The 1st Brazilian Infantry Division consisted of three infantry regiments modeled to the American system. Each regiment had 3,250 men.

• 1st Infantry Regiment (IR) from the Rio de Janeiro region — Sampaio Regiment
• 6th IR from the São Paulo region — the Ipiranga Regiment
• 11th IR from the Minas Gerais region — Tiradentes Regiment

Each regiment consisted of three battalions numbered I to III. Each battalion consisted of four companies, numbered consecutively, for a total of 12 companies per regiment.
The heavy weapons companies were the 4th, 8th, and 12th. Each regiment formed its own Regimental Combat Team (RCT), which comprised an infantry regiment, a battalion of 105mm towed howitzers, and an engineer company belonging to the 9th Engineer Battalion.
The Sampaio Regiment had the 2nd Artillery Battalion and the 3rd Engineer Company 
The Ipiranga Regiment had the 3rd Artillery Battalion and the 2nd Engineer Company
The Tiradentes Regiment had the 1st Artillery Battalion and the 1st Engineer Company.
Additionally, the division had the 4th Artillery Battalion, which included 155mm towed howitzers, and the Divisional Reconnaissance Squadron at its disposal.
The 751st American Tank Battalion (with Sherman and Stuart tanks) and the 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion (with M10 tank destroyers) were occasionally placed under the command of the 1st Brazilian Infantry Division, forming a combined armed force.

The F.E.B. in Italy
The first contingent of Brazilian troops arrived in Italy on July 16, 1944. They arrived without equipment; the Americans distributed weapons to each contingent only after their arrival. They spent the next two months equipping and training themselves before finally entering the combat zone on September 15.
Initially, the division's units were involved in reconnaissance and mopping-up operations in Tuscany, Massarosa, Bozzano, Camaiore, Monte Prano, and other areas.
For the next 45 days, the first Brazilian contingent—which included the 6th Infantry Regiment, parts of the 11th Regiment, a company of engineers, and a platoon of the reconnaissance squadron—penetrated 25 miles into the Serchio Valley. The 6th Regiment then fought the Germans near Castelnuovo di Garfagnana.

There, they successfully surprised and drove off units of the Italian Social Republic that had been trained in Germany (elements of the "Monterosa" Alpine Division of the National Republican Army), but were then repelled by a counterattack from the nearby German 148th Infantry Division.
At the end of October, the first contingent was removed from the front line and reunited with the second and third contingents that had arrived from Brazil. In November, the entire division returned to the front line.

On November 5, 1944, the division was positioned south of Bologna in sub-zero celsius temperatures. Many of the men had never seen snow before. Together with Task Force 45 of the U.S. 5 Army, they found themselves facing German positions on Monte Belvedere and Monte Castello. These were strongholds of the second line, which was also known as the Gothic Line. It was defended by the German 232nd Infantry Division, which was composed of veterans of the Russian front.

The first Brazilian assault on Monte Castello's defenses, on the night of November 28 and 29, resulted in 190 casualties. A second attack on December 12 led to the loss of an additional 250 soldiers.

In February 1945, the U.S. 10th Mountain Division entered the fray. The first and only American division of alpine troops, composed of experienced mountaineers and rock climbers, successfully attacked German artillery observation posts on the Monti della Riva mountains at night on February 18 and 19.

Then, at 11 p.m. on February 19, they attacked the German stronghold of Monte Belvedere from three different directions as part of Operation Encore.
Meanwhile, while advancing towards Monte della Torraccia in the territory of Iola di Montese, the Americans were attacked by soldiers from the Brazilian division at 5:30 a.m. on February 21. After intense fighting, the Brazilians conquered the summit of Monte Castello in the late afternoon, while the Germans retreated along the road towards the village of Castel d'Aiano. The Americans occupied Castel d'Aiano on March 5. The attack by the Pracinhas (as the Brazilian soldiers were affectionately known) was supported by the 1st Brazilian Fighter Group.

After stabilizing the front for about forty days, the Spring Offensive began on April 14. This offensive led to a breakthrough of all German defenses in the Apennines and plains, resulting in a rush towards the Po Valley and Po River. The 1st Brazilian Infantry Division was deployed to the left of the offensive line, tasked with taking the village of Montese and the two hills overlooking it: Monte Buffone and Montello.
From April 14 to 18, a fierce battle was fought house to house. By the end, the occupation of Montese had caused 34 deaths, 382 injuries, and 10 missing persons among the Brazilian ranks. On April 17, the 3rd Battalion of the 6th Regiment reached Monte Buffone but never reached its highest point. After losing dozens of men, the exhausted battalion was ordered to suspend the attack and maintain the positions reached.
On April 18, the German command realized that the advance of American troops from the 10th Mountain Division on their flank toward Rocca di Roffeno threatened to encircle them. Thus, they decided to retreat from the heights above Montese. Montese was "the stage for the most arduous and bloody victory of the Brazilian army in Italy."

After abandoning their positions in the mountains above Montese, the Germans retreated toward Zocca while continuing to bombard the Brazilian lines with artillery fire. The Brazilians liberated Zocca on April 21 and reached the valley road the following day.
On April 23, the 6th Regiment entered Marano, and the 11th Regiment entered Vignola. The two regiments then headed toward Piacenza along the foothills, capturing the remnants of the 90th Italian Division and its commander, General Mario Carloni, as well as the 148th German Infantry Division and its commander, General Otto Fretter-Pico, in the Rio Taro Valley (Fornovo).

As the war in Italy came to an end, the F.E.B. headed towards Alessandria. According to the final tally of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force's overseas operations, 25,334 men arrived in Italy in five waves. Of those men, 15,069 took part in the fighting and suffered 451 deaths. Additionally, 1,577 were wounded by firearms in the war zone, 487 were wounded in accidents in the war zone, and 658 were injured away from the front line.

When the war ended in Italy, President Vargas feared the return of a war hero and 25,000 well-armed, well-trained soldiers to Brazil, so he decided to "bury" the memory of the FEB. General Mascarenhas de Moraes was repatriated by plane. Once he arrived in Rio de Janeiro, the Minister of War, General Eurico Gaspar Dutra, accompanied him to his private residence. A few days later, on July 23, the general left for Peru on a diplomatic mission.

Meanwhile, the soldiers began leaving the port of Naples on July 6 and finished on September 19. However, a few hours before they were set to return home, the Brazilian command urgently ordered the Milanese printing company A. Macchi & C. to print thousands of discharge papers, which were delivered to the soldiers during the voyage. Upon their arrival, the Minister of War ordered that, within eight days of disembarking, the uniforms, Smoking Cobra badges, and 5th Army crests disappear forever from Brazil.

Overall, the men of the 1st Brazilian Infantry Division performed their duties well. They earned the trust of Italian civilians and gained combat experience in unfamiliar terrain, albeit at a certain cost. They were proud to represent their country and their divisional emblem, a snake smoking a cigar. The cartoon was also interpreted by Walt Disney and was probably inspired by a phrase that circulated in pro-fascist Brazilian government circles before American pressure to enter the war: "It's easier for a snake to smoke than for Brazil to enter the war." Instead, the snake smoked.

 The F.A.B. in Italy (Brazilian Air Force)
On October 9, 1944, the ship arrived in Livorno with the 1st Brazilian Fighter Group on board. The group was assigned to the Tarquinia airfield. At that time, the FAB was part of the 350th Fighter Regiment, 62nd Fighter Wing, United States Army Air Forces.
The 62nd Fighter Wing, in turn, was part of the XXII Tactical Air Command, which supported the ground operations of the 5th Army. On December 4, due to developments in the conflict, the entire 350th Regiment was relocated to the Pisa base, closer to the front. As was customary in American squadrons during the first days of the war, the FAB chose its emblem and combat motto.
They chose a fierce ostrich flying through the clouds and firing shots as the emblem and opted for the cry "Senta a Pua! (Feel the sting!).

To complete the account of the Força Aérea Brasileira's activities on the Italian front, it is necessary to mention the connenction and observation squadron's activities as well. This unit served the divisional artillery and arrived in Italy in October 1944 with the 3rd contingent of the F.E.B. On October 10, the squadron's pilots and airmen were transported by landing craft (LC-1-116) to Livorno, then by truck to Pisa.
At the Tuscan airport, the unit unit received nine Piper Cub aircraft with 65-horsepower engines. The aircraft were equipped only with a radio and lacked any type of weaponry.

The photo on the right shows the second model of the badge adopted after the first aircraft was shot down by Flak, the German anti-aircraft artillery. The explosion cloud has been added.

Bibliografia:
J.B. Mascarenhas de Moraes - The Brazilian Expeditionary Force by its Commander. 1964.
Elonir Josè SA Vian - Dos Apeninos aos Alpes: La Força Expedicionaria Brasileira e il XV Gruppo dell'Esercito nella campagna d'Italia
Penteado, Carlos José Russo Assumpção, LTC - The Brazilian Participation in World War II