by Smitty_80
Definitely read the rules. When you talked about the fortification marks, you didn't mention cities - you know fortifications aren't scars, and must go on top of cities, right? In other words, you can't place one on a territory that does not have a city.Also, fortification marks add 2 to the number of troops lost when expanding into that empty city - so in your example, Brazil, assuming it properly has a city in it, would cost someone 3 troops to expand into it if it's a minor city, and 4 if it's a major.
Finally, fortification marks are also worn down. Every time someone attacks one with 3 dice, regardless of the results, one of the spaces on the mark is blacked out. Once all of the spaces are blacked out (I believe there are 10), the fortifications are gone.