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>The participation of Portugal in World War I took place mostly in Flanders, which is in Belgium. On April 9, 1918. The battle is known in Portugal as "The Battle of La Lys" – the first day of Ludendorff's Lys Offensive, otherwise known as "Operation Georgette", and as the "Battle of Estaires" in official British history. Milhais found himself in the midst of the battle of La Lys, in the field of Isberg, covering the withdrawal of Portuguese and Scottish soldiers. Within a few hours 1,938 men were killed, 5,198 wounded and about 7,000 taken prisoner. Milhais was in charge of one of their Lewis guns on 9 April 1918. During Operation Georgette, when the German Army attacked his division, Milhais stood up with his Lewis machine gun defended against assaults by two German regiments by laying down intense fire, causing many German casualties. He managed to cover the retreat of Portuguese and Scots alike despite coming under heavy attack himself. He fired in all directions and stayed at his post until he ran out of ammunition. Finally, the Germans decided to go around and Milhais found himself alone in the rear of the enemy lines where he stayed for three days. On the third day, Milhais, still carrying his Lewis, rescued a Scottish major from a swamp and the two reached Allied lines. Milhais was warmly welcomed, but being a modest man he did not say anything about his experiences. It was through the officer he had helped reporting the story to the British HQ and several other testimonies that his deeds become known.
A few months later, Milhais again held back a German assault, standing alone with his Lewis gun and allowing a Belgian unit to retreat safely to a secondary trench without casualties. Milhais was awarded the highest distinction of the Portuguese: the Order of the Tower and Sword and with the French Légion d'Honneur, delivered on the battlefield before 15,000 allied soldiers.
