Jump to content
Free downloads from TNA ×
The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Portuguese troops and the use of the Lewis Gun


Ralph J. Whitehead

Recommended Posts

I have a question regarding Portuguese troops on the Western Front. I was advised that the Portuguese troops on the Western Front did not use the Lewis Gun.

 

I have no information on these troops and I have a photo where it states it was a captured Portuguese position and lying near the dead soldier is what appears to be part of a Lewis Gun magazine. 

 

Is is it possible that British troops were also in the area or is it possible that Portuguese troops did use this weapon? Any thoughts from the experts out there?

31F72C64-0C4E-46E6-B90E-470E0359148C.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ralph

 

They most certainly did. The UK also provided SMLEs for them as well. There is a  WW1 display in the military museum at Funechal, Maderia, which has a Lewis gun and the rifles on display and also gives the numbers of the weapons provided by the UK.

 

TR

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ralph,

 

Attached is a painting in the Porto Military Museum of a Portuguese hero with Lewis gun - they also have examples of the gun on display

 

Mike

 

 

P1070452.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Mike, I suspected that they used this weapon and now with your help, Terry and Taff it is a certainty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

Hello Ralph !

Have a look on this, it talk about Anibal Milhais.

He was the portuguese hero of the great war and used Lewis Gun during the Battle of the Lys at "Huit Maisons" hamlet of Vieille-Chapelle.

 

From Georges Viaud, french historian's work about him.

 

EN 1918
En avril, le « soldat Anibal Augusto Milhais » a pris part à la bataille de la Lys dite du 9 avril. A ce sujet, vous remarquerez la concision toute militaire de la phrase traduite…
En juillet, il a été honoré comme étant le n°1 de la garnison par sa mitrailleuse [Lewis de 13 kilos 7, qu’il appelait, d’ailleurs, avec beaucoup de tendresse sa « Luisinha » ou « Menina »], révélant durant la bataille de la Lys un extraordinaire courage et sang-froid. Il a ainsi défendu les positions de son peloton. 
A Huit Maisons [qui faisait partie du secteur de défense du Bataillon d’Infanterie n°15 dit de Tomar], il a empêché de tout son allant guerrier l’avancée ennemie sans abandonner son poste jusqu’à ce que les forces portugaises et écossaises soient mises en sécurité. Il en a, d’ailleurs, sauvé quelques-uns de l’arrestation par les Allemands puis il a protégé la retraite de beaucoup en se servant de sa mitrailleuse avec valeur, mérite et loyauté tout en étant indifférent à l’artillerie et aux mitrailleuses ennemies (O.S. N° 186 du Bataillon n°15 du 15).

 

 

 

Always yours

Michel

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Hello, I don’t know if you have seen my post in the weapons section of this forum but I have a  SMLE MK3 it’s a brass stock disc bearing the stamp DOURO. I have been told this may be a Portuguese regiment named after the river. Just wondered if anyone noticed in the museum a disc as shown below?

 

018B7F71-730E-4843-8656-29EBA7EC926D.jpeg

0687852C-5D68-4A2F-8326-50C4FB4EEE49.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

Dear readers,

OK; - my question relates to `Away from the Western Front´ here in the GWF.

Does anyone know when; - and how many Lewis guns were delivered to the Portuguese armed forces in East Africa, which can be clearly seen in the picture below?

 

Portuguese infantry group with Lewis-Gun M.1914 Mk.I and Mauser-Vergueuro M.1904 carbine.

image.png.9522c463433a283f9aac5694af6b04c4.png

Source: Moçambique 1914-18, Portuguese army native company Mozambique 1914/18

: https://www.pinterest.com.mx/pin/493566440403417512/

I wish everyone a good transition into the new year; - and stay safe.

Regards Holger

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Holger, the only thing that I’ve been able to find is that Portugal purchased enough British manufactured arms including 7.7mm Lee Enfield Mk III, to equip two divisions in 1916.  It seems likely to me that Lewis Guns were probably included in the same contract at the same time, although so far I’ve not been able to find detailed records.  I wonder also if you have seen this study of the campaign in Africa by a Portuguese national: https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Portuguese_Brazilian_Studies/ejph/html/issue29/pdf/v15n1a06.pdf

Edited by FROGSMILE
Link to comment
Share on other sites

https://smilies.4-user.de/include/New_Year/new-year-confetti-smiley-emoticon.gif

On 31/12/2021 at 12:46, FROGSMILE said:

. . . I wonder also if you have seen this study of the campaign in Africa by a Portuguese national: https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Portuguese_Brazilian_Studies/ejph/html/issue29/pdf/v15n1a06.pdf

Hello Bullfrog,

Thanks for the link. In particular, the references listed in the article are particularly interesting.

I am currently trying to find out more in Portuguese archives. If I've found something, I'll get in touch here.

It would be interesting to know whether the Commonwealth Expeditionary Corps brought these weapons to East Africa in 1916-1918 and passed them on, or whether they brought them back from Europe by the Portuguese troops, and in which quantities?

Regards Holger

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Holger Kotthaus said:

https://smilies.4-user.de/include/New_Year/new-year-confetti-smiley-emoticon.gif

 

Hello Bullfrog,

 

Thanks for the link. In particular, the references listed in the article are particularly interesting.

 

I am currently trying to find out more in Portuguese archives. If I've found something, I'll get in touch here.

 

It would be interesting to know whether the Commonwealth Expeditionary Corps brought these weapons to East Africa in 1916-1918 and passed them on, or whether they brought them back from Europe by the Portuguese troops, and in which quantities?

 

Regards Holger

 

Yes I agree that it would be very interesting to learn more about how the equipment got to Africa.  Apparently the purchase of British equipment to fit out two Portuguese infantry divisions was quite extensive and included all manner of items additional to firearms, including steel helmets and some types of web equipment.  Portugal had a history of sparing no expense when purchasing equipment and sought out the best types that it could, having previously procured Mannlicher based rifles and German artillery.  This was apparently largely because Portugal had insufficient access to the necessary minerals and industrial technology that ensure quality steel production.

Frogsmile (aka “Bullfrog”:thumbsup:)

Edited by FROGSMILE
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, FROGSMILE said:

Frogsmile (aka “Bullfrog”:thumbsup:)

Ups;   (-:huh:-)  I am very sorry; - Wasn't on purpose; - could only remember 'frog'. . . . 

Cheers Holger

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Holger Kotthaus said:

Ups;   (-:huh:-)  I am very sorry; - Wasn't on purpose; - could only remember 'frog'. . . . 

Cheers Holger

No problem Holger.  Anything that makes us smile at this time has to be a good thing.  I have no interest in names, it’s what people have to say that counts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The original question as to whether the Lewis MG was used in the Portuguese units is proven on the basis of written sources and photos in this thread. So I shouldn't be 'off topic' when I pursue my own questions about when and how many of this very proven light MG were used in Mozambique (Portuguese East Africa). Further concrete results can only be expected from Portuguese sources.  In this article there is at least further textual mention of the Lewis M.G in Africa, but without mentioning the delivery date and quantities.

O combatente português da grande guerra - fardamento e equipamento (The Portuguese Fighter of the Great War - Uniform and Equipment)

https://recipp.ipp.pt/bitstream/10400.22/12764/1/Art_S%C3%A9rgio%20Coelho_2018%20%283%29.pdf The two chapters listed below give, in addition to the textual mention (equipped with, Vickers and Lewis MG, SMLE Mk III and Mauser-Vergueiro), also some uniform examples on the two Portuguese theatres of war, Europe and East Africa.

5. Uniformes e Equipamentos em África (Uniforms and Equipment in Africa, from page 12)

6.2 Uniformes e Equipamento na Flandre (Uniforms and Equipment in Flanders, from page 23)

 

Further graphic examples: https://www.deviantart.com/andreasilva60/art/WW1-Portuguese-weapons-and-equipments-782687193

Regards Holger


Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
On 31/12/2021 at 11:39, Holger Kotthaus said:

Does anyone know when; - and how many Lewis guns were delivered to the Portuguese armed forces in East Africa, which can be clearly seen in the picture below?

I found some answers of my one questions.

“ . . . .The two Portuguese divisions of the CEP, equipped by the English army, received three hundred Lewis machine guns and another seventy-eight for the instruction of the CEP in the school where the Portuguese troops received their training before advancing to the combat front, with the With the introduction of the Lewis machine gun, infantry companies now had one Lewis machine gun per platoon, with sixteen allotted to each infantry battalion. The CEP returned in 1918 after World War I with the weapons and equipment it had used during the conflict, including the Lewis ML. Later, in 1931, when the rearmament of the Portuguese Army was being studied, the RI had a total of one hundred and forty-three ML Lewis and in the following years this was replaced, although it had served in the colonies until the 1960s , since 1958 there is thirty in Timor, sixty-one in India, twenty-two in Angola, and thirty-one in Mozambique. . .

(Translated) Source about Portuguese Infantry weapons, also with pictures from page 75 on: “As vagas de inovacao military em Portugal, desde a 1 Geurra mundial até a Guerra Arica: Impactos na base organica, tatica e technical das fforcas de infantaria, no campho de batalha” Officer Candidate, Diogo Filipe Miguel, Portuguese Military Academy Lisbon 2014, 97 pages: https://comum.rcaap.pt/bitstream/10400.26/7479/1/EXE%20INF%20399%20Diogo%20Guarda.pdf

The exact designation of these Portuguese MG was: Lewis-Gun M.1914 Model 917 / 7.7×56mm (303)

image.png.6449f255c834969f12a49113c7691c6e.png

Original Source: https://images.trustinnews.pt/uploads/sites/5/2019/10/portugal-tem-uma-visao-cor-de-rosa-e-falsa-sobre-a-primeira-guerra-2.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...