Through analysis of the past, we can view the history of the League of Combatants as being divided into phases, covering four periods with distinct characteristics:
Origins – 1921 to 1934: 14 years
Conditioning – 1935 to 1974: 40 years
Adaptation –1975 to 2002: 28 years
Renewal – 2003 to 2020: 18 years Coming to a total of 100 years
These phases add up to its first centenary. The Origins phase stretches from its founding (1921), including its creation (1923) and officialization (1924) and its consolidation with agencies and delegations throughout Portugal, with its democratically elected bodies, until shortly after the establishment of the Estado Novo regime.
It integrated the moral, material, patriotic and humanitarian values of the Portuguese Women’s Crusade, the Patriotic Junta of the North and the Great War Standards and War Graves Commission. This phase ended with the presidency of Hernâni Cidade.
The Conditioning phase can be characterised as a period of direct State intervention in the activities of the League of Combatants, with the State naming the governing bodies, including its president. The League continued to work towards its patriotic and humanitarian aims. It also grew, becoming established in the former overseas provinces, but acting in a politically restricted way. This phase ended on 25th April 1974, under the presidency of General Arnaldo Shultz. The Adaptation phase emerged with the 25 April Revolution and continued until the end of the century. On the one hand, the League of Combatants was able to resume its original model and name its directors democratically. However, this was something of a difficult period, during which it lost groups on the continent and all those overseas and suffered the political consequences of the situation and the effects of the colonial war, taking some time to recover. Towards the end of the period, however, some recovery could be seen, particularly with the inauguration of the Monument to Overseas Combatants and their respective stone plaques, in Belém. The phase ended with the presidency of General Júlio de Oliveira. The Renovation phase has covered the 21st century thus far. It is a phase of growth. This phase has seen the launch of Strategic and Structuring Programmes which guarantee the creation of Structures of Social Support, Healthcare, Cultural and Heritage Support, creating new positions of work, and significantly increasing the number of groups and directors. The conditions were thus created, always with some Government support, for the League of Combatants, as a Public Association, not for profit and for public utility, compared to a Private Institution of Social Solidarity, with Autonomous State Administration, under the guidance of the Ministry of National Defence, to guarantee the achievement of its short-, medium- and long-term goals.
