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Brazil: Stamps and Covers - Hugh - 14-08-2025
Picked this up at the club a while ago. I don't collect Brazil so this stamp series was new to me.
In August 1942, Brazil had entered the war on the Allied side, responding in part to Axis submarine attacks on Brazilian shipping. The Força Expedicionária Brasileira (FEB) or the Brazilian Expeditionary Force in English, arrived in Naples in the summer of 1944. It was was the only Latin American ground force to fight in Europe during World War 2. Roughly 25,000 Brazilian troops served alongside the Allied forces in the Italian Campaign. These troops were integrated into the U.S. 5th Army under the overall command of General Mark Clark. Much of their combat operations took place in northern Italy’s mountainous terrain.
Brazilian troops sported an emblem of a pipe-smoking snake nicknamed 'Cobra Fumando', referencing a popular saying at the time: “It’s more likely for a snake to smoke a pipe than for Brazil to send an expeditionary force overseas.” Once Brazil did go to war, the ironic image stuck as a badge of pride.
Stamps:
Brazil - Honouring the B.E.F. and the U.S. 5th Army
Issued on July 16, 1945
20c
Sc. 635
40c
Sc. 636
1Cr
Sc. 637
2Cr
Sc. 638
5Cr
Sc. 639
This display page appears to have been a dealer's sample and was included in a 2-hole 25 x 27cm loose leaf stamp album.