Portugal in the First World War

BY PHIL EGGINTON

1917, the award-winning film from director Sam Mendes, has helped to highlight the role and sacrifices made by Portugal in the First World War (1914 to 1918).

I look forward to telling my grandson stories from my youth. It seems a right of passage that grandfathers do this. I remember my grandfather, telling me tales of what he "got up to" in the First World War.

Celebrated film director, Sam Mendes, also seems to have been enchanted by his grandfather, Alfred’s, tales of that war. Sam was inspired to honour him in his latest film "1917", which has become an international success.

I first read about Alfred in the Portuguese press. Then the penny dropped. Mendes is a Portuguese name! Alfred Mendes was born in Trinidad and Tobago but of Portuguese origin. In 1915, against his father’s wishes, he enlisted to serve in the British First Rifle Brigade. Alfred fought for two years in Flanders and was awarded a Military Medal for distinguishing himself on the battlefield. After the war, he returned to Trinidad and took up writing. He was honoured for helping to establish West Indian literature.

Because of the strong Portuguese connections, the film 1917 has inspired a lot of interest in Portugal. When I went to see the film in Lagos, most of the audience were Portuguese. This sparked my interest in Portugal’s role in the First World War (Primeira Guerra Mundial). At first, Portugal was neutral, but gradually hostilities increased with Germany. By 1915, clashes had occurred with German troops, in the Portuguese colonies of Angola and Mozambique. In early 1916, at British request, Portugal confiscated 36 German ships interned at Lisbon. Germany reacted by declaring war on Portugal. In July 1916, the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (Corpo Expedicionário Português) was established to raise 55,000 soldiers. In January 1917 it was agreed that these troops would be integrated into the British Expeditionary Force.

Lagos War Memorial © Phil Egginton

By spring 1917, the Portuguese troops had arrived at the front. By early summer, two brigades had already been engaged in action. Their first casualty to be killed was Private António Gonçalves Curado. By autumn 1917, four brigades had been deployed on the front line. The Germans had commenced a major attack against them in the spring. The Portuguese troops had already served for a long period without any relief. They had become among the most exhausted men on the front line. In early April 1918, conditions had become so difficult that the British finally decided to relieve them on 9 April. Sadly, this never happened. On that very day, the Germans launched a major attack. Instead of being relieved, the exhausted Portuguese troops now had to fight off the offensive.

The Germans had started, what became known as the Battle of La Lys, with a heavy artillery barrage. This was followed by an infantry offensive supported by gas. The Germans deployed about 100,000 men and 1,700 artillery guns. The Portuguese had 20,000 men and 88 artillery guns. As a result, the Portuguese were quickly overrun. They lost 400 men and had 6,500 taken prisoner, about 35% of their fighting capacity. During the battle, private Aníbal Milhais performed one of the most courageous acts in Portuguese military history. He was awarded the highest Portuguese honour, the "Ordem Militar da Torre e Espada do Valor, Lealdade e Mérito", for defending the retreating forces with nothing but a single Lewis machine gun.

Aníbal Milhais (image source Wikipedia)

The battle effectively ended Portugal’s contribution to the war, which itself was over within seven months. Near to Neuve-Chapelle in France stands a white-walled cemetery, the Portuguese National Cemetery of Richebourg. This is the final resting place of 1,831 Portuguese soldiers. But, it is not the only place of remembrance to the Portuguese in the First World War. Here in Lagos, we have a memorial in Praça Luís de Camões, known locally as the Green Square. A simple white cross carries the inscription "Glory to the memory of our sons who were killed in the Great War".

Portugal remembers all its people killed in all wars annually on Combatants Day. This held every year on 9 April, the day that the Battle of La Lys started in 1918.

Phil Egginton is a journalist and photographer who now lives in the Algarve.

+INFO: Liga dos Combatentes (Veterans Association): www.ligacombatentes.org.pt