Portugal during World War II
Upon the start of World War II in 1939, the Portuguese Government announced on 1 September that the 600-year-old Anglo-Portuguese Alliance remained intact, but that since the British did not seek Portuguese assistance, Portugal was free to remain neutral in the war and would do so. In an aide-mémoire of 5 September 1939, the British Government confirmed the understanding. As Hitler's occupation swept across Europe, neutral Portugal became one of the Continent's last escape routes. Portugal managed to remain neutral throughout the war despite extraordinary pressures from both sides, notably over the strategically located Azores islands and over the wolfram (tungsten) trade.
Military history of Portugal
Portugal was a founding member of NATO, and, although it had scarce forces, it played a key role in the European approaches. After 1991, Portugal committed several infantry and air-landing battalions to international operations. The Portuguese Army keeps soldiers in Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia and East Timor (around 6,000 men overall) and it has 128 Guardsmen military police in Iraq (Nasiriyah) under control of the Italian Army. Portugal also sent its soldiers to Afghanistan, which controlled the Kabul airport during 2005. As international observers, Portuguese were also in Croatia, Georgia and Western Sahara.