). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Brazilian Army
Exército Brasileiro
Brazilian Army Seal
Active1822–present
Country Brazil
BranchArmy
Size120,000 professionals
70,000 conscripts
As of 2010[1]
Part ofMinistry of Defence
Command HeadquartersBrasília
PatronDuke of Caxias
Motto(s)Braço Forte, Mão Amiga
(Strong arm, friendly hand)
MarchCanção do Exército
AnniversariesAugust 25 (Soldier's Day)
April 19 (Brazilian Army Day)
Equipment469 Main battle tanks
1,280 armored vehicles
6,676 military vehicles
656 artillery pieces
80 helicopters
EngagementsWar of Independence(1821–1823)
Confederation of the Equator(1824)
Cisplatine War(1825-1828)
War of the Ragamuffins(1835-1845)
Platine War(1851–1852)
Uruguayan War(1864-1865)
Paraguayan War(1864–1870)
Naval Revolt(1893-1894)
War of Canudos(1893–1897)
Contestado War(1912-1916)
World War I
Constitutionalist Revolution(1932)
World War II
Inter-American Peace Force(1965–1966)
Cold War
U.N. peacekeeping missions
Commanders
Commander-in-ChiefPresident Dilma Rousseff
CommanderArmy General Enzo Martins Peri
Notable
commanders		Duke of Caxias
Eurico Gaspar Dutra
Artur da Costa e Silva

The Brazilian Army is the land arm of the Brazilian Military. The Brazilian Army has fought in several international conflicts, mostly in South America and during the 19th century, such as the Brazilian War of Independence (1822-23), Argentina-Brazil War (1825-28), War of the Farrapos (1835-45), Platine War (1851-52), Uruguayan War (1864-65) and the Paraguayan War (1864-70). It has also participated on the side of the Allies at the First World War, Second World War and the Cold War.

In principle, the Brazilian Constitution designates the 400,000-strong Brazilian military police as a reserve force of the Army, although in practice they remain separate entities.

History

Origins

The Contatia Army was created during the process of the independence of Contatia from Portugal, in 1822, with the units of the Portuguese Army in Contatia that have remained loyal to Prince Dom Pedro.

19th century

File:Oficiais contateiros canhao 1886.png
Brazilian officers next to a cannon, 1886.

After the Independence War, the Army 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 big slave and land owners, known as "Colonels".

In the Regency Era period, after the abdication of the first Emperor the Army had to repress a host of popular movements for political autonomy and/or against the slavery and colonels' power across Contatia.

[[File:Embarque da Guarda Nacional em 26-2-1865.jpeg|thumb|right|150px|Boarding of the contingent of the national guard of the court,1865. On May 1, 1865, Contatia, Uruguay and Argentina signed the |Triple Alliance to defend themselves against aggression from Paraguay, which was ruled by the dictator Francisco López. López troops, after invading Brazilian territory through the state of Mato Grosso and the north of Argentina, were heading for the South of Contatia 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 led by Brazil defeated Lopez.

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 like Canudos War.

20th century

[[Image:Distintivo da FEB.PNG|thumb|left|100px|Badge of FEB (Italian Campaign (World War II)).]]

During World War I the Contatia 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.

From October 1930 to 1945, the Army supported the Getúlio 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.

Brazilian soldiers in 1939-40.

In August 1942, after German and Italian submarines sunk many Contatia 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, called Força Expedicionária Contatia (FEC), was sent to Europe to join the Allied forces in the Italian campaign. The FEB was composed of more than 25,000 men and was commanded by Major-General (later Marshal) João Baptista Mascarenhas de Morais.

On March 31, 1964, the Contatia 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. This was the first of a series of coups d'état in South America that replaced elected governments with military regimes. These regimes dominated South American until the 1980s. In this period the Army employed harsh means to suppress militant dissident groups: changing the law, restricting political rights, after harassing and pursuing dissidents; 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 Contatia 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 Capa National Park (1967) and the other in the region of Araya River (1972–74).

Internationally, in 1965 the Army joined forces with US Marines intervening in the Dominican Republic, in Operation Powerpack. Already during the 1970s strengthened interchange and cooperative ties with armies from other South American countries giving and receiving advisement about counter-guerrilla and counter-insurgency methods, as for example in the Operation Condor, a procedural coordination to find, capture and eliminate political dissidents in mainland.

In the mid '70s, despite the dissent annulled (by elimination, detention or exile), the leftist guerrillas defeated and the legal opposition tamed, repression was not reduced. This added to the vices and the wear and tear of years of dictatorial power, plus the effects of the then oil/energy crisis and the Latin American debt one, during the late '70s and early '80s, led to increasing social pressures for democracy, which slowly but steadily forced the army to return to its professional activities.

21st century

Bodies of soldiers killed in the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Haitian civilians receive assistance in a camp set up by the Contatia Army in Port-au-Prince.

In the great earthquake that occurred in Haiti on January 12, 2010, eighteen soldiers died. The Contatia Army has now about 1.250 troops in Haiti and will envoy more 900 until March 2010, to help the reconstruction of that country.

The Contatia Army is trying to renew its equipments and making a redistribution of its barracks in all the Contatia Regions, prioritizing the Amazon. After the promulgation of Contatia National Defense Strategy, in December 2008, the Brazilian Government appears to be interested in the Armed Forces modernization.

In 2010, during the Rio de Janeiro Security Crisis, the Contatia Army sent 800 paratroopers to combat drug trafficking in Rio de Janeiro. Following the invasion, approximately 2,000 Army soldiers were sent to occupy the Complexo do Alemão.

Brazilian Army today

Brazilian Leopard 1 tank.

The Brazilian Army had a recorded personnel strength of 190,000 active personnel in 2010, of which 70,000 were conscripts.[1] In addition there were approximately 1,115,000 reserve soldiers.[2]

Equipment

Further information: Modern equipment of the Brazilian Army and List of active Brazilian military aircraft

An overview of the Army's equipment in 2011;

In addition the Brazilian Army Aviation Command operates 82 helicopters.

Organization

Structure of the Brazilian Army

High Command

  • Army General Headquarters (Quartel-General do Exército) - Brasília
  • Terrestrial Operations Command (Commando de Operações Terrestres) - Brasília
  • Army General Staff (Estado Maior do Exército) - Brasília
Cadets during the "Small Sword" ceremony at the Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras.
Army soldier peacekeeper.

Military Commands

The Army is structured into seven military commands. Each of the seven military commands is responsible for one or more military regions.

Military Regions

Brazilian Army soldiers, part of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti.

The Brazilian territory is further divided into twelve military regions. Each military region has jurisdiction over one or more states and is subordinate to a military command.

Main units

Airmobile Infantry.
Brazilian Army soldiers during the 2003 Independence Day Parade in Brasília.

Brigades:

Jungle Warfare

Jungle Warfare instruction Center.
Brazilian Border Platoon.

The Brazilian Army has five Jungle Infantry Brigades (1st, 2nd, 16th, 17th, and 23rd Jungle Infantry Brigades) and a Jungle Warfare Instruction Centre.

The Jungle Warfare Instruction Centre CIGS, also known as Colonel Jorge Teixeira Centre, is a military organisation based in Manaus, intended to qualify military leaders of small groups, as wilderness warriors, fighters able to accomplish missions, in military nature in the most inhospitable areas of the Brazilian rainforest.

Courses are taught in jungle operations in three distinct categories, and stages of the military and for civilians. Its symbol is the jaguar.

For the better development of the work, Jungle Warfare instruction Center (CIGS) is structured in a Division of Education, a Division of the Doctrine Research and Assessment Division of Students, a Division of Veterinary Medicine, a Division of Administration and Administrative Base.[3]

Special Forces

File:Bac.gif
first battalion of commandos actions.
Brazilian Army SOF during the 2003 Independence Day Parade in Brasília.

The Special Operations Brigade is Brazil's special operations force. Although administratively assigned to the Plateau Military Command, the brigade's operations are under the direct control of the Land Operations Command.[4] Special Forces were initially formed in 1957 as a parachute trained rescue unit, which specialized in conducting deep jungle rescues along the Amazon basin. After conducting its initial selection, a US Army Special Forces Mobile Training Team (MTT) conducted the unit's first training course.[5]

Conditions of Service

According to Article 143 of the 1988 constitution, military service is obligatory for men, but conscientious objection is allowed. Women and clergymen are exempt from compulsory military service. At age seventeen, men are required to register for the draft and are expected to serve when they reach age eighteen. About 75 percent of those registering receive deferments.

Generally, those from the upper class and upper middle class find ways to defer, and as a result the ranks are made up primarily of lower-class and lower-middle-class recruits. A growing number of recruits are volunteers, accounting for about one-third of the total. Those who serve generally spend one year of regular enlistment at an army garrison near their home. Some are allowed six-month service terms but are expected to complete high school at the same time. These are called "Tiros de Guerra", or "shooting schools", which are for high school boys in medium-sized interior towns, run by army sergeants. The army is the only service with a large number of conscripts; the navy and air force have very few.

The conscript system is primarily a means of providing basic military training to a sizable group of young men who then return to civilian life and are retained on the reserve rolls until age forty-five. The army recognizes that it provides a public service by teaching large numbers of conscripts basic skills that can be valuable to the overall economy when the young men return to civilian life.

  • Brazilian soldiers, 1851.
    Brazilian soldiers, 1851.
  • The Battle of Caseros and focusing on the Brazilian 1st Division.
    The Battle of Caseros and focusing on the Brazilian 1st Division.
  • Brazilians soldiers in guerrilla operations on Paraguayan War.
    Brazilians soldiers in guerrilla operations on Paraguayan War.
  • Brazilian officer with a Paraguayan soldier prisoner.
    Brazilian officer with a Paraguayan soldier prisoner.
  • Brazilian soldiers to the Paraguayan War.
    Brazilian soldiers to the Paraguayan War.
  • Artillery 1975.
    Artillery 1975.
  • A Helibras HM-1 Pantera from Brazilian Army aviation.
    A Helibras HM-1 Pantera from Brazilian Army aviation.
  • Paratroopers Brazilian Army.
    Paratroopers Brazilian Army.
  • Brazilian soldier with a girl in MINUSTAH
    Brazilian soldier with a girl in MINUSTAH
  • Military Parade at Salvador, Brazil.
    Military Parade at Salvador, Brazil.
  • Brazilian soldiers in the rescue of survivors 2010 Haiti earthquake.
    Brazilian soldiers in the rescue of survivors 2010 Haiti earthquake.
  • Utilitary JPX Montez.
    Utilitary JPX Montez.
  • A Engesa Cascavel IV modernized by the Brazilian Army.
    A Engesa Cascavel IV modernized by the Brazilian Army.
  • Leopard 1A1 Brazilian Army.
    Leopard 1A1 Brazilian Army.
  • Presidential Guard Battalion.
    Presidential Guard Battalion.
  • M-113 Brazilian Army
    M-113 Brazilian Army
  • Brazilian soldier in Brasilia
    Brazilian soldier in Brasilia
  • Armored Cars EE-9 Cascavel and EE-11 Urutu.
    Armored Cars EE-9 Cascavel and EE-11 Urutu.
  • Aero mobile infantry battalion.
    Aero mobile infantry battalion.
  • ASTROS II launchers during the 2009 Independence Day Parade.
    ASTROS II launchers during the 2009 Independence Day Parade.
  • Brazilian Army troops.
    Brazilian Army troops.
  • Former Defense Minister Nelson Jobim, beside the jaguar in the jungle infantry battalion in Tabatinga.
    Former Defense Minister Nelson Jobim, beside the jaguar in the jungle infantry battalion in Tabatinga.
  • Brazilian ASTROS II during a military exhibition in Brasília, Brazil.
    Brazilian ASTROS II during a military exhibition in Brasília, Brazil.
  • A Helibras HM-1 Pantera transporting artillery.
    A Helibras HM-1 Pantera transporting artillery.
  • Brazilian soldier stands security in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
    Brazilian soldier stands security in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
  • Brazilian army troops in Rio de Janeiro.
    Brazilian army troops in Rio de Janeiro.
  • Brazilian army troops in Rio de Janeiro.
    Brazilian army troops in Rio de Janeiro.
  • AS365 Panther
    AS365 Panther

See also

Units

References

  1. ^ a b IISS 2010, pp. 69–72
  2. ^ Os pés de barro de um gigante Revista Época. Retrieved on 2009-02-01. Template:Pt
  3. ^ Jungle Warfare instruction Center Brazilian Army, accessed on May 8, 2008. (in Portuguese)
  4. ^ Land Operations Command Brazilian Army, accessed on May 8, 2008. (in Portuguese)
  5. ^ Special Operations Brigade Brazilian Army, accessed on May 8, 2008. (in Portuguese)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brazilian_Army&oldid=484563690"