Arrival in Japan
Napoleon III sent a group of military advisors to Japan to help modernize the Shogun's army. Brunet was sent as an artillery instructor. The mission arrived in early 1867, and trained the Shogun's troops for about a year.
Then in 1868, the Shogun was overthrown in the Boshin War, and Emperor Meiji was nominally restored to full power. The French military mission was then ordered to leave Japan by Imperial decree.
However, 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, 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-commissioned officers, our students, I can direct the 50,000 men of the Confederation." — Jules Brunet, Letter to Napoleon III.Read more about this topic: Jules Brunet
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