Today's post commemorates the life and actions of Lieutenant Jean Brilliant of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
Upon arriving in England,October 1916, he was transferred to the 69th French Canadian Battalion and then to the 22nd French Canadian Battalion, for duty in France. On the night of May 27–28, 1918, Brillant received the Military Cross while leading a successful attack on an outpost in the sector of Boiry-Becquerelle. He was awarded the Victoria Cross on September 27, 1918, for his actions near Méharicourt on August 8–9, the second day of the Battle of Amiens, when he rushed a German machine gun that was holding up his company’s advance. Though wounded, he remained in command of his company, later leading two platoons in a successful attack that saw the capture of 15 machine guns and 150 German soldiers. Brillant received a second wound in this attack, but managed to advance another 200 metres before collapsing. He died the next day, on August 10, 1918.
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