The Portuguese Legion () was a Portuguese paramilitary state organization founded in 1936 during the Portuguese President of the council's

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese statesman, academic, and economist who served as Portugal's President of the Council of Ministers of Portugal, President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1 ...

's right-wing dictatorship, the Estado Novo. It was dissolved by law on April 25, 1974. Its stated objectives were to "''defend the spiritual heritage f Portugal'" and to "''fight the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

threat and

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

''". The Portuguese Legion was under the control of the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

and War, and was responsible for coordinating

civil defense Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: Risk management, prevention, mitigation, prepara ...

in Portuguese territory, including in the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...

. It was deeply involved in multiple collaborations with PIDE, the political police. They used the Roman salute and also used to shout the name of Salazar in their parades.

Membership

Membership in the Portuguese Legion was open to any person over 18 years of age. Members of the Portuguese Legion were divided into three levels:
''Escalão das Actividade Militares:'' included legionaries from the ages of 18 to 45.
''Escalão Privativo da DCT'': Members 45 and older.
''Escalão de Serviços Moderados'': Only open to members over the age of 60.

Organisation

Naval Brigade

The ''Brigada Naval da LP'' was established on 5 December 1938, with the aim to revive maritime traditions of Portugal, and thus was affiliated to the

Portuguese Navy The Portuguese Navy (), also known as the Portuguese War Navy (''Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa'') or as the Portuguese Armada (''Armada Portuguesa''), is the navy of the Portuguese Armed Forces. Chartered in 1317 by King Dinis of Portugal, it is ...

. The Naval Brigade had a large amount of autonomy in relation to the rest of the Legion, having its own command and wearing a different uniform. With the Naval Brigade as a reserve force for the Navy, its militia officers formed the ''Reserva Legionária (Reserva L)'' of the Navy. The Naval Brigade was based at the Marinheiros Barracks in Alcântara, Lisbon — where it had a battalion and a band — and had detachments in

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

Ponta Delgada Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality (''concelho'') and executive capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67,2 ...

and

Angra do Heroísmo Angra do Heroísmo (), or simply Angra, is a city and municipality on Terceira Island, Portugal, and one of the three capital cities of the Azores. Founded in 1478, Angra was historically the most important city in the Azores, as seat of the Roma ...

Oath

The official oath of the Portuguese Legion was: In addition to the legionnaires, there were subscribers who were not members of the LP, but contributed to its financing.

Uniform

The uniform of the Portuguese Legion consisted of brown pants and a dolmã, a traditional Portuguese military tunic, a green shirt, and tie. In the ''Brigada Naval'' of the LP the trousers and dolmã were dark blue.

War Cry

The official war cry of the Portuguese Legion was:

Sources

* ARAÚJO, Rui. '' The Empire of Spies ''. Alfragide: Book Workshop, 2010 * RODRIGUES, Luís Nuno. '' The Portuguese Legion: a new state militia (1936–1944) ''. Lisbon: Editorial Estampa, 1996. * SILVA, Joshua's. '' Portuguese Legion: repressive force of fascism ''. Lisbon: Diabril Publisher 1975. {{DEFAULTSORT:Legiao Portuguesa (Estado Novo) 1936 establishments in Portugal 1974 disestablishments in Portugal Anti-communist organizations Government paramilitary forces Military wings of fascist parties Military units and formations established in 1936 Military units and formations disestablished in 1974 Military units and formations of the Cold War Political repression Political organisations based in Portugal Estado Novo (Portugal) Paramilitary organisations based in Portugal Fascist organizations