Jules Brunet

Jules Brunet

Infobox Military Person
name=Jules Brunet
lived=2 January 1838–12 August 1911
placeofbirth=Belfort, France
placeofdeath=


caption=Jules Brunet in Ezo, at the end of the Boshin 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 and Japan, 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 the shogunate.

Early life

He was born in Belfort, in the Alsace region of eastern France. He graduated from the École Polytechnique in 1857, where he specialized in artillery.

Jules Brunet first participated in the French intervention in Mexico (1862-1867) sent by Napoleon III, where he received the Légion d'honneur. He then arrived in Yokohama, 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 the Tokugawa shogunate lost to the Imperial forces in 1868 in the Boshin 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



thumb|The_French_military_advisers_and_their_Japanese_allies_in_Hokkaido_-_use_a_cursor_to_investigate

poly 0 350 18 341 48 315 47 304 36 305 22 283 22 246 36 220 65 210 69 194 62 171 66 136 94 132 109 152 104 201 140 219 150 231 156 285 145 369 118 391 68 391 54 433 49 462 10 457 Hosoya Yasutaropoly 224 555 152 405 172 353 186 294 184 237 216 224 219 202 211 165 229 146 250 146 267 156 271 168 284 171 272 182 273 216 304 224 323 289 323 349 333 388 339 431 326 450 339 529 306 552 Captain Jules Brunetpoly 324 560 355 524 348 388 337 375 334 343 342 299 369 265 393 230 410 224 404 202 404 185 392 185 399 175 399 163 435 150 454 159 463 169 463 205 468 224 498 241 509 257 517 308 519 330 496 394 473 558 Commander in chief Matsudaira Taropoly 548 372 531 327 528 285 529 244 545 231 575 212 558 192 558 175 556 175 554 147 560 138 577 131 594 131 609 159 605 165 610 187 610 212 646 227 679 261 708 299 670 363 666 383 657 387 664 396 671 449 716 503 714 517 658 453 654 534 528 535 Tajima Kintaropoly 162 365 148 235 109 184 117 144 135 106 164 92 175 78 169 49 169 31 178 24 195 24 208 35 215 41 215 47 207 55 208 72 217 82 225 91 253 104 263 141 193 365 Captain Cazeneuvepoly 265 227 267 150 272 139 297 129 293 106 287 91 294 66 305 60 321 60 333 71 338 78 344 81 344 89 340 97 336 103 334 122 360 139 365 139 376 149 391 179 398 226 358 245 371 305 315 362 Sargeant Jean Marlinpoly 380 222 386 171 404 151 405 134 399 116 403 114 396 99 410 86 444 97 451 104 451 109 442 115 444 133 441 142 460 170 Fukushima Tokinosukepoly 457 166 461 121 475 104 503 89 509 82 499 72 496 48 489 21 523 17 539 37 541 48 534 71 534 78 547 91 565 99 580 104 627 185 623 210 545 307 577 481 469 493 Sergeant Arthur Fortant rect 0 0 713 561 Use button to enlarge or cursor to investigate

desc noneJules Brunet took a very active role during the Boshin War, between partisans of the Shogun, with whom Brunet sided, and partisans of the restoration of Emperor Meiji. Jules and Cazenave were present at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi. They left Osaka and returned to Edo on 12 January, together with Enomoto Takeaki onboard the "Fujisan". Enomoto was bringing with him various documents, objects, and a treasure of 180.000 ryos, from Osaka castle. They arrived in Edo on 14 January.

After the fall of Edo, he fled north with Enomoto Takeaki, he helped set up the Ezo Republic, with the leader of the Japanese shogunate's navy, Enomoto Takeaki, as the President. He also helped organize the defense of Hokkaidō in the Battle 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 of Hakodate, 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 the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), but was taken prisoner by the Germans at the Siege 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 ally Enomoto Takeaki, then Minister of the Imperial 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 the Shogun, 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. Quoting Christian Polak about The 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


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Jules Brunet — in Ezo, zu Ende des Boshin Krieges (1869) Jules Brunet (jap. ジュール・ブリュネ, * 2. Januar 1838 in Belfort im Elsass; † 12. August 1911) war ein Mitglied der Militärmission des Zweiten Kaiserreichs Frankreichs zum Japanischen Kaiserreich …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Jules Brunet — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Brunet. Jules Brunet Jules Brunet à …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Brunet — may refer to: * someone with brown hair or generally dark hair. * Brunet (pharmacy), a chain located in Quebec, Canada * Brunet, a commune of the Alpes de Haute Provence département in France ;People * Miguel Quiroz Brunet… …   Wikipedia

  • Brunet — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Andrée Brunet (1901–1993), französische Eiskunstläuferin Emile Brunet (1863–1945), belgischer Politiker Frank Brunet (* 1970), französisch deutscher Schauspieler, Musicaldarsteller und Sänger Jean Guy… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Jules — may refer to:*Didacus Jules, a St. Lucian educator *Gary Jules (b. 1969), an American singer songwriter *Jules Brunet, a French General *Jules Lund, an Australian television presenter *Jules Maenen, a Dutch road bicycle and track cyclist *Jules… …   Wikipedia

  • Brunet — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Sommaire 1 Origine 2 Patronyme 3 Autres …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jules Chanoine — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Chanoine (homonymie). Charles Sulpice Jules Chanoine est un général français, ministre de la guerre en 1898, lors de l affaire Dreyfus. Le général Chanoine …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jules Berlioz d'Auriac — Jules Berlioz d’Auriac Jean Marie Victor Jules Berlioz d Auriac, né le 9 juillet 1820 à Grenoble, mort à Paris à une date inconnue, est un écrivain français. Cousin du compositeur Hector Berlioz (son père, Victor Abraham Berlioz, est le frère de… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jules Rengade — Jules Aristide Roger Rengade, né en 1841 à Aurillac et mort en 1915, plus connu sous son pseudonyme Aristide Roger, est un journaliste scientifique et romancier français. Sommaire 1 Biographie 2 Œuvres 2.1 Scientifiques …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jules Auber — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Auber. Jules Auber Parlementaire français Date de naissance 29 avril 1867 Date de décès 5  …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”