ABSTRACT
For the most part, World War II historiography has neglected the importance of the South Atlantic, and particularly Brazil, in the prewar preparations of the United States. Army planners believed that the successful protection of the South Atlantic necessitated the acquisition of a string of air bases first throughout Brazil and then in the rest of the hemisphere. In mid-June, Brazilian Chief of Staff Pedro Aurelio de Goes Monteiro returned to the US with Marshall on the USS Nashville, and the two military leaders began two months of defense talks. The attempt proved futile because the question of arms supplies slowed and then halted negotiations on joint defense measures. War Department planners still believed that northeast Brazil had to be defended by US troops if German forces moved into West Africa. A successful defense of this region would ensure the whole South Atlantic front against external attack.
