Marshal (Portuguese: Marechal) is the highest rank in both the Brazilian Army and the Brazilian Air Force, although the latter is titled marechal-do-ar (lit.'marshal of the air'). These ranks are equivalent to that of grand admiral in the Brazilian Navy. A marshal is distinguished by using five stars, which for a marshal of the air are in the approximate position of Southern Cross and for a marshal in the army, in the form of "X". The five stars of admiral are in the shape of a pentagon.
History
Until the structural reform of 1967 in the Brazilian Army, army generals (bearing four stars), when moving to the reserve, were awarded the fifth star automatically. With the reform, it was established that there would be only the promotion of a general to marshal in the event of war, thus extinguishing the rank of marshal within the army in times of peace. Those dubbed as marshals prior to such reform, however, would still bear such titles for the remainder of their lives. The last living Brazilian Army marshal, Marshal Waldemar Levy Cardoso, died in May 2009.
During the days of the Imperial Period (between 1822 and 1889), the patent, regarding the Army, was named "marshal of the army" (Portuguese: marechal-do-exército), having been renamed to its shorter current counterpart with the advent of the Republic after 1889.
Although a large number of marshals existed within Brazilian ranks in the second half of the 20th century as mentioned above, the last active marshal in the Brazilian Army (i.e., that to hold office in the command of active troops) was Marshal Mascarenhas de Morais, holding the position of commander of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, a special corps assembled to fight alongside the Allied forces in the Mediterranean theatre of World War II. Marshal Mascarenhas de Morais would bear said position and title for the remainder of his life (thus, until 1968, when he died) as a result of a decree by the National Congress which dubbed the position and title honorary lifetime in the form of active troops.
This category comprises articles about marshal of the armed forces of Brazil (patent virtually extinct in 1967 when, from then, can only be attributed to 4-star generals – generais de exército – who had participated actively during wartime). There have been 66 marshals; 63 in the Army and 3 in the Air Force
Marshals of the Empire of Brazil
Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, The Duke of Caxias, the most prominent of the marshals and the most influential of the empire, has been the patron of the Brazilian Army since 1962.
During the reign of the Pedro I and Pedro II, there were four general ranks (from lowest to highest): Brigadier (brigadeiro), field marshal (marechal de campo), lieutenant-general (tenente-general) and marshal of the army (marechal do exército). Although almost all international conflicts that Brazil participated occurred during the 19th century: Brazilian War of Independence, Cisplatine War, Platine War, Uruguayan War and Paraguayan War, very few military officers achieved the highly distinct rank:[1]
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