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.
Mauser–Vergueiro
In Portuguese and South African service it was used in combat in the First World War and in several colonial campaigns. The German colonial troops in East Africa also used Mauser–Vergueiro rifles, captured from the allied forces in combat. The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps on the Western Front used British weapons and equipment for logistical reasons, and so did not use the Vergueiro. Although Portugal was neutral in World War II, in 1942 Portuguese forces briefly fought against the Japanese occupation of Portuguese Timor using Kropatschek rifles