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.
Aníbal Milhais
The participation of Portugal in World War I took place mostly in Flanders, Belgium. Portuguese soldiers volunteered to infiltrate enemy lines and raid trenches, even though the casualties on both sides for raids were extremely high. Three German divisions had been rotated in the sector facing the 2nd Division in the last nine months before April 1918. The division saw no major battles, but suffered many casualties and extreme fatigue among the front-line soldiers from consecutive night raids. With unfortunate bad timing for the Portuguese, they were to have been rotated out of the line on the same morning that the Germans attacked.