Members of French Military Mission to Japan in 1867

FrenchOfficersDrillingShogunTroopsOsaka1867

Training of Japanese troops by the French

The French military mission of 1867 to 1868 was one of the first foreign military training missions to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and the first sent by

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The mission was formed by emperor

Napoléon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

following a request from the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

through its emissary to Europe,

Shibata Takenaka was an Diplomat, emissary for Japan who visited France in 1865 to help prepare for the construction of the Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Yokosuka arsenal with French support. Also known as as well as "Shadow" because of his reconnaissance work. Li ...

, with the goal of modernizing the Japanese military. Shibata was already negotiating the final details of the French support for the construction of the Yokosuka Shipyard, and had additionally requested both the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and France to send a military mission for training in Western warfare. The United Kingdom provided support to the

Bakufu , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

naval forces through the Tracey Mission. The French foreign minister Drouyn de Lhuys transmitted the agreement of the French government to provide training to the Shōgun's land-based armed forces.

History

The mission left

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

on November 19, 1866, and arrived in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

on January 14, 1867. They were welcomed on their arrival by Léon Roches and the commander of the French Far East Squadron Admiral Pierre-Gustave Roze. The military mission was able to train an elite corps of ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

Tokugawa Yoshinobu Kazoku, Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned his position as shogun in late 1867, while ai ...

, the Denshūtai, for a little more than one year, before the

lost to the Imperial forces in 1868 in the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

. The French military mission was then ordered to leave Japan by decree of the newly installed Meiji Emperor in October 1868. TokugawaYoshinobu

In contravention of the agreement for all foreign powers to remain neutral in the conflict, French military officer Jules Brunet and four of his non-commissioned officers (Fortant, Marlin, Cazeneuve, Bouffier), chose to remain in Japan and continue supporting the

side. They 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 counterattack. The conflict continued until the rebels' defeat at the Battle of Hakodate in May 1869.

Members

The mission consisted of 17 members, under the authority of the Minister of War General Jacques Louis Randon, covering a wide range of expertise: four officers (representing infantry, artillery and cavalry), ten non-commissioned officers and two soldiers. The original mission composed of 15 members, arriving in Japan in January 1867, and was later supplemented with non-commissioned officers Cazeneuve, Jourdan and Michel (February 1868). The mission was headed by staff captain Charles Sulpice Jules Chanoine, at that time an attaché to the military staff of Paris. The members were:

Commander

* Charles Chanoine, captain of the

general staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

Instructors

Infantry

* Charles Albert Dubousquet, lieutenant of the 31st

line infantry Line infantry was the type of infantry that formed the bulk of most European land armies from the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Henri de la Tour d ...

regiment. * Édouard Messelot, lieutenant of the 20th battalion of '' chasseurs à pied''. * Jean Marlin, sergeant of the 8th battalion of ''chasseurs à pied''. * François Bouffier, sergeant of the 8th battalion of ''chasseurs à pied''. * Henry Ygrec, sergeant of the 31st line infantry regiment.

Artillery

Jules Brunet Jules Brunet (2 January 1838 – 12 August 1911) was a French military officer who served the Tokugawa shogunate during the Boshin War in Japan. Originally sent to Japan as a horse artillery instructor with the French military mission of 1867, ...

, lieutenant of the Horse Artillery Regiment of the Imperial Guard. * Arthur Fortant, '' maréchal des logis'' of the artillery regiment of the Imperial Guard.

Cavalry

* Léon Descharmes, lieutenant of the Dragoons of the Imperial Guard. * Emile Perussel, ''maréchal des logis''.

Non-commissioned officers

* Louis Guttig, corporal. * Charles Bonnet, chief armorer second class. * Barthélémy Izard, ''maréchal des logis'', chief artificier of the Horse Artillery Regiment of the Imperial Guard. * Frédéric Valette, ''maréchal des logis'', wood specialist. * Jean-Félix Mermet, brigadier, steel specialist. * André Cazeneuve, brigadier of the Haras impériaux, arrived in May 1867 bringing Napoleon III's gift of 26

Arabian horse The Arabian or Arab horse ( , DIN 31635, DMG ''al-ḥiṣān al-ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse with historic roots on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easi ...

s to ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Yoshinobu. Officially joined the mission in February 1868. * Claude Jourdan, captain of the

engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while consider ...

. * Charles Michel, sergeant-major of the engineers.

References

* ''End of the Bakufu and restoration in Hakodate'' (Japanese: 函館の幕末・維新) * ''French policy in Japan during the closing years of the Tokugawa regime'' (English), Meron Medzini * Polak, Christian. (2001). ''Soie et lumières: L'âge d'or des échanges franco-japonais (des origines aux années 1950).'' Tokyo: ''Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie Française du Japon,'' Hachette Fujin Gahōsha (アシェット婦人画報社). * Polak, Christian. (2002). 絹と光: 知られざる日仏交流100年の歴史 (江戶時代-1950年代) ''Kinu to hikariō: shirarezaru Nichi-Futsu kōryū 100-nen no rekishi (Edo jidai-1950-nendai).'' Tokyo: Ashetto Fujin Gahōsha, 2002. ;

External links

The Land of Fire
{{DEFAULTSORT:French military mission to Japan (1867-1868) French Army Military history of Japan 1867 in France 1868 in France Military history of France Military Mission 1867 1867 in Japan 1868 in Japan 1867 in military history 1868 in military history Military advisory groups