bigwheelzip
Absent Comrade
The recent thread on our Tomb of the Unknown Soldier had my mind wandering about all the graves of unknown soldiers we've seen. Then I was thinking of other country's Tombs of the Unknowns that we've seen in Canada, France, Italy, and Portugal.
The changing of the Guard at Portugal's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNb16zUZ7AE[/ame]
Then I realized I knew very little about Portugal's participation in the World Wars, so I started reading about the Portuguese involvement in WWI. That's where I found a soldier whose background, bravery, and success in battle reminded me of our Alvin York.
Anibal Augusto Milhais was a Lewis Gunner, deployed at the front lines with his Portuguese division, facing the Germans along the French-Belgian border. After an exhausting 9 months at the front, his division was to be rotated out to the rear for rest on the morning of April 9, 1918, the same morning German General Ludendorff began his Spring Offensive named "Operation Georgette" with 35 Divisions.
3 fresh German Divisions began attacking the Portuguese 2nd Infantry Division preceded by a heavy artillery and poison gas barrage. Within a few hours, 1,938 men had been killed, 5,198 wounded and about 7,000 taken prisoner. When the order was given to retreat, Milhais stayed behind to cover the withdrawal.
He scrambled across the battlefield while firing his Lewis Gun, in a manor that imitated a larger force, keeping two German Regiments at bay for more than two hours. Eventually, the Germans bypassed his position, leaving him behind enemy lines, where he stayed for three days. While behind the lines, he fired on German soldiers escorting a column of Highlander prisoners allowing their escape, and later rescued a drowning Scottish officer, before getting back to his unit.
Months later, he would again singlehandedly use his Lewis Gun to delay a German assault while a Belgian unit retreated.
This shy, short stature, poor, illiterate farmer became the most decorated soldier in his country's history, receiving Portugal's highest honor in the field, in front of 15,000 assembled troops.
Anibal Augusto Milhais
The display dedicated to him at Portugal's war museum
An'ibal Milhais - Wikipedia
The faces of battle - Anibal Augusto Milhais Gote (1895-1970) | Office de Tourisme de Bethune-Bruay
The changing of the Guard at Portugal's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNb16zUZ7AE[/ame]
Then I realized I knew very little about Portugal's participation in the World Wars, so I started reading about the Portuguese involvement in WWI. That's where I found a soldier whose background, bravery, and success in battle reminded me of our Alvin York.
Anibal Augusto Milhais was a Lewis Gunner, deployed at the front lines with his Portuguese division, facing the Germans along the French-Belgian border. After an exhausting 9 months at the front, his division was to be rotated out to the rear for rest on the morning of April 9, 1918, the same morning German General Ludendorff began his Spring Offensive named "Operation Georgette" with 35 Divisions.
3 fresh German Divisions began attacking the Portuguese 2nd Infantry Division preceded by a heavy artillery and poison gas barrage. Within a few hours, 1,938 men had been killed, 5,198 wounded and about 7,000 taken prisoner. When the order was given to retreat, Milhais stayed behind to cover the withdrawal.
He scrambled across the battlefield while firing his Lewis Gun, in a manor that imitated a larger force, keeping two German Regiments at bay for more than two hours. Eventually, the Germans bypassed his position, leaving him behind enemy lines, where he stayed for three days. While behind the lines, he fired on German soldiers escorting a column of Highlander prisoners allowing their escape, and later rescued a drowning Scottish officer, before getting back to his unit.
Months later, he would again singlehandedly use his Lewis Gun to delay a German assault while a Belgian unit retreated.
This shy, short stature, poor, illiterate farmer became the most decorated soldier in his country's history, receiving Portugal's highest honor in the field, in front of 15,000 assembled troops.
Anibal Augusto Milhais
The display dedicated to him at Portugal's war museum
An'ibal Milhais - Wikipedia
The faces of battle - Anibal Augusto Milhais Gote (1895-1970) | Office de Tourisme de Bethune-Bruay
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