The reorganization of the Brazilian Army in the Old Republic divided Brazil's territory into military regions and created divisions, brigades and, in the infantry, regiments to group the numerous military units dispersed throughout the country. The simple command chain then in use in the Army, with little organization above battalions and similar formations, gave way to permanent large echelons, with an organization based on divisions and regiments similar to that adopted in other countries. The biggest changes were made in 1908, 1915, and 1921. They were within the context of broader reform movements in the Brazilian Army.
The official consensus in the early 20th century was that the Army was inefficient and backwards, with a low budget, poor facilities, and uneven weaponry making teaching and maintenance difficult. The difficulties faced in the Canudos and Contestado wars contributed to this perception. Thus, successive modernizations and reorganizations took place, especially during the administrations of ministers Hermes da Fonseca (1907–1909), Caetano de Faria (1914–1918) and Pandiá Calógeras (1919–1922) in the Ministry of War. Several of the important changes took place during the presidency of Afonso Pena (1906–1909), as the country had good economic conditions after the government of Campos Sales (1898–1902). The reforms took place under the influence of the "Young Turks" , officers who spent time in Germany and returned in 1912, and the French Military Mission, hired in 1919. [1] [2]
In 1889 the Brazilian Army had 15,000 men, and could expand to 30,000 if necessary. 35% of the forces were based in Rio Grande do Sul, a border region, 10% in Rio de Janeiro (then capital of Brazil) and 5% in Mato Grosso, also a border region. [3] In 1910 the number had risen to 24,877 men, [4] and in 1921 it reached 76,821 "on paper". [lower-alpha 1] In reality it was below that number. Many units had not been constituted, as in the artillery, where there were only 24 of the 71 planned field artillery groups, and 5 of the 27 heavy artillery groups. Existing units had "glades" of staff shortages, which is observable in the actual availability of officers (2,551 out of 3,583 predicted) and doctors (216 out of 369 in 1920). [5] According to data published in 1941 by the Minister of War, Eurico Gaspar Dutra, the actual effectives were 20,000 in 1920 and 50,000 in 1930. [6]
At that time, the General Staff of the Army was created and military education and compulsory military service were reformed. Armaments were acquired and cadres such as auditors and quartermasters were constituted. [2] [7] Meanwhile, the new technologies evident in the First World War slowly began to enter the country. Mechanization began in 1921, with the Assault Car Company, made up of French Renault FT-17 tanks. [8] As the Brazilian Air Force was only created in 1941, the Army and Navy operated their own planes, in addition to airships. The Army had several fighter, bombing and observation squadrons. [9]
One of the targets of these reforms was the organization of troops, hitherto rudimentary, with battalion-level units (infantry battalions and cavalry and artillery regiments) dispersed throughout Brazil and grouped only in military districts, according to the states of the Federation where they were based. [10]
In the first half of the 20th century most Western armies organized their forces into infantry and cavalry regiments and divisions. The infantry battalion was a basic tactical unit and had 800 to 1,000 men. Some light infantry battalions ( caçadores ) were independent and commanded by lieutenant colonels, however some were battalions under regiments with similar composition as in the line infantry. The rest, in the "continental" system, were commanded by majors or lieutenant colonels and grouped into infantry regiments of three to 4 battalions and a regimental HQ, which had 3–4,000 men and was commanded by a colonel. Cavalry regiments in the British and French model were equivalent to infantry battalions, with 500 to 800 men, however the American model provided for a 3 to four battalion or squadron system with the same personnel as in infantry but lesser, the same case in Germany. Artillery regiments had two to three "groups", "battalions" or "brigades", each with two to four batteries of four to six guns and a battalion headquarters supervised by the regiment. The British model, however, made these units battalion level formations.
Two infantry regiments formed a brigade, with 4–6,000 men, and each division had two or three brigades. The organization of two brigades with two regiments each is called quaternary or quadrangular. The division also had a cavalry regiment or squadron and artillery, engineering and logistical support units, thus being the basic "large unit" with operating autonomy, unlike the brigade, which had considerable size but single-armed units, without the support needed to be autonomous. Divisions in World War I had 12 to 16 infantry battalions and from 15,000 men, as in the French and Austro-Hungarian armies at the beginning of the war, to more than 27,000, as in the American Army at its end. The cavalry division was one-third to one-half the strength of the infantry division (4,500 men in the French and Russian armies to 9,269 in the British), as its regiments were also smaller.
In the interwar period in the US since 1940 the command chain was shortened by the abolition of the brigade rank, with three regiments (ternary organization) under the division. With three battalions each, the division shrunk to nine infantry battalions. [11] [12]
The Kingdom of Brazil had infantry regiments, but since the regency period the country had only a large number of "exiguous battalions", [13] whose number reached 40 in 1898, each with four companies. [14] The 1908 reorganization established battalions numbered 1st to 45th, grouped into 15 regiments of three battalions each. At the same time, 12 battalions of caçadores, numbered from 46th to 57th, and 13 companies of caçadores emerged. [13] [15] The battalions had three companies. [13] [16] The 13th to 15th regiments were disbanded in 1917 and their battalions became caçadores battalions, which were now numbered 37th to 57th. In 1919, each regiment simply had 1st, 2nd and 3rd battalions, with no continuity of numbering from one regiment to another. Meanwhile, the numbering of caçadores battalions became independent, returning to a Brazilian tradition. [17]
The law distinguished between "line" battalions, within regiments, and caçadores battalions, [18] but since the Paraguayan War the form of combat was the same. [19] In 1921 the nominal strength of a battalion of caçadores was 516 soldiers, against 386 in an infantry battalion within a regiment. The regiment, in turn, numbered 1,363. [20]
The condition of the 8th Infantry Regiment in the period 1928–30 illustrates the practical application of the regiments' system. It had only two battalions, the 2nd at headquarters and the 1st seven hours away by train, with an autonomous life outside the headquarters. The 2nd battalion had only two companies, a heavy machine gun company and a supernumerary company. [lower-alpha 2] The barracks at headquarters had only 490 men. The then lieutenant colonel Estevão Leitão de Carvalho, named commander, did not describe the situation of the regiment he encountered as abnormal. [21] The ephemeral 14th and 15th Infantry Regiments were made up of two battalions. [22]
The infantry regiments lasted until the 1970s, when they were dissolved and their battalions were directly subordinated to the newly created brigades; [23] at that time, in the 1960s, only one of the infantry regiments was complete. [24]
By 1888 the Imperial Army had constituted three brigades, [25] but brigade commands were abolished in 1891. [26] Brigades and divisions existed only provisionally, for wartime operations. [27] This changed in 1908 with the constitution of five "Strategic Brigades", three cavalry brigades and a mixed brigade. [28] Both the Strategic Brigade and the cavalry brigade were ternary, with three regiments, in the case of the Strategic Brigade, infantry. The Strategic Brigade had support units and was the largest permanent echelon. [27] The 2nd, which fought in the Contestado War, had 4,000 men. [4]
In 1915, the Strategic Brigades gave way to the quaternary "Army Divisions", with two brigades of two infantry regiments each. The division became the most important echelon. The infantry brigades that composed it had no autonomy, consisting of infantry only. Finally, in 1921 the "Army Divisions" became only infantry divisions, with the same organization. The cavalry brigades were also expanded into cavalry divisions, each quaternary, with two brigades of two regiments. [27] The theoretical strength of an infantry division in 1921 was approximately 11,000 men. [20]
Brigades and divisions remain in use into the 21st century, albeit in a different form. From 1938 onwards infantry brigades were eliminated, with infantry divisions becoming ternary. [29] [30] However, both infantry and cavalry returned to the brigade in the 1970s, when it became the main unit, with support units and operating autonomy. Cavalry divisions became brigades, and infantry divisions Army Divisions, merely grouping together a variable number of brigades. [23]
Organization of the large units of infantry | ||
---|---|---|
Strategic Brigade (1908) [31] | Army Division (1915) [32] | Infantry Division (1921) [33] |
|
|
|
Location of the large units of infantry | |||
---|---|---|---|
Strategic Brigades (1908) [34] | Army Divisions (1915) | Army Divisions (1919) | Infantry Divisions (1921) [35] |
1st: Rio de Janeiro, Federal District 3rd: Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul 4th: São Gabriel, Rio Grande do Sul 5th: Aquidauana, Mato Grosso | 1st: Recife, Pernambuco 2nd: Niterói, Rio de Janeiro 3rd: Rio de Janeiro, Federal District 5th: Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul | 1st: Rio de Janeiro, Federal District 2nd: São Paulo, São Paulo 3rd: Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul 4th: Niterói, Rio de Janeiro 5th: Curitiba, Paraná | 1st: Rio de Janeiro, Federal District 2nd: São Paulo, São Paulo 3rd: Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul 4th: Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais 5th: Curitiba, Paraná |
Some provinces of the Empire had "arms commands" responsible for troops and facilities such as fortifications and arsenals. [36] Their function as territorial inspection divisions gave way to proper troop commands in 1891, when they were abolished and the country's territory was divided into seven military districts. [26] [37] In 1908 the districts were abolished, creating 21 enlistment regions in the states and 13 permanent inspections under the Ministry of War. [16] [28] In 1915 the territory was redistributed again, this time in military regions. [38] They were responsible for all existing units in their territory that were not explicitly under another authority. [39] Some forces were not under regions but military circumscriptions. While the region was commanded by a divisional general, the circumscription had a brigadier general. The 6th and 7th regions, made up of only a few battalions of caçadores, were under colonels. [33] [40] Military regions remain in use today, with new creations and changes in territorial arrangement. [41]
Above the regions there were inspectorates of region groups, without, however, exercising command. [41] Two were created in 1921, the first in Recife and the second in Porto Alegre, but in 1927 their headquarters were transferred to Rio de Janeiro. [42]
Military districts (1891) [26] |
---|
1st: Amazonas, Pará, Maranhão and Piauí (headquarters: Belém) 2nd: Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba and Pernambuco (headquarters: Recife) 3rd: Bahia, Sergipe and Alagoas (headquarters: Salvador) 4th: São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Goiás (headquarters: São Paulo) 5th: Paraná and Santa Catarina (headquarters: Curitiba) 6th: Rio Grande do Sul 7th: Mato Grosso The garrison of the federal capital, Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo was subordinated to the adjutant general of the Army. |
Permanent inspection regions (1908) [43] [18] |
---|
1st: Amazonas and Acre (headquarters: Manaus) 2nd: Pará and Aricari (headquarters: Belém) 3rd: Maranhão and Piauí (headquarters: Santa Cruz) 4th: Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte (headquarters: Fortaleza) 5th: Paraíba and Pernambuco (headquarters: Recife) 6th: Alagoas and Sergipe (headquarters: Maceió) 7th: Bahia and Espírito Santo (headquarters: Salvador) 8th: Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais (headquarters: Niterói) 9th: Federal District (headquarters: Rio de Janeiro) 10th: São Paulo and Goiás (headquarters: São Paulo) 11th: Paraná and Santa Catarina (headquarters: Curitiba) 12th: Rio Grande do Sul (headquarters: Porto Alegre) 13th: Mato Grosso (headquarters: Corumbá) |
Military Regions | |
---|---|
1915 [32] | 1919 [44] |
1st: Acre, Purus, Juruá, Amazonas, Pará, Maranhão e Piauí (headquarters: Belém) 2nd: Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco and Alagoas (headquarters: Recife) 3rd: Sergipe and Bahia (headquarters: Salvador) 4th: Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais (headquarters: Niterói) 5th: Federal District 6th: Mato Grosso, Goiás, São Paulo, Paraná and Santa Catarina (headquarters: São Paulo) 7th: Rio Grande do Sul (headquarters: Porto Alegre) | 1st: Federal District, Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo (headquarters: Rio de Janeiro) 2nd: São Paulo and Goiás (headquarters: São Paulo) 3rd: Rio Grande do Sul (headquarters: Porto Alegre) 4th: Minas Gerais (headquarters: Juiz de Fora) 5th: Bahia, Sergipe and Alagoas (headquarters: Salvador) 6th: Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará (headquarters: Recife) 7th: Piauí, Maranhão, Pará, Amazonas and Acre (headquarters: Belém) 1st Circumscription: Mato Grosso (headquarters: Corumbá) 2nd Circumscription: Paraná and Santa Catarina (headquarters: Curitiba) |
Not including schools, arsenals, laboratories, factories, hospitals, inspectorates, military and gunpowder deposits, audits, military colonies and prisons.
Garrison of the Army of the Court and Rio de Janeiro |
---|
1st Army Brigade (São Cristóvão)
2nd Army Brigade (Army HQ)
22nd Infantry Battalion (Transferred to Amazonas before November 15) 23rd Infantry Battalion (Transferred to Ouro Preto before November 15) 24th Infantry Battalion (Bom Jesus Island) 1st Foot Artillery Regiment (São João Fortress) Fortifications of Santa Cruz, São João, Lage, Praia de Fora, Pico and Gragoatá |
Command of Arms of the Province of Rio Grande do Sul |
---|
3rd Infantry Battalion (Rio Grande) 4th Infantry Battalion (São Gabriel) 6th Infantry Battalion (Uruguaiana) 12th Infantry Battalion (Rio Grande) 18th Infantry Battalion (Alegrete) 28th Infantry Battalion (Rio Pardo) 29th Infantry Battalion (Pelotas) 30th Infantry Battalion (Porto Alegre) 2nd Cavalry Regiment (Jaguarão) 3rd Cavalry Regiment (São Borja) 4th Cavalry Regiment (Livramento) 5th Cavalry Regiment (Bagé) 6th Cavalry Regiment (Jaguarão) 1st Campaign Artillery Regiment (São Gabriel) 4th Campaign Artillery Regiment (Bagé) 3rd Foot Artillery Regiment (Rio Grande) 2nd Engineering Battalion (Cachoeira) Transport Corps (Saicã) |
Command of Arms of the Province of Mato Grosso |
---|
8th Infantry Battalion (Cuiabá) 19th Infantry Battalion (Cáceres) 21st Infantry Battalion (Cuiabá) 7th Cavalry Regiment (Nioaque) 2nd Foot Artillery Regiment (Corumbá) Fortifications of Coimbra and Duque de Caxias (Corumbá) |
Command of Arms of the Province of Pernambuco |
---|
2nd Infantry Battalion (Recife) 14th Infantry Battalion (Recife) Fortifications of Brum, Itamaracá, Buraco, Pau Amarelo, Gaibú, Nazareth and Tamandaré. |
Command of Arms of the Province of Bahia |
---|
9th Infantry Battalion (Salvador) 16th Infantry Battalion (Salvador) Fortifications of São Paulo, Barbalho, Santo Alberto, São Diogo, Morro de São Paulo, Monte Serrat, São Lourenço, Santa Maria, São Marcelo and São Bartolomeu |
Command of Arms of the Province of Pará |
---|
15th Infantry Battalion (Belém) Fortifications of Macapá and Óbidos |
Command of Arms of the Province of Amazonas |
---|
Fortifications of São Joaquim, São Gabriel and Santo Antônio |
Provincial garrisons |
---|
In Paraná:
In Santa Catarina:
In Maranhão:
In Ceará:
In Piauí:
In Alagoas:
In Paraíba:
In Rio Grande do Norte:
In Goiás:
In Espírito Santo:
In São Paulo:
In Minas Gerais:
|
1st Military Region (Rio de Janeiro, Federal District) |
---|
1st Infantry Division (Rio de Janeiro, Federal District)
1st Coastal Artillery Group (Santa Cruz Fortress, Rio de Janeiro) 2nd Coastal Artillery Group (São João Fortress, Federal District) 1st Coastal Artillery Battery (Copacabana Fort, Federal District) 2nd Coastal Artillery Battery (Vigia Fort, Federal District) 4th Coastal Artillery Battery (Laje Fort, Federal District) 5th Coastal Artillery Battery (São Luís Fort, Rio de Janeiro) 6th Coastal Artillery Battery (Imbuí Fort, Rio de Janeiro) 7th Coastal Artillery Battery (Marechal Hermes Fort, Rio de Janeiro) |
2nd Military Region (São Paulo, São Paulo) |
---|
2nd Infantry Division (São Paulo, São Paulo)
3rd Coastal Artillery Group (Itaipu Fort, São Paulo) |
3rd Military Region (Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul) |
---|
3rd Infantry Division (Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul)
1st Cavalry Division (Santiago, Rio Grande do Sul)
2nd Cavalry Division (Alegrete, Rio Grande do Sul)
3rd Cavalry Division (São Gabriel, Rio Grande do Sul)
|
4th Military Region (Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais) |
---|
4th Infantry Division (Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais)
|
5th Military Region (Salvador, Bahia) |
---|
5th Infantry Division (Curitiba, Paraná) [lower-alpha 8]
|
6th Military Region (Recife, Pernambuco) |
---|
5th Infantry Division (Curitiba, Paraná) [lower-alpha 9]
|
7th Military Region (Belém, Pará) |
---|
5th Infantry Division (Curitiba, Paraná) [lower-alpha 10]
4th Coastal Artillery Group (Óbidos Fort, Pará) [lower-alpha 11] |
2nd Military Circumscription (Curitiba, Paraná) |
---|
5th Infantry Division (Curitiba, Paraná) [lower-alpha 12]
3rd Coastal Artillery Battery (Marechal Moura Fort, Santa Catarina) 8th Coastal Artillery Battery (Marechal Luz Fort, Santa Catarina) |
4th Military Circumscription (Cuiabá, Mato Grosso) [45] [46] |
---|
Mixed Brigade
5th Coastal Artillery Group (Forte Coimbra, Mato Grosso) [lower-alpha 13] |
The Brazilian Army is the branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible, externally, for defending the country in eminently terrestrial operations and, internally, for guaranteeing law, order and the constitutional branches, subordinating itself, in the Federal Government's structure, to the Ministry of Defense, alongside the Brazilian Navy and Air Force. The Military Police and Military Firefighters Corps are legally designated as reserve and auxiliary forces to the army. Its operational arm is called Land Force. It is the largest army in South America and the largest branch of the Armed Forces of Brazil.
The Portuguese Army is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its origins going back to the 12th century, it can be considered one of the oldest active armies in the world.
The Copacabana Fort revolt, also known as the 18 of the Fort revolt, was one of several movements coordinated by rebel factions of the Brazilian Army against the president of Brazil, Epitácio Pessoa, and the winner of the 1922 presidential election, Artur Bernardes. Acting under the figure of marshal Hermes da Fonseca and supporting the defeated faction, the Republican Reaction, the rebels tried a wide revolt in Rio de Janeiro on 5 July 1922, but only managed to control Fort Copacabana and the Military School of Realengo, in addition to, outside the city, a focus in Niterói and the 1st Military Circumscription, in Mato Grosso. They were defeated, but the revolt marks the beginning of tenentism and the events that led to the end of the First Brazilian Republic.
The Brazilian Army Aviation is the air segment of the Brazilian Army, operating rotary-wing aircraft (helicopters) in conjunction with surface forces such as the 12th Light Infantry Brigade (Airmobile). Originally founded with aircraft in 1919, it ceased to exist in 1941, re-emerging in its current form in 1986. It has mainly transport aircraft in addition to light attack helicopters, but does not use dedicated attack helicopters. Its command (CAvEx) in Taubaté, São Paulo, is linked to the Land Operations Command, in Brasília, and the Southeastern Military Command. CAvEx only has subordinates in the 1st and 2nd battalions, also in Taubaté. The 3rd and 4th are respectively in Campo Grande and Manaus, subordinate to the Western and Amazonian Military Commands, and there is a detachment in Belém, in the Northern Military Command.
The Eastern Military Command is one of eight Military Commands of the Brazilian Army. The Eastern Military Command is responsible for the defense of the states Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, and Espírito Santo. A Parachutist Brigade and two Infantry Brigades are assigned to the 1st Army Division, which is the maneuver unit of the CML. Two Military Regional Commands are subordinated to the CML for administrative purposes.
The Northeastern Military Command is one of the eight Military Commands of the Brazilian Army. The Northeastern Military Command is responsible for the defense of the states Bahia, Sergipe, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Ceará, Piauí, and Maranhão. Three Military Regional Commands are subordinated to the CMNE for administrative purposes.
The Western Military Command is one of the eight Military Commands of the Brazilian Army. The Western Military Command is responsible for the defense of the states Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul.
The Southeastern Military Command is one of eight Military Commands of the Brazilian Army. It is responsible for the defence of the state of São Paulo.
The Southern Military Command is one of eight Military Commands of the Brazilian Army. The Southern Military Command is responsible for the defence of the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná and Santa Catarina.
The Caçadores (hunters) were the elite light infantry troops of the Portuguese Army, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Units of Caçadores – with features somewhat different from the original ones – continued to exist in the Portuguese Armed Forces until the 1970s, namely the Caçadores Especiais – several special forces companies of the Portuguese Army created by the Special Operations Troops Centre at the beginning of the 1960s and heavily employed throughout the Portuguese Colonial War (1961-1974) in Africa.
The 12th Light Infantry Brigade (Airmobile) (Portuguese: 12.ª Brigada de Infantaria Leve (Aeromóvel), 12ª Bda Inf L (Amv)) is a large unit of the Brazilian Army based in Caçapava, São Paulo. It is subordinated to the 2nd Army Division. Since 1995 its elements have been transported by Army Aviation helicopters, being able to quickly operate in any part of Brazil's territory.
Olímpio Mourão Filho was a Brazilian military officer known as the author of the Cohen Plan, a forged document used to justify the Estado Novo coup in 1937, and, as head of the 4th Military Region/Infantry Division, as the precipitator of the 1964 coup d'état that installed the military dictatorship in Brazil. He reached the rank of army general and ended his career presiding over the Superior Military Court (STM) from 1967 to 1969.
The Imperial Brazilian Army was the name given to the land force of the Empire of Brazil. The Brazilian Army was formed after the independence of the country from Portugal in 1822 and reformed in 1889, after the republican coup d'état that created the First Brazilian Republic, a dictatorship headed by the army.
The Brazilian cavalry is one of the branches that make up the Brazilian Army. It operates in armored vehicles and, like the infantry, has the role of directly confronting the enemy, but with distinct missions such as reconnaissance and vanguard. It is organized into regiments and squadrons, which are equivalent to the infantry's battalions and companies. Its main types are tank, mechanized, armored and guard. Its troops serve in vehicle crews or as fusiliers on board, who can also fight on foot.
João Manuel de Lima e Silva was a Brazilian military officer and revolutionary leader, being the first general of the Riograndense Republic.
The Revolutionary 3rd Army was the unified command of the Brazilian Army forces that joined the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état in the South region of the country. It emerged on April 2 by the self-proclamation of General Mário Poppe de Figueiredo, in charge of the 3rd Infantry Division in Santa Maria, as commander of the 3rd Army. Revolution was the self-designation of the coup d'état. The 3rd Army was based in Porto Alegre and commanded by General Ladário Pereira Teles, loyal to the João Goulart government and opposed to the coup. With Goulart's departure from Porto Alegre and the triumph of the coup over his government, on April 3 Ladário gave up his command and Poppe de Figueiredo took over the 3rd Army in Porto Alegre, ending the duality of command.
Urban combat in the São Paulo Revolt of 1924 was the most violent warfare of its kind in Brazilian history, raging in the city of São Paulo from 5 to 27 July of that year. Rebel tenentist revolutionaries, led by general Isidoro Dias Lopes, intended to take over the city in a few hours, but were trapped in combat in the central region against forces loyal to the government of president Artur Bernardes. On 8 July, the loyalists withdrew to the city's outskirts, organizing themselves in general Eduardo Sócrates' "Division of Operations in the State of São Paulo", restarting the fight in the working-class neighborhoods to the south and east of the city. There was not a complete siege; the rebels had roads open to their territory inland, along which they withdrew from the city on the night of 27 July and continued their rebellion.
The interior of São Paulo was the scene of the São Paulo Revolt of 1924 from July, parallel to the battle for the city of São Paulo, until August and September, when the rebels left the capital and headed for the state border, first to the south of Mato Grosso and then to Paraná. There is record of revolt in 87 municipalities and support for the revolt in another 32. Local political factions joined one side or the other in the conflict, the impact of which was felt even in municipalities never traversed by the revolutionary army.
The Battle of Três Lagoas was an offensive by tenentist rebels against Brazilian government forces on 17–18 August 1924, extending the São Paulo Revolt into southern Mato Grosso. Led by Juarez Távora, the rebels suffered heavy losses to loyalist troops from Minas Gerais, under the command of colonel Malan d'Angrogne, in the town of Campo Japonês. This defeat frustrated the rebels' ambition to settle in Mato Grosso, forcing them to start the Paraná Campaign.
During Brazil's First Republic (1889–1930), the Brazilian Army was one of several land-based military forces present in the country. The army was equipped and funded by the federal government, while state and local chiefs had the Public Forces and irregular forces such as patriotic battalions.