The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps in France (1917-18) and the long shadow of the Peninsular War against Napoleon

Meneses, Filipe Ribeiro de

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Year:: 2018
Contributor:: Meneses, Filipe Ribeiro de (author)
Genre:: articles
Subject:: World War, 1914-1918 > Portugal; Armies; Beresford, William Carr, Viscount > 1768-1854; Collective memory; France > Foreign relations; Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815 > Campaigns > Portugal
Extent:: pp. 1-23
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26300/d9mr-qy49

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Abstract:: The dispatch of the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (CEP) to France in 1917 was envisaged by Portuguese interventionists as an affirmation of Portugal’s desire to reclaim an independent role in world affairs, emerging from the shadow of British influence. However, the CEP relied on the much larger British Expeditionary Force for instruction, supply, and guidance. The relationship between the two armies was fraught with difficulty and cultural misunderstandings due in large measure to a very different reading of their joint campaign against Napoleon in the Peninsular War, fought a century earlier. The British desire to correct the CEP’s shortcomings was interpreted within the CEP as a desire to subjugate the Portuguese and to take credit for whatever they might accomplish on the battlefield.; O envio do Corpo Expedicionário Português (CEP) para França, em 1917, representou, para a corrente intervencionista portuguesa, a afirmação do desejo nacional de recuperar um papel independente na cena mundial, libertando Portugal da influência britânica. Porém, o CEP dependia da Força Expedicionária Britânica, muito maior do que ele, para a sua instrução, abastecimento e liderança. A relação entre os dois exércitos ficou marcada por dificuldades várias e desentendimentos culturais que resultavam em parte de leituras diferentes da campanha comum, um século antes, contra Napoleão, durante a Guerra Peninsular. O desejo britânico de corrigir os defeitos do CEP foi interpretado no seio deste como uma vontade de subjugar os Portugueses e ficar com os louros por eles conquistados no campo de batalha.

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Citation

Meneses, Filipe Ribeiro de, "The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps in France (1917-18) and the long shadow of the Peninsular War against Napoleon" (2018). e-Journal of Portuguese History. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library. https://doi.org/10.26300/d9mr-qy49

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e-Journal of Portuguese History Vol. 16, no. 2

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e-Journal of Portuguese History

The e-Journal of Portuguese History (e-JPH) (ISSN: 1645-6432) is an international peer-reviewed scholarly journal with the objective of providing publication of work on historical subjects, especially those concerning themes and topics of Portuguese history analyzed in a comparative perspective. It …

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