Jules Brunet
Jules Brunet ( Japanese ジ ュ ー ル ・ ブ リ ュ ネ ; * January 2, 1838 in Belfort , Alsace ; † August 12, 1911 in Fontenay-sous-Bois ) was a French officer and member of the military mission of the Second French Empire to the Japanese Empire with the aim of the modernization of the armies of the Tokugawa - shogunate support.
Life
Brunet was a graduate of the École polytechnique in 1857, where he specialized in artillery .
Jules Brunet first took part in the French intervention in Mexico (1862–1867), which was initiated by Napoléon III. had been initiated. Here he received the medal of the Legion of Honor .
In 1867, when he was less than 30 years old, he was promoted to captain .
First French military mission to Japan
Brunet arrived in Yokohama at the beginning of 1867 as a member of the French military mission to Japan .
The military mission only had a little over a year to train the army of shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu before the Tokugawa shogunate lost the Boshin War against the imperial army in 1868 . The military mission was then ordered by imperial decree to leave Japan.
However, Jules Brunet decided to stay. He resigned from the French army and moved north with the remains of the shogunate army in the hope of being able to organize a counterattack.
The Hakodate War
Jules Brunet helped found the Republic of Ezo under the leadership of Admiral of the Shogunate Navy, Admiral Enomoto Takeaki , as President. He also helped organize the defense of Hokkaidō . The troops were organized under a mixed Franco-Japanese leadership. The commander in chief was Otori Keisuke , followed by Jules Brunet.
After the lost sea battle of Hakodate , the last battle took place in the city of Hakodate on the island of Hokkaidō . In June 1869, the 800 remaining soldiers of the shogunate lost the battle against 8,000 men of the imperial army around the besieged main fortress of the republic, Goryōkaku .
rehabilitation
Jules Brunet was evacuated from the Dupleix and brought back to France for trial before a court martial .
During the Franco-German War (1870–1871) he was quickly rehabilitated .
In 1870 he was captured by the Prussians near Metz . He later took part in the struggle for the Paris Commune on the side of the government troops.
In 1898 he was promoted to Chief of Staff of the French Army ("Chef d'Etat Major") under War Minister Chanoine (who had been his superior on the French military mission 30 years earlier).
Jules Brunet was partially the model for the character of Nathan Algren in the movie Last Samurai from 2003.
Individual evidence
- ↑ larousse.fr ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ 123exp-biographies.com
- ↑ “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 '. ” In: Monthly Letter of the French Chamber of Commerce in Japan , p.9 "Diner des sempais en compagnie de M. Christian Polak". ( Memento of the original from October 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF)
- ↑ Le dernier samouraï était un capitaine français (“The Last Samurai was a French captain”), Samedi, 6 mars 2004, p. G8, Le Soleil. Quote from Christian Polak about The Last Samurai .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Brunet, Jules |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | ジ ュ ー ル ・ ブ リ ュ ネ (Japanese) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French officer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 2, 1838 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Belfort , Alsace |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 12, 1911 |
| Place of death | Fontenay-sous-Bois |