Jean-Joseph Brisson (5 May 1868 – 25 July 1957) was a French naval officer who served in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Born at Cabara in Gironde, Brisson entered the ''

École Navale École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

'' in 1886 and the ''École d'application des enseignes de vaisseau'' in 1888. He was named a midshipman first class in 1889 and promoted to

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

in 1894. He served for a time in the colony of Dahomey. Afterwards he became a professor of ballistics at the ''École de canonnage'' and then professor of artillery at the ''École supérieure de la Marine''. In 1912–13, he was second-in-command of the ''École d'application''.Jean and Bernard Guérin, ''Des hommes et des activités autour d'un demi-siècle, 1889–1957'' (Bordeaux: 1957), p. 114. Appointed

frigate captain Frigate captain is a naval rank in the naval forces of several countries. Corvette captain lies one level below frigate captain. It is usually equivalent to the Commonwealth/US Navy rank of commander. Countries using this rank include Argentin ...

, Brisson took command of the cruiser '' Guichen''. In this capacity, in 1915, he bombarded Ottoman forces near

Musa Dagh Musa Dagh ( tr, Musa Dağı; hy, Մուսա լեռ, ; ar, جبل موسى ; meaning "Moses Mountain") is a mountain in the Hatay province of Turkey. In 1915, it was the location of a successful Armenian resistance to the Armenian genocide, a ...

and helped rescue 5,000

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diasp ...

from

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...

, conducting them to Port Said. In 1917, he was promoted head of the fourth section of the naval staff. In 1919, commanding the French naval forces in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

, he gave assistance to Latvia at the Battle of Riga. Promoted to rear admiral after the war, Brisson took command of the 3rd Line Division in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

. Between 1923 and 1928, he was major-general of the 5th Maritime Region. In 1928, he was promoted to vice admiral and named president of the navy's technical committee. On 5 May 1930, he was put on the reserve list of the second section of the naval staff. In retirement, he moved to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

. Among the honours he received from the French state, he was appointed a Grand Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

and was granted the '' Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures'' with palm leaves. He received numerous foreign honours as well.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brisson, Jean-Joseph 1868 births 1957 deaths People from Gironde École Navale alumni French military personnel of World War I Witnesses of the Armenian genocide French Navy admirals Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures