Portuguese Marine Corps - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Portuguese Marine Corps are a special operations force unit in the Portuguese Navy

Portuguese Navy

The Portuguese Navy is the naval branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in cooperation and integrated with the other branches of the Portuguese military, is charged with the military defence of Portugal....

. The corps is specialised in amphibious warfare

Amphibious warfare

Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...

, coastal reconnaissance, maritime interdiction and boarding operations. The Portuguese Marine Corps (Corpo de Fuzileiros) is an Elite Light Infantry Force, operating as a Rapid-Reaction Force.

Initial Training

Initial training to become an enlisted Fuzileiro lasts about 42 weeks. It is conducted at the Escola de Fuzileiros in Vale de Zebro. It is rigorous and very demanding, both physically and mentally, and eventually 15% to 35% will pass. If successfully completed, the recruits receive their Blue Dark Beret, and are assigned to operational units.
The Fuzileiros in training are constantly under stress and pressure from instructors leaving them no respite. All activities are timed and scored: marching several tens of kilometers with equipment and weapon, obstacle course, navigation at night on the ground. The training is punctuated by firearms training and special combat techniques, rappelling and climbing, boating, explosives and hand-to-hand combat.

Organization

The Marine Corps is made up of an administrative command - Comando do Corpo de Fuzileiros (Marine Corps Command); an instruction unit - Escola de Fuzileiros (Marines School); and a base unit - Base de Fuzileiros (Marines Base). The operational units of the Marines, stationed at the Marines Base, are:

1st Marine Battalion;
2nd Marine Battalion;
Naval Police Unit;
Special Actions Detachment;
Fire Support Company;
Tactical Transports Support Company.

Based at the Marines School is the Unidade de Meios de Desembarque (Landing Assets Unit).

When needed, several elements of the operational units can organize themselves into a task-force for amphibious assaults called Batalhão Ligeiro de Desembarque (Assault Light Battalion).

History

The Portuguese Marines have their direct origin in the oldest permanent military unit of Portugal, the Terço of the Navy of the Crown of Portugal, created in 1621. It should be noted, however, that since 1585 specialized troops existed to provide artillery and riflemen in the Portuguese warships. The Terço of the Navy was soon considered an elite unit, also being responsible for the bodyguard of the King of Portugal.

In the beginning of the 18th century the force was reorganized, being organized in two regiments: The 1st and the 2nd Regiments of the Navy. Later a Regiment of Naval Artillery was added.

At the end of 18th century, in the reign of Queen Maria I

Maria I of Portugal

Maria I was Queen regnant of Portugal and the Algarves from 1777 until her death. Known as Maria the Pious , or Maria the Mad , she was the first undisputed Queen regnant of Portugal...

, all the regiments of the navy, were integrated into the new Royal Brigade of the Navy, which included three divisions: Fusiliers (fuzileiros), Artillerymen and Ballasters. In 1808, when Napoleon occupied Portugal, the Royal Family

House of Braganza

The Most Serene House of Braganza , an important Portuguese noble family, ruled the Kingdom of Portugal and its colonial Empire, from 1640 to 1910...

fled to exile in the Portuguese colony of Brazil

Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil

The Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil was an episode in the history of Portugal and the history of Brazil in which the Portuguese royal family and its court escaped from Lisbon on November 29, 1807 to Brazil, just days before Napoleonic forces captured the city on December 1...

, accompanied by the majority of the Royal Brigade of the Navy. This resulted in the forming of the Marines Corps of Brazil.

In middle of the 19th Century, the staff of the Portuguese Armada underwent militarization. Up to then the sailors were not militarized, only the officers and the members of the Royal Brigade. With this militarization it was determined to maintain a permanent unit of navy infantry, extinguishing the Royal Brigade. From this date, the forces of navy infantry were organized with the military sailors (they started to receive training from infantry), removed from the garrisons of ships, and used whenever the necessity existed to carry out amphibious operations. Thus, some battalions and forces of the Navy were organized to participate in the diverse colonial campaigns of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as in World War I.

In 1924 the Brigade of the Naval Guard was created as a permanent unit of navy infantry. However it ceased to exist in 1934.

The naval infantry only reappeared with a character of permanence from 1961 with the beginning of the Colonial War

Portuguese Colonial War

The Portuguese Colonial War , also known in Portugal as the Overseas War or in the former colonies as the War of liberation , was fought between Portugal's military and the emerging nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974, when the Portuguese regime was...

. The Detachments of Special Marines (Destacamentos de Fuzileiros Especiais (DFE)) were created for missions of amphibious assault and the Companies of Marines (Companhias de Fuzileiros Navais (CFN)) were created for patrolling and naval defense of boats and installations. During this war, and up to 1975, more than 14,000 marines fought in Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau

The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....

, Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

and Mozambique

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

.

Up to 1975 a unified Marine Corps Command did not exist, being that diverse DFE and CFN were dependents of the Naval and Maritime Defense Commands of the areas where they operated. In this year the Marine Corps was created, of which all had started to be dependents the units of riflemen, giving a substantial autonomy to that force.

The Motto of the Portuguese Marines is Braço às armas feito (Arm made to weapons).

Note

The Brazilian Marine Corps

Brazilian Marine Corps

The Brazilian Marine Corps is the land combat branch of the Brazilian Navy.- Mission :...

(Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais do Brasil) traces its history to 1808 when the troops of the Royal Brigade of the Navy arrived in Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

(then a Portuguese colony

Portuguese Empire

The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...

) when Mary I of Portugal and her son and regent

Regent

A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...

John VI

John VI of Portugal

John VI John VI John VI (full name: João Maria José Francisco Xavier de Paula Luís António Domingos Rafael; (13 May 1767 – 10 March 1826) was King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (later changed to just King of Portugal and the Algarves, after Brazil was recognized...

fled Europe during the Napoleonic Wars

Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...

Equipment

Light weapons:

Glock 17 9mm pistol;
Sig P226
SIG P226
The SIG P226 is a full-sized, service-type pistol made by SIG Sauer. It is chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum, .40 S&W, .357 SIG, and .22 Long Rifle. It is essentially the same basic design of the SIG P220, but developed to use higher capacity, staggered-column magazines in place of the...

9mm pistol;
MP5 9mm submachine gun;
UZI 9mm submachine gun;
MP
Walther MP
The Walther MP series is a family of 9x19mm Parabellum submachine guns produced in West Germany from 1963 to 1985 by Walther.-Variants:...

K 9mm submachine gun;
G3
Heckler & Koch G3
The G3 is a 7.62mm battle rifle developed in the 1950s by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency CETME ....

7.62mm assault rifle;
G36
Heckler & Koch G36
The Heckler & Koch G36 is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1990s by Heckler & Koch in Germany as a replacement for the 7.62mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997, replacing the G3...

5.56 mm assault rifle
HK417 7.62mm assault rifle and sniper variant;
M4 Carbine
M4 Carbine
The M4 carbine is a family of firearms tracing its lineage back to earlier carbine versions of the M16, all based on the original AR-15 designed by Eugene Stoner and made by ArmaLite. It is a shorter and lighter variant of the M16A2 assault rifle, with 80% parts commonality.It is a gas-operated,...

and M203 40mm grenade launcher ;
Remington 870
Remington 870
The Remington Model 870 is a U.S.-made pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, Inc. It is widely used by the public for sport shooting, hunting, and self-defense. It is also commonly used by law enforcement and military organizations worldwide.-Development:The Remington 870 was...

12gauge shotgun;
Mossberg 590 12gauge shotgun;
Benelli M3
Benelli M3
The Benelli M3 is a dual-mode shotgun designed and manufactured by Italian firearms manufacturer Benelli. The M3 holds a maximum of seven rounds and uses the proprietary Benelli semi-automatic system first showcased in the M1. The M3 is notable for allowing the user the choice of semi-automatic...

12gauge shotgun;
Benelli M4 12gauge shotgun;
SPAS 15 12gauge shotgun;
PSG-1 7.62mm sniper rifle;
MSG-90 7.62mm sniper rifle;
AWSM .338 LM sniper rifle ;
AW
Arctic warfare
Arctic warfare or winter warfare is a term used to describe armed conflict that takes place in an exceptionally cold weather, usually in snowy and icy terrain, sometimes on ice-covered bodies of water...

7.62mm sniper rifle
AW50 12.7mm sniper rifle;
HK 21E 7.62mm general purpose machine gun ;
MG3 7.62mm general purpose machine gun ;
MG4
Heckler & Koch MG4
The MG4 is a belt-fed 5.56 mm light machine gun designed and developed by the German company Heckler & Koch. The weapon was developed in the late 1990s and was first seen publicly in September 2001. It has been selected to replace the 7.62 mm MG3 general-purpose machine gun in the Bundeswehr at the...

5.56mm light machine gun;

and more.

Mortars:

120mm heavy mortar;
81 mm medium mortar;
60mm fast mortar;

Anti-Tank/Anti-Aircraft weapons:

Carl Gustav recoilless rifle
Carl Gustav recoilless rifle
The Carl Gustav is the common name for the 84 mm man-portable reusable multi-role recoilless rifle produced by Saab Bofors Dynamics in Sweden...

;
MILAN
MILAN
MILAN " is French and German for "kite bird") is a European anti-tank guided missile. Design of the MILAN started in 1962. It was ready for trials in 1971, and was accepted for service in 1972. It is a wire guided SACLOS missile, which means the sight of the launch unit has to be aimed at the...

ATGW.
FIM-92 Stinger

Amphibians:

LDM100 Class Landing craft ;
LDM400 Class Landing craft;
LARC-5 Amphibious Vehicles;
Zebro class inflatable boat
Inflatable boat
An inflatable boat is a lightweight boat constructed with its sides and bow made of flexible tubes containing pressurised gas. For smaller boats, the floor and hull beneath it is often flexible. On boats longer than , the floor often consists of three to five rigid plywood or aluminium sheets fixed...

;
Pandur II 8x8.

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