Torpedo Specialist Coursework
The next phase of sailor training covered in the letters denoted a busy and demanding time for Brucelle as he studied diligently to attain rank and become qualified on torpedoes. The French Navy, which had a long relationship with the Whitehead enterprise and its improved designs, gave the underwater weapon high prominence with dedicated personnel.11Chris Madsen, “French Torpedo Development before 1914”, British Journal for Military History 7, no. 3 (2021): 134-137, doi: 10.25602/GOLD.bjmh.v7i3.1573. A torpedo was a complicated mechanical device requiring specialized knowledge to handle and maintain properly. Brucelle transferred to the Marceau , an obsolete four-barbette battleship repurposed as a torpedo school for sailors, commanded byCapitaine de frégate Marcel Chamonard.22Stephen S. Roberts, French Warships in the Age of Steam 1859-1914: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates (Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Seaforth, 2021), 59-60. Attached to the Mediterranean schools division, theMarceau was situated at Les Salins d’Hyères - salt marshes home to bird species - east of Toulon along the coast toward La Londe les Maures. Besides the location’s remoteness, Brucelle suffered from aching gastronomic discomfort and tiredness likely caused by overwork and stress: “I’m fine now and still working hard. You learned from Louise the result of my examination. It was a good result, and you know if I don’t write more often don’t mind because the time is eaten up. You see tonight I’m writing during study, at the risk of getting caught, but I didn’t want to go through this day without writing to you.”33Letter, 31 August 1913. Determined to do well, Brucelle devoted most of his time to learning thoroughly the course materials. The pace of intellectual work was gruelling, with a few distractions:
Sunday, my friends forced me to go out with them despite the fact that I wanted to stay here. On Saturday, I was depressed. They told me that it would do me good and I do not regret having done it, especially since we only get out every 15 days. We went to Hyères which is splendid country, 6 kilometers along a road lined with palm trees and by the sea. It is beautiful. So, we had some very nice fun and that changed my mood. Since Monday we have been on the first-class cruiser Jules Michelet for submerged tube training which is a magnificent mechanical device, and I see the more we learn the more interesting it becomes. We stay for 8 days on this new warship. There is very little rocking - I assure you that one would not believe they were on the sea but high and well in a large house. It takes 4 minutes to go from the rear to the front. So you see, there are decks and we are 1,100. It’s a real village. If you write me in the next 8 days always address the letters to the Marceaubecause there is a special service for us.44Letter, 5 September 1913. Jules Michelet was a fast armoured cruiser commissioned in December 1908 reflecting continued Jeune Écoleinfluences. John Jordan and Philippe Caresse, French Armoured Cruisers 1887-1932 (Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Seaforth, 2019), 164-176.
The reward for successful completion was advancement. Brucelle was made a matelot from 11 September 1913, the first step in moving up the French Navy’s hierarchy of enlisted ranks (Table 1): “Today I am fresh and in good spirits and they have just now distributed the certificates in respect to the last course, so from today we are permanent and await the solemn opening of the next course on 1 October, in which I will only have to work harder. Tomorrow we transfer the coal. It’s a dirty chore, and one of the little inconveniences of the job.”55Letter, 11 September 1913. Though, the next day “without any reason I was exempted from coaling. You think I was not upset at all, especially since I benefited from the double ration like my colleagues…our ship is moored and doesn’t move much.”66Letter, 13 September 1913. Sailors continued performing regular duties in the interval awaiting start of the course. The appointment of Rear-Admiral Gabriel Darrieus to lead the Mediterranean schools division gave Brucelle and his friends a break: “We have been in Toulon for 2 days for the taking of command of a new Admiral and the arrival of Jean Bart andCourbet . We had a good time this morning. It is a rather imposing ceremony, especially since the weather here is splendid….Excuse me if I don’t give you a lot of time, but I don’t have much because I’m going ashore and the boat will go.”77Letter, 16 September 1913;Journal officiel de la République française 270 (5 October 1913), 8836. Competition for loading onto the advanced torpedo specialist course was keen.
Table 1. French Navy’s lower rank and seniority structure (marins des équipages de la flotte )
Apprentis marins (apprentice sailors) – entry-level
Matelots non-brevetés (ordinary sailors non-rated) – 1st class, 2nd class, 3rd class
Matelots brevetés (ordinary sailors rated) – 1st class, 2nd class, 3rd class
Quartiers-maîtres (quartermasters) – 0-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, over 20 years
Seconds-maîtres (second masters) – 0-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, over 20 years
Maîtres (petty officers) – 0-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, over 20 years
Premiers-maîtres (chief petty officers) – 0-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, over 20 years
Source: Marine nationale,Manuel du marin torpilleur , 5th edn. (Paris: Imprimerie nationale, 1909), xxiv.
The Marine nationale ’s advanced torpedo course was technically challenging and difficult to get in and complete. Previously qualified personnel in the torpilleur classification surplus to requirements needed updating to keep up with the latest technology and engineering developments, or faced removal and loss of supplemental pay.88Journal officiel de la République française 296 (30 October 1912), 9268. The number qualified in the speciality was strictly controlled, and naval authorities were selective. Brucelle described the culling process even before the formal course began:
For me, it’s more of the same. Working more than ever to write an exam tomorrow. This one is not for the final qualification but if I have the knowledge to follow the course. It is insane that they are trying to eliminate you. And 48 were removed last month. There will be almost as many this month. Well, I am doing my best to get qualified without making big mistakes, but please believe me that it is a hard effort that we all make because seeing the things that they ask us, we will soon have to be an engineer to take this specialty.99Letter, 23 September 1913.
Technical knowledge involved theoretical and practical dimensions, taught by instructors on Marceau . That included familiarity with the internal working components of standard French torpedoes.1010Marine nationale, Instruction sur les torpilles automobiles , 1st edn. (Paris: Imprimerie nationale, 1914). Brucelle was confident that he would be successful and already planned to have his mother come south for a visit:
you must already know from Louise that I passed the exam and therefore am committed to taking the supplemental course. All I have to do now is wait for the ranking competition and the final exam which will take place around 15 February. As for health, I have nothing to complain about for the moment. I only have small migraines that come from time to time to annoy me, but it’s nothing and passes quickly…For New Year’s Day, we have 48 hours leave and my friends and I have decided to go to Nice. It only costs 3 francs round trip, and it seems like a pretty city to see. But you know Mother, it’s the funds that are eaten up always on these occasions, and I don’t hide from you that at this moment if you could lend me some money, it would do me a good service, and I will be sure to thank you afterwards.1111Letter, 30 September 1913.
Family financial support additional to basic naval pay ensured sailors maintained a manageable existence during training. Brucelle, in this respect, was still dependent on his mother, who genuinely wanted him to do well in his studies to pursue a rewarding career in the Marine nationale .
Though learning was taxing, Brucelle elected to push ahead with more advanced torpedo training that would benefit his final rating. The incentive for working harder on the course was higher standing with accelerated promotion and better pay later:
I am on the course for the higher qualification. The only advantage I would have if I succeed is to be able to become quartermaster in a 1 year and half service instead of waiting 3 or 4 years. In the morning, we practice, that is to say that we work to reassemble, disassemble a torpedo, adjust the parts to align and finally do the work of a mechanic. We also have to take care of underwater and electrical appliances. Afternoon, theory until 4:30 pm, and in the evening after dinner from 7 to 8:30 pm review the day’s work and study. The most interesting thing is that every day, we’re doing something new. So, the day after tomorrow I’m going on a torpedo boat trip to learn the torpedo tube and the launch. At the moment, it’s all confusion for me, although I am well reminded that there is so much to learn it takes at least 6 months to be knowledgeable.1212Letter (1), 3 October 1913.
Privately, doubts about his ability to continue in a credible fashion arose. Writing in another letter the same day, Brucelle said thatLieutenant de vaisseau Jean Louis Auguste de Portal,Marceau ’s second-in-command, was encouraging: “When I started the course, it was really excessively hard work, especially since yesterday after an exam that the second officer received. I told him I didn’t feel capable of it, but despite that he forced me to redo it, telling me that if I wanted to I could do so under certain conditions. All that remains is to push a bunch of mechanics and calculations into my head because this supplemental course is taken by young people coming out of higher education.”1313Letter (2), 3 October 1913. Without a prior foundation, Brucelle had to learn fundamentals first to excel on the course.
Brucelle’s perseverance soon began to pay-off in a few weeks, in spite of some setbacks. His confidence and therefore performance on the course improved:
Regard my work, I am happy because I am beginning to understand well, and consequently, I am more and more interested. At the end of the month there is an exam to eliminate those who will not be able to follow the course because there are twice as many as needed, but I have the assurance of not being one of those, as I am at the top of the class…My wallet was stolen with 7 francs in it, 5 from Uncle Emile and 2 of my own. We were changing linens. I put my pants next to me. When I picked them up, the money was gone. It took a first-rate rascal to do that in so little time. So, we did a search, but it was lost. I made my mourning. I would have been left with just 20 cents were it not for the money that you sent dear Mother, and I sincerely thank you for your kind intention.1414Letter, 12 October 1913.
Sailors valued money and stamps above all else. Tough breaks could not deter Brucelle from proceeding, nor could bad health. In mid-October, he went to the infirmary with severe stomach pains that went on day and night. With some ice, a little rest, and eating food again, Brucelle recovered: “I only got off with a few days late on the course since I’m afraid of missing what would have taken another 6 months to make-up. Finally, everything is fine. I hope it won’t hurt me too much, and that by working I’ll catch up with the others. You know dear Mother, the thought of seeing myself sick so far from everyone gave me a hard blow. Fortunately, these 5 days passed quickly and now I only have to take precautions.”1515Letter, 18 October 1913; Patrick Louvier, “Les maladies et les accidents dans la marine de guerre française en Méditerranée au XIXe siècle (1815-1914)”, Corps 15, no. 1 (2017): 311, doi: 10.3917/corp1.015.0305. Perhaps the health scare gave him a new found resolve. A gap in letters sent to his mother during November resulted from a secretive courting relationship with a young woman within the family, whom he visited on leave in Digne along the Bléone River in southeast France, soon to be his fiancée.
Brucelle resumed his regular correspondence back to Paris upon returning to Marceau in December. Worries about his mother’s ill-health, lack of paid work, and unsatisfactory rental situation, preparation for the culminating final examination “in front of 19 senior officers who question you on everything”, and a bout of bronchitis that “the doctor put me on exempt from service, except I’m studying” occupied his thoughts.1616Letter, 6 December 1913. He was also pondering the future. His intentions were to leave the navy in five years, find work as a technical engineer, and get married. In another letter, Brucelle confided his feelings for his aunt Madame Férand’s sister-in-law, Marie Louise, with whom he corresponded for several months and visited in Digne: “I would certainly do everything to please her and behave toward her in such a way as to carry out my project, but in 5 years, ideas can change.”1717Letter, 10 December 1913. First, he had to complete the course and pass examinations to become rated. Brucelle only found time for letter writing on Sundays, a day of rest.