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Forey in the Mexican expedition in r862, succeeded him in supreme command in 1863, and became marshal and senator of France in the following See also:

YEAR

year. He at first pursued the war with great vigour and success, entering See also:

Mexico in 1863 and See also:

DRIVING (from " to drive," i.e. generally to propel, force along or in, a word common in various forms to the Teutonic languages)

driving See also:

PRESIDENT (Fr. president, from Lat. praesidens, post-Augustan Lat. for praeses, director, ruler, from praesidere, to sit in front of, preside)

President See also:

JUAREZ, BENITO PABLO (1806-1872)

Juarez to the frontier.

The marshal's See also:

AFRICAN

African experience as a soldier and as an See also:

ADMINISTRATOR

administrator stood him in See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good See also:

STEAD, WILLIAM THOMAS (1849– )

stead in dealing with the guerrilleros of the Juarez party, but he was less successful in his relations with See also:

Maximilian, with whose See also:

court the French headquarters was in See also:

CONSTANT, BENJAMIN (1845-1902)

constant strife. Here, as later in his own See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country, Bazaine's policy seems to have been directed, at least in part, to his own See also:

ESTABLISHMENT (0. Fr. establissement, Fr. etablissement, late Norm. Fr. establishement, from O. Fr. establir, Fr. etablir, Lat. stabilire, to make stable)

establishment in the role of a See also:

mayor of the See also:

PALACE (Lat. Palatium, the name given by Augustus to his residence on the Palatine Hill)

palace. His own army thought that he aspired to See also:

PLAY

play the part of a Bernadotte. His See also:

MARRIAGE

marriage to a See also:

rich Mexican See also:

LADY (0. Eng. hlaefdige, Mid. Eng. ldfdi, lavedi; the first part of the word is hldf, loaf, bread, as in the corresponding hldford, lord; the second part is usually taken to be from the root dig-, to knead, seen also in " dough "; the sense development fr

lady, whose See also:

FAMILY

family were supporters of Juarez, still further complicated his relations with the unfortunate See also:

EMPEROR (Fr. empereur, from the Lat. imperator)

emperor, and when at the See also:

close of the See also:

AMERICAN

American See also:

CIVIL

Civil War the See also:

UNITED

United States sent a powerful war-trained army to the Mexican frontier, the French forces were withdrawn (see MExrco, See also:

HISTORY

History). Bazaine skilfully conducted the See also:

RETREAT (O. Fr. retrete, mod. retraite, from Lat. retrahere, to draw back)

retreat and embarkation at See also:

VERA, AUGUSTO (1813-1885)

Vera Cruz (1867). On his return to See also:

Paris he was but coldly received by his See also:

SOVEREIGN

sovereign; public See also:

OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

opinion was, however, in his favour, and he was held to have been made a scapegoat for the faults of others. At the outbreak of the Franco-See also:

German War (q.v.) Marshal Bazaine was placed in command of the III. See also:

CORPS (pronounced as in French, from which it is taken, being a late spelling of tors, from Lat. corpus, a body; cf. " corpse ")

corps of the Army of the See also:

RHINE (Lat. Rhenus, Ger. Rhein, Fr. Rhin, Dutch Rhyn, or Rijn)

Rhine. He took no part in the earlier battles, but See also:

NAPOLEON

Napoleon III. soon handed over the See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief command of the army to him. How far his inaction was the cause of the disaster of Spicheren is a See also:

MATTER

matter of dispute. The best that can be said of his conduct is that the evil traditions of warfare on a small See also:

scale and the See also:

MANIA

mania for taking up " strong positions," See also:

COMMON

common to the French generals of 187o, were in Bazaine's own See also:

case emphasized by his See also:

PERSONAL

personal dislike for the " schoolmaster " See also:

FROSSARD, CHARLES AUGUSTE (1807–1875)

Frossard, lately the See also:

Prince Imperial's See also:

TUTOR (Lat. tutor, guardian, tueri, to watch over, protect)

tutor and now commander of the army corps posted at Spicheren. Frossard himself, the See also:

LEADER, BENJAMIN WILLIAMS (1831– )

leader of the " strong positions " school, could only blame his own theories for the See also:

PARALYSIS, or PALSY (from Gr. aapal,6a , to relax; Wycliffe has palesy, and another old form of the word is parlesy)

paralysis of the See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest of the army, which See also:

LEFT

left the corps at Spicheren to fight unsupported. Bazaine, indeed, when called upon for help, moved part of his corps forward, but only to " take up strong positions," not to strike a See also:

BLOW, JOHN (1648-1708)

blow on the battlefield.

A few days later he took up the chief command, and his See also:

TENURE (Fr. tenure, from Lat. tenere, to hold)

tenure of it is the central See also:

ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act in the tragedy of 1870. He found the army in retreat, See also:

ill-equipped and numerically at a great disadvantage, and the generals and staffs discouraged and distrustful of one another. There was practically no See also:

CHANCE (through the O. Fr. cheance, from the Late Lat. cadentia, things happening, from cadere, to fall out, happen; cf. " case ")

chance of success. The question was one of extricating the army and the See also:

government from a disastrous See also:

ADVENTURE (from Lat. res adventura, a thing about to happen)

adventure, and Bazaine's See also:

SOLUTION (from Lat. solvere, to loosen, dissolve)

solution of it was to bring back his army to See also:

METZ

Metz. For the events which led up to the battles before Metz and the investment of Bazaine's whole army in the fortress, see FRANCO-GERMAN WAR and METZ, Battles. It seems to be clearly established that the charges of See also:

TREASON (Fr. trahison, Lat. traditio)

treason to which later events gave so strong a See also:

COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour had, as yet, no See also:

FOUNDATION (Lat. fundatio, from fundare, to found)

foundation in fact. Nor, indeed, can his unwillingness to leave the Moselle region, while there was yet See also:

time to slip past the advancing enemy, be considered even as See also:

PROOF (in M. Eng. preove, proeve, preve, &°c., from O. Fr . prueve, proeve, &c., mod. preuve, Late. Lat. proba, probate, to prove, to test the goodness of anything, probus, good)

proof of See also:

SPECIAL

special incompetence. The See also:

RESOLUTION

resolution to stay in the neighbourhood of Metz was based on the knowledge that if the slow-moving French army ventured far out it would infallibly be headed off and brought to battle in the open by See also:

SUPERIOR

superior See also:

numbers. In " strong positions " close to his stronghold, however, Bazaine hoped that he could inflict damaging repulses and heavy slaughter on the ardent Germans,. and in the See also:

main the result justified the expectation. The See also:

SCHEME (Lat. schema, Gr. oxfjya, figure, form, from the root axe, seen in exeiv, to have, hold, to be of such shape, form, &c.)

scheme was creditable, and even heroic, but the See also:

EXECUTION (from Lat. ex-sequor, exsecutus, follow or carry out)

execution throughout all ranks, from the marshal to the battalioncommanders, See also:

fell far See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short of the See also:

IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

Idea. The minutely cautious methods of See also:

MOVEMENT

movement, which Algerian experience had evolved suitable enough for small African See also:

DESERT

desert columns, which were liable to surprise rushes and ambushes, reduced the mobility of a large army, which had favourable marching conditions; to 5 m. a See also:

day as against the enemy's See also:

RATE

rate of 15. When, before he had finally decided to stay in Metz, Bazaine attempted See also:

HALF

half-heartedly to begin a retreat on See also:

VERDUN

Verdun, the See also:

STAFF (O. Eng. staef, cf. Du. staf, Ger. Stab, &c.; Icel. stafr meant also a written letter, and O. Eng. stafas, the letters of the alphabet; " stave," one of the thin pieces of wood of which a cask is made, is a doublet)

staff See also:

WORK

work and organization of the movement over the Moselle was so ineffective that when the German staff calculated that Bazaine was nearing Verdun, the French had in reality barely got their See also:

ARTILLERY (the O. Fr. artiller, to equip with engines of war, probably comes from Late Lat. articulum, dim. of ars, art, cf. " engine " from ingenium, or of artus, joint)

artillery and baggage trains through the See also:

TOWN

town of Metz.

Even on the battlefield the marshal forbade the general staff to appear, and conducted the fighting by means of his personal orderly See also:

OFFICERS

officers. Af ter the cumbrous army had passed through Metz it encountered an isolated corps of the enemy, which was commanded by the brilliant leader Constantin von See also:

ALVENSLEBEN

Alvensleben, and promptly attacked the French. At almost every moment of the day victory was in Bazaine's hands. Two corps of the Germans fought all day for See also:

BARE

bare existence. But Bazaine had no See also:

con= fidence in his generals or his troops, and contented himself with inflicting severe losses on the most aggressive portions of the German army. Two days later, while the French actually retreated on Metz—taking seven See also:

HOURS, CANONICAL

hours to See also:

COVER (from the Fr. convert, from couvrir, to cover, Lat. cooperire)

cover 5 to 6 m.—the masses of the Germans gathered in front of him, intercepting his communication with the interior of France. This Bazaine expected, and feeling certain that the Germans would sooner or later attack him in his chosen position, he made no See also:

ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt to interfere with their concentration. The great battle was fought, and having inflicted severe See also:

PUNISHMENT (from Lat. punire, to punish, from poena, punishment, Gr. 7rocvil)

punishment on his assailants, Bazaine fell back within the entrenched See also:

CAMP (from Lat. campus, field)

camp of Metz. But although he made no appeals for help, public opinion, alarmed and excited, condemned the only remaining army of France, Marshal Mac= Mahon's " Army of Chalons," to See also:

RESCUE (in Middle Eng. rescous, from O. Fr. recousse, Low Lat. rescussa, from reexcussa,reexcutere, to shake off again, re, again, ex, off, quatere, to shake)

rescue Bazaine at all See also:

COSTS

costs. The adventure ended at See also:

SEDAN

Sedan, and with Sedan the Third See also:

EMPIRE

Empire collapsed. Up to this point Bazaine had served his country perhaps as well as circumstances allowed, and certainly with enough skill and a sufficient measure of success to justify his See also:

APPOINTMENT, POWER OF

appointment. His experience, wide as it was, had not fitted him for the command of a large army in a delicate position.

Since his Mexican expedition, moreover, he had himself fallen into a See also:

state of moral and See also:

PHYSICAL

physical lethargy, which, imperceptible on the See also:

field of battle, because his reputation for impassive bearing under See also:

FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire was beyond question, was only too obvious in the staff offices, where the work of manoeuvring the army and framing plans and orders was chiefly done. But, in spite of these defects, it cannot he asserted that anyone of Bazaine's subordinates would have done better, with the possible exception of Ladmirault, and Ladmirault was one of the junior corps commanders. Bazaine, therefore, in the main justified his reputation for ability. He was now to justify his reputation for intriguing and underhand See also:

DIPLOMACY (Fr. diplomatic)

diplomacy. If in Mexico he aspired to the role of mayor of the palace, it was far more so in Metz, where, as commander of the only organized army of France, he conceived himself to be the ruler of the country's destiny. Accordingly he engaged in a See also:

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of See also:

DIPLOMATIC

diplomatic intrigues, some of which to this day have never been properly cleared up. Negotiations passed between the See also:

OUTER

outer See also:

WORLD

world and the besieged commander, the purport of which remains still to some extent obscure, but it is beyond question that he proposed with the permission of the Germans to employ his army in "saving France from herself." The scheme, however, collapsed, and the army of the Rhine became prisoners of war to the number of 140,000. At the moment of the surrender a See also:

WEEK (from A.S. wicu, Germanic *wikon, probably=change, turn)

week's further resistance would have enabled the levies of the See also:

NATIONAL

National See also:

Defence government to crush the weak forces of the Germans on the See also:

LOIRE

Loire and to relieve Paris. But the army of Prince See also:

Frederick See also:

Charles, set See also:

FREE

free by the sur• render, hurried up in time to check and to defeat the great effort at See also:

Orleans (q.v.). The responsibility for this crushing blow was naturally enough, and justly enough, placed on Bazaine's shoulders, and although, when be returned from captivity, the marshal enjoyed a brief See also:

IMMUNITY (from Lat. immunis, not subject to a munus or public service)

immunity, he was in 1873 brought to trial before a military court. He was found guilty of negotiating with and capitulating to the enemy before doing all that was prescribed by See also:

DUTY (from " due," that which is owing, O. Fr. deu, dil, past participle of devoir; Lat. debere, debitum; cf. " debt ")

duty and honour, and sentenced to degradation and See also:

DEATH

death, but very strongly recommended to See also:

mercy. His See also:

SENTENCE (Lat. sententia, a way of thinking, opinion, judgment; vote, sentire, to feel, think)

sentence was commuted to twenty years' seclusion, and the humiliating ceremonies attending degradation were dispensed with.

He was incarcerated in the He Sainte-See also:

MARGUERITE

Marguerite and treated rather as an See also:

EXILE (Lat. exsilium or exilium, from exsul or exul, which is derived from ex, out of, and the root sal, to go, seen in salire, to leap, consul, &c.; the connexion with solum, soil, country is now generally considered wrong)

exile than as a convict; thence he escaped in 1874 to See also:

Italy. He finally took up his See also:

ABODE (from " abide," to dwell, properly " to wait for ," to bide)

abode in See also:

MADRID

Madrid, where he was treated with marked respect by the government of Alfonso XII. He died there on the 23rd of See also:

SEPTEMBER (Lat. septem, seven)

September 1888. He published Episodes de la guerre d e l 87o (Madrid, 1883). He also wrote L'Armee du Rhin (Paris, 1872). See the bibliography appended to the See also:

ARTICLE (from Lat. articulus, a joint)

article FRANCO-GERMAN WAR; also memoir by C. See also:

PELLETAN, CHARLES CAMILLE (1846– )

Pelletan in La Grande Encyclopedie; for Bazaine's conduct see Bazaine et l'armee du Rhin (1873) ; J. Valfrey, Le Marechal et l'armee du Rhin (1873); See also:

COUNT (Lat. comes, gen. comitis, Fr. comte, Ital. conte, Span. conde)

Count A. de la Guerroniere, L'Homme de Metz (1871) ; Rossel, See also:

Les Derniers Jours de Metz (1871). See also the article See also:

BOURBAKI, CHARLES DENIS SAUTER (1816-1897)

BOURBAKI for the curious See also:

Regnier See also:

EPISODE

episode connected with the surrender of Metz.

End of Article: BAZAINE, ACHILLE FRANCOIS (1811–1888)

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