Brest (France)

Brest (France), city in northwestern France, in Finistère Department, at the mouth of the Penfeld River, on the Bay of Brest (an arm of the Atlantic Ocean), in Brittany. Situated mainly on two hills on opposite sides of the Penfeld River, Brest is an important seaport with an excellent protected harbor. It is also a manufacturing center and one of two major French naval bases, Toulon being the other.

Brest became a possession of the duke of Brittany in 1240, belonged to England from 1342 to 1397, and passed, with Brittany, to the French crown in the 1490s. The city was first fortified, between 1680 and 1688, under the direction of Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, the noted French military engineer. Brest has frequently been subjected to attack by enemies of France. During World War I (1914-1918) the city served as a major debarkation point in France for United States troops. In 1940, during World War II, Brest was occupied by the Germans, who made it an important submarine base. The city subsequently was severely bombed by the Allies before being captured by U.S. troops in 1944. Population (2005 estimate) 145,200.