The story in brief
A submarine sinks five ships off the coast of Brazil, and a joke says a snake will smoke before the country goes to war. Twenty-five thousand Brazilian soldiers go. They fail four times on a frozen hill in Italy, take it on the fifth, and receive the surrender of an entire German division.
The chapters
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Chapter 1 · 5 min · Free
Five Ships
In three days, a single German submarine sinks five ships off the coast of Brazil. The country goes to war.
Sources: Note of the DIP, 18 August 1942; Decree 10,358 of 31 August 1942; Brazilian Army; Maritime Court
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Chapter 2 · 5 min · Free
The Snake Will Smoke
They said a snake would smoke before Brazil went to war. The soldiers sewed the snake on their shoulders.
Sources: Guilherme de Almeida, Canção do Expedicionário (1944); Brazilian Army; U.S. Army Center of Military History
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Chapter 3 · 5 min
Monte Castello
A hill almost a thousand meters high, four failed attacks and a winter of snow. On the fifth try, the snake smokes.
Sources: U.S. Army Center of Military History, Cassino to the Alps (1977); Brazilian Army
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Chapter 4 · 5 min
Senta a Pua!
Every morning, a target. Every week, fewer pilots. Their cry was Senta a Pua!
Sources: Brazilian Air Force, 1st Fighter Group; U.S. Presidential Unit Citation (1986)
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Chapter 5 · 5 min
Fornovo
A whole German division, its general included, surrenders to Brazilian soldiers. First, Montese takes its toll.
Sources: Brazilian Army; U.S. Army Center of Military History, Cassino to the Alps (1977)
Who’s who
The people you meet. Each one is a hero card you can collect.
- The Rubber SoldiersRubber tappers of the war · Northeasterners in the Amazon · The Battle for Rubber
- Elza Cansanção MedeirosThe FEB’s nurse · The first volunteer · Brazil’s most decorated woman
- Frei OrlandoThe FEB’s chaplain · Franciscan friar · Patron of the Army’s chaplaincy
- Nero MouraCommander of Senta a Pua! · Fighter pilot · Minister of Aeronautics
- Max Wolff FilhoSergeant of the 11th Regiment · Leader of the special platoon · The patrol man
- Mascarenhas de MoraesCommander of the FEB · The general of Monte Castelo · Marshal
What you’ll be able to tell
This story belongs to the journey “The Price of Victory”. By the end of it, you can tell why Brazilians say “the snake will smoke”, how Hiroshima was decided, and where the word genocide comes from.
Stories in this journey
- Monte Castelo: Brazil’s War in Italy
- Hiroshima: The Decision
Sources
- Note of the Brazilian government (1942)
- The Brazilian Army
- The Brazilian Air Force
- The U.S. Army Center of Military History
- Photographs of the U.S. Army Signal Corps and the Arquivo Nacional
