João Baptista Mascarenhas de Morais

João Baptista Mascarenhas de Morais
General Mascarenhas de Moraes (center) flanked by generals Zenobio da Costa (right) and Cordeiro (left)
Born	(1883-11-13)November 13, 1883 São Gabriel, Rio Grande do Sul, Empire of Brazil
Died	September 17, 1968(1968-09-17) (aged 84) Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Allegiance	Brazil
Service/branch	Brazilian Army
Years of service	1897–1946, 1951–1954
Rank	Marshal
Commands held	Brazilian Expeditionary Force
Battles/wars	Revolution of 1930 Constitutionalist Revolution World War II
Other work	Author

Marshal João Baptista Mascarenhas de Morais (November 13, 1883 – September 17, 1968) was a Brazilian army officer and commander of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force in the Second World War.

Mascarenhas de Morais was born in São Gabriel, a municipality and a comark (county) of the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. His father was a trader, son of a veteran official from the Ragamuffin War (Guerra dos Farrapos).

He attended the Praia Vermelha Military School in Rio de Janeiro and had a legalist position in the many military revolts of the 1920s and early 1930s. During the 1930 Revolution Mascarenhas kept his loyalty to President Washington Luiz and was arrested by the rebels headed by Getúlio Vargas, who became president himself in that same year after ousting Washington Luiz. After release, Mascarenhas continued his career in the army and was put under arrest for a second time in 1932 when he proclaimed his support for the Constitutionalist Revolution, a military and civil uprising against Vargas in São Paulo State during 1932. Once again, after the defeat of the uprising, Mascarenhas was released and not prosecuted.

In 1935, while serving as Commander of the Realengo Military School, Mascarenhas de Morais took part in the fight against a communist uprising in Rio de Janeiro. This time his loyalty was with the constitutional government of Getulio Vargas. In 1937 he became a General and was, in the following years, commander of the 9th and 7th and military regions in Recife and São Paulo respectively.

In 1943 he was named commander of the First Expeditionary Infantry Division of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, the 1st DIE (in Portuguese, "Primeira Divisão de Infantaria Expedicionária"). With the cancellation of the 2nd and 3rd Divisions he thus became commander of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, comprising only the 1st DIE. During the organization of the 1st DIE he was also head of the Brazil Military Commission with the US and visited the Mediterranean Theater of operations in 1943, before the arrival of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force.