The cavalry officer that died fighting in the trenches of Flanders (story below⬇️)
Alfredo Lopes de Cardoso e Castro Guimarães was born on the 22nd of April 1884 in Guimarães (yes, he has the same name as the city he was born in).
He started his career in the army in 1906, when he became a student in the military academy.
Upon graduation he was appointed as an officer to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment.
By the time Portugal started sending its army to France, Alfredo was incorporated into the 29th Infantry Battalion (unit that was part of the famous Minho Brigade).
Guimarães and his unit departed in Lisbon on the 4th of August 1917.
On the 9th of April 1918, Guimarães was in charge of a platoon of the 3rd company, 29th Battalion.
As the German offensive broke out, the entirety of the Portuguese force was either killed or retreated to the village line in panic.
Guimarães had no choice but to gather what was left of his platoon and retreat to the command headquarters as well.
At 9 am, lieutenant Guimarães arrived at the "Red House", where major Xavier da Costa was commanding the counter attack. After reporting the situation, Guimarães left for the 2nd line of defence, where the fighting was now entering its peak of intensity.
The cavalry officer positioned himself, along a handful of soldiers, in "Picantin Post", with the intention of creating an advanced post and a barrier between the Germans and the Red House.
After several hours of brutal combat, Guimarães retreated to Lavantie. By 4 pm, Guimarães was defending a trench near that same village: "Alferes Graça and lieutenant Guimarães advanced, crawling on open field under the protection of machine gun and artillery fire. The fire of a German machine gun, firing from a house near by, swept the parapet of the trenches without mercy. The enemy, opening its way to Le Nouveau Monde, denied Alferes Graça the chance to retreat. A group of approximately 100 German soldiers took our trench and made Graça and his men prisoners. As a consequence of this action, the heroic lieutenant Alfredo Guimarães lost his life." (Account of major Vasco de Carvalho)
And, 13 days away from completing 34 years of age, lieutenant Guimarães died in Flanders fields.