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.
Operation Creek
Operation Creek (also known as "Operation Longshanks") was a military operation undertaken by the British in World War Two on 9 March 1943. It involved a covert attack by members of the Calcutta Light Horse against a German merchant ship, "Ehrenfels," which had been transmitting information to U-boats from Mormugão Harbour in neutral Portugal's territory of Goa. The mission remained secret due to the fact that the British had infringed Portuguese neutrality, until 1978 when its story was told in the book, "Boarding Party", by James Leasor. It was dramatised in the film "The Sea Wolves" (1980) starring Gregory Peck, Roger Moore and David Niven.