Portuguese Army

Portuguese Army Exército Português
Active	1143 — current
Country	Portugal
Type	Army
Role	Land Force
Size	24,000
Part of	Portuguese Armed Forces
Patron	Afonso I of Portugal
Motto	Em perigos e guerras esforçados In dangers and wars strengthened
Engagements	Second Crusade Battle of Atoleiros Battle of Trancoso Battle of Aljubarrota Ethiopian-Adal War Dutch–Portuguese War Turkish-Portuguese Wars Portuguese Restoration War Nine Years' War War of the Spanish Succession Seven Years' War War of the Oranges Peninsular War World War I -Battle of La Lys Spanish Civil War Battle of Timor Portuguese-Indian War (1961) Portuguese Colonial War IFOR SFOR EUFOR KFOR Afghanistan War Peacekeaping Missions -Croatia -Macedonia -Western Sahara -Georgia
Commanders
Army Chief of Staff	General José Luís Pinto Ramalho [1]

Soldier of the famous Portuguese Army Caçadores elite light infantry in the Peninsular War

Portuguese Army troops heading for Angola, during World War I.

Portuguese Army troops in the jungle, during the 1960's and 1970's Colonial Wars in Africa.

Portuguese Army Chaimite armoured vehicles in Bosnia.

The Operational Structure of the Portuguese Army.

The Portuguese Army (Portuguese: Exército Português) is the ground branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in co-operation with other branches of the Portuguese military, is charged with the defence of Portugal. It is one of the oldest armies in the world, established in the 12th century.

History

The history of the Portuguese Army is directly connected to the history of Portugal.

National defence

The land forces fought for Portuguese independence against the Leonese and the Moors in the 12th century, against the Castilian invaders in the 14th century, against the Spanish Habsburgs in the 17th century, and against French invaders in the Peninsular War in the 19th century. Here they were re-trained, following a catastrophic performance in the 1808 French invasion, by the British (under the direction of Lieutenant General William Carr Beresford). Their infantry and artillery went on to perform brilliantly up until the final French capitulation in 1814, however the cavalry were less than reliable.

Foreign campaigns

Since the 15th century, the land forces have also participated in Portuguese foreign and overseas campaigns — in Africa, Asia, The Americas, Oceania, and Europe. In the 20th century, the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps participated in World War I on the side of the Allies in the European western front and Africa. The army participated in colonial wars from 1961 to 1974, in Angola, Goa, Mozambique, Portuguese Guinea and East-Timor. In 1961, the isolated and relatively small Portuguese Army suffered a defeat against a largely superior Indian Army in the colony of Portuguese India, which was subsequently lost to the Union of India in the same invasion.

Peace missions

In the 21st century, the Portuguese Army has participated in several peace missions, including in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, East-Timor, and Afghanistan — currently a Comandos company. In December 2005, a Portuguese commando died in an incident in Afghanistan when a bomb trap was detonated.

Order of battle

Central structure

The Portuguese Army is led by the Army Chief of Staff and includes:

1. Army Staff[2];
2. Functional Commands:
   • Training and Doctrine Command[3],
   • Logistical Command[4],
   • Personnel Command[5];
   • Operational Command[6];
3. Operational Formations and Military Zones:
   • Rapid Reaction Brigade [7]
   • Mechanized Brigade[8]
   • Intervention Brigade[9]
   • Military Zone of Azores,[10]
   • Military Zone of Madeira,[11]
4. Main Military Schools:
   • Military Academy,[12]
   • Army Sergeant School
   • School of the Military Medical Service,[13]
   • Army Polytechnical School;[14]

Base Units

The Portuguese Army Base Structure Units work as administrative bases responsible for the training and organization of
the operational units of the army's formations, military zones and general support forces. For historical reasons most of the base units are called regiments and are associated with an arm of service. By arm of service, these units are:

1. Cavalry:
   • School of Cavalry[15] at Abrantes,
   • 2nd Lancers Regiment[16] (Army Military Police Unit) at Lisbon,
   • 3rd Cavalry Regiment[17] at Estremoz,
   • Cavalry Barracks (former 4th Cavalry Regiment)[18] at Santa Margarida Military Camp,
   • 6th Cavalry Regiment[19] at Braga
2. Artillery:
   • School of Artillery[20] at Vendas Novas,
   • 1st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment[21] at Queluz,
   • 4th Artillery Regiment[22] at Leiria,
   • 5th Artillery Regiment[23] at Vila Nova de Gaia
3. Infantry:
   • School of Infantry[24] at Mafra,
   • 1st Infantry Regiment[25] at Tavira,
   • 3rd Infantry Regiment[26] at Beja,
   • 8th Infantry Regiment[27] at Elvas (in process of being disbanded, it will be replaced by a Military Museum),
   • 10th Infantry Regiment[28] at Aveiro
   • 13th Infantry Regiment[29] at Vila Real,
   • 14th Infantry Regiment[30] at Viseu,
   • 15th Infantry Regiment[31] at Tomar,
   • 19th Infantry Regiment[32] at Chaves
4. Engineers:
   • School of Engineers[33] at Tancos,
   • 1st Engineers Regiment[34] at Lisbon,
   • 3rd Engineers Regiment[35] at Espinho
5. Communications:
   • School of Communications[36] at Oporto,
   • Communications Regiment[37] at Lisbon
6. Logistical Services:
   • School of Services[38] at Póvoa de Varzim
   • Medical Service Battalion[39] at Coimbra
   • Transportation Regiment[40] at Lisbon
   • Maintenance (Material Service) Regiment[41] at Entroncamento
7. Mixed:
   • Special Operations Troops Centre[42] at Lamego,
   • Commando Troops Center at Carregueira,
   • Parachute Troops School[43] at Tancos,
   • Military Center of Electronics[44] at Paço de Arcos,
   • 1st Garrison Regiment[45] at Angra do Heroismo,
   • 2nd Garrison Regiment[46] at Ponta Delgada,
   • 3rd Garrison Regiment[47] at Funchal,
   • Intelligence and Military Security Center[48] at Porto Brandão,
   • Army Light Aviation Unit[49] at Tancos,

Ranks

Officers

• Marechal (Marshall) [Honourific]
• General
• Tenente-General (Lieutenant-General)
• Major-General
• Brigadeiro-General (Brigadier-General)
• Coronel (Colonel)
• Tenente-Coronel (Lieutenant-Colonel)
• Major
• Capitão (Capitain)
• Tenente (Lieutenant)
• Alferes (2nd Lieutenant)
• Aspirante-a-Oficial
• Soldado Cadete (Officer Cadet)

Sergeants

• Sargento-Mor (Sergeant Major)
• Sargento-Chefe (Master Sergeant)
• Sargento-Ajudante
• 1º Sargento (1st Sergeant)
• 2º Sargento (2nd Sergent)
• Furriel
• 2º Furriel
• Soldado Instruendo

Enlisted Ranks of the Portuguese Army (Praças)
Cabo-Adjunto (Corporal)	1º Cabo (Lance-Corporal)	2º Cabo (PFC)	Soldado (Private)	Soldado Recruta (Recruit)
OR-4	OR-3	OR-2	OR-1	No Equivalent
			No Insignia	No Insignia

Equipment

The Portuguese Army is equipped with light firearms, heavy firearms, mortars, tanks, artillery, anti-air artillery, tactical vehicles, heavy vehicles, armoured vehicles, helicopters, and other equipment.

Firearms

• Glock 17
• SIG P226
• HK G3 m/61 assault rifle
• HK G36 assault rifle
• IMI Galil m/94 Assault Rifle (only used by Paratroopers)
• SIG SG 543 Assault Rifle (only used by Special Operations and Commandos)
• AI AWSF m/96
• AI AWSM .338 Lapua Magnum
• AI AW50
• Barret M82A1
• Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun (used by Special Operations and Army Military Police)
• IMI Uzi (used at least by Paratroopers, Special Operations and Military Police and, eventually, by other units)
• Benelli M3
• Franchi SPAS 15
• MG3 general purpose machine gun
• HK21 general purpose machine gun
• FN Minimi general purpose machine gun
• Browning M2HB heavy machine gun
• Automatic M/SB M1 Grenade Launcher
• HK79
• M203 Grenade Launcher M/SB M1
• HK AG36
• ARWEN 37
• M72 LAW m/78 Grenade launcher
• Carl Gustav M2 Grenade launcher
• MILAN Anti-tank weapon
• TOW Missile launcher
• 120mm Tampella B m/74 Heavy mortar
• 81mm L16 A2 m/86 medium mortar
• 60mm Soltan Light Mortar
• 60mm FBP m/68 Ultra-Light Mortar (morteirete)

Tanks

• Leopard 2A6 37
• M-60 A3TTS 100, to be retired.

Artillery

• 105mm L118 Light Gun
• 105mm M119 Light Gun m/98
• 105mm OTO Melara Mod 56 (discontinued, some may be used by the School of Artillery for no-live fire training, replaced by M119 Light Gun)
• 105mm M101 (discontinued, some may be used by the School of Artillery for no-live fire training)
• 155mm M114 (discontinued, some may be used by the School of Artillery for no-live fire training)
• 155mm M109A5 and M109A4

Anti-Air Artillery

• Stinger surface-to-air missile
• M48A2E1 Chaparral m/90 surface-to-air missile system
• Double 20mm Reinmetall Rh-202 m/81 anti-aircraft gun
• Bofors 40 mm gun

Tactical Vehicles

• 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser m/98,
• 4x4 Land Rover Defender'90 TDI;
• 4x4 UMM Alter
• 4x4 URO VAMTAC

Heavy Vehicles

• 40ton 4x2 Volvo D Truck
• 38ton 6x4 DAF FTT Truck

Armour

• M48 AVLB Armoured vehicle-launched bridge
• M88 ARV Armoured recovery vehicle
• M901A1 ITV Armoured vehicle ATGMs-launcher
• M113A3 m/76 APC
• Pandur II m/07 APC
• Commando V150 m/89 Armoured car
• Chaimite m/67 APC
• Panhard M11 m/89 Light Armoured car
• HMMWV M1025 m/00;

Helicopters

• NHI NH90 TTH (10 in order)

Others

• PASGT Helmet
• AN/PPS-5B Radar
• Precision Lightweight GPS Receiver (AN/PSN-11 PLGR)
• AN/PVS-5B Night Googles
• AN/MPQ-49B Radar

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Exército Português

• Military history of Portugal
• Portuguese Military Academy
• Army Commandos
• Army Special Operations
• Parachute Troops School
• Rapid Reaction Brigade

References

• Jornal do Exército, official magazine

External links

• Exército Português, official website

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