- Jules Brunet
Infobox Military Person
name=Jules Brunet
lived=2 January 1838–12 August 1911
placeofbirth=Belfort ,France
placeofdeath=
caption=Jules Brunet inEzo , at the end of theBoshin War (1869).]
nickname=
allegiance=
branch=French Army
serviceyears=1857-1899
rank= General de division
commands=
battles=French intervention in Mexico Boshin War Franco-Prussian War
awards=Knight of the Légion d'honneur
laterwork=
portrayedby=Jules Brunet (2 January 1838-12 August 1911) was a French officer who played an active role in
Mexico andJapan , and later became a General and Chief of Staff of the French Army in 1898.Jules Brunet was a member of the first French military mission to be sent to the
Empire of Japan in order to help modernize the armies of theshogunate .Early life
He was born in
Belfort , in theAlsace region of eastern France. He graduated from theÉcole Polytechnique in 1857, where he specialized inartillery .Jules Brunet first participated in the
French intervention in Mexico (1862-1867) sent by Napoleon III, where he received theLégion d'honneur . He then arrived inYokohama , in the beginning of 1867, as a member of the first French Military Mission to Japan.First French Military Mission to Japan
The military mission was able to train the army of
Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu for a little more than one year, before theTokugawa shogunate lost to the Imperial forces in 1868 in theBoshin War . The French military mission was then ordered to leave Japan by Imperial decree.However, Jules Brunet chose to remain. He resigned from the French army, and left for the North of Japan with the remains of the Shogunate's armies in the hope of staging a counter-attack. In a letter to
Napoleon III , Jules Brunet explained the plan of the Alliance, as well as his role in it::"A revolution is forcing the Military Mission to return to France. Alone I stay, alone I wish to continue, under new conditions, the results obtained by the Mission, together with the Party of the North, which is the party favorable to France in Japan. Soon a reaction will take place, and the Daimyos of the North have offered me to be its soul. I have accepted, because with the help of one thousand Japanese officers and non-commissionned officers, our students, I can direct the 50,000 men of the Confederation." Jules Brunet, Letter to Napoleon III. [ "Soie et Lumières, l'Age d'or des éechanges Franco-Japonais", p81 (in French and Japanese)]The Boshin War
Jules Brunet took a very active role during the
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Boshin War , between partisans of the Shogun, with whom Brunet sided, and partisans of the restoration ofEmperor Meiji . Jules and Cazenave were present at theBattle of Toba-Fushimi . They left Osaka and returned to Edo on 12 January, together withEnomoto Takeaki onboard the "Fujisan". Enomoto was bringing with him various documents, objects, and a treasure of 180.000ryo s, fromOsaka castle . They arrived in Edo on 14 January.After the fall of Edo, he fled north with
Enomoto Takeaki , he helped set up theEzo Republic , with the leader of the Japanese shogunate's navy, Enomoto Takeaki, as the President. He also helped organize the defense of Hokkaidō in theBattle of Hakodate . Troops were structured under a hybrid Franco-Japanese leadership, with Otori Keisuke as Commander-in-chief, and Jules Brunet as second in command. Each of the four brigades were commanded by a French officer (Fortant, Marlin,Cazeneuve , Bouffier), with eight Japanese commanders as second in command of each half-brigade.The final stand occurred in the northern island of
Hokkaidō , in the city ofHakodate , where in June 1869, the shogunate forces lost a final battle between 800 shogunate soldiers and an 8000-strong Imperial army.In an interesting postscript to his involvement in the Boshin War, Brunet spoke highly of Shinsengumi vice-commander
Hijikata Toshizo in his memoirs. Praising Hijikata's ability as a leader, he said that if the man had been in Europe, he most certainly would have been a general.Rehabilitation
Jules Brunet, with the rest of the French soldiers, was evacuated by the French corvette "Coëtlogon", commanded by Dupetit-Thouars, and then transferred to the "Dupleix" in Yokohama on which he was transported to
Saigon . From Saigon he sailed to France onboard a commercial cruiser. Benefitting from popular support for his actions in Japan, Jules Brunet did not receive judgement, in spite of the Japanese request. He was quickly rehabilitated by the time of theFranco-Prussian War (1870-1871), but was taken prisoner by the Germans at theSiege of Metz . After the war, he played a key role as a member of the Versailles Army in the suppression of the Paris insurrection of La Commune in 1871.In May 1881 and again in March 1885, Jules Brunet received medals from the
Meiji Emperor , which were given to him at the Japanese Embassy in Paris. It seems his former allyEnomoto Takeaki , then Minister of theImperial Japanese Navy , played a key role in this late recognition. [函館の幕末・維新 p.9]Jules Brunet rose to the position of General and Chief of Staff of the French army ("Chef d'Etat Major") under the Minister of War Chanoine (his former senior officer at the French Military mission in Japan) thirty years later in 1898.
Jules Brunet was partly the inspiration for the character of Nathan Algren in the 2003 movie "
The Last Samurai ". ["Jules Brunet: this officer, member of the French military mission, sent to Japan as an artillery instructor, joined, after the defeat of theShogun , the rebellion against Imperial troops, serving as an inspiration for the hero of the "Last Samurai "." Monthly Letter of the French Chamber of Commerce in Japan, p.9 "Diner des sempais en compagnie de M.Christian Polak. [http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:07MR3vc1riUJ:www.ccifj.or.jp/lm/documents/tout/273.pdf+Christian+Polak+Ordre+national+du+M%C3%A9rite&hl=ja&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=jp Monthly Letter of the French Chamber of Commerce in Japan, p.9 "Diner des sempais en compagnie de M.Christian Polak] ] ["Le dernier samouraï était un capitaine français" ("The Last Samurai was a French captain"), Samedi, 6 mars 2004, p. G8, Le Soleil. QuotingChristian Polak aboutThe Last Samurai movie.]Drawing and paintings by Jules Brunet
Jules Brunet was a talented painter who left numerous depictions of his travels in Mexico and Japan.
Notes
References
* "日仏交流の黄金期 Soie et Lumière, L'Âge d'or des échanges Franco-Japonais" (French and Japanese),
Christian Polak , Hachette Fujingaho
*Polak, Christian, et al. (1988). 函館の幕末・維新 "End of the Bakufu and Restoration in Hakodate." ISBN 4-12-001699-4 (in Japanese).ee also
*
Franco-Japanese relations
*The Last Samurai
*Naval Battle of Hakodate
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