Georges de Bazelaire (January 30, 1858 – March 29, 1954) was a
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
in the
French Army
History
Early history
The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...
. During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, Bazelaire commanded the 135th Infantry Regiment, the 27th and 38th Infantry Divisions and the 7th Army Corps.
World War I
In 1916, general de Bazelaire took part in the
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun (french: Bataille de Verdun ; german: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...
, defending the left bank of the river Meuse: « He was to command the half of the ''Région Fortifiée de Verdun'' west of the river ''Meuse'', including the section of front between Avocourt and the Meuse ». In the first days of March, intense fighting involved the troops under Bazelaire's command in the areas of ''Bois des Corbeaux'', ''Mort-Homme'' and the ''Cote 304''.
An order by Bazelaire dated March 7, 1916, quoted by the Germans and published in the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', reflects the extremely tough conditions of the fights when colonel Macker and his 92e Régiment d'infanterie were ordered to retake the ''Bois des Corbeaux'' where they demonstrated an admirable courage.
In the British weekly ''
The Graphic
''The Graphic'' was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company Illustrated Newspapers Ltd. Thomas's brother Lewis Samuel Thomas was a co-founder. The premature death of the latt ...
'' (July 1916) we can read the following comments: «After the ''Dead Man (Mort-Homme)'', none of the Verdun hills has been the scene of fiercer fighting than the now famous ''Hill 304 (Cote 304)'', where for many weeks general Bazelaire has held against the hellish fire of the
Crown Prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the w ...
's big guns and the massed attacks of his armed hosts ».
During the offensive of the
''Chemin des Dames'', in April 1917, the 7th Army Corps of general de Bazelaire, comprising three infantry divisions, was reinforced by the 1st and the 3rd
Russian Brigades. These troops, commanded by general
Nikolaï Lokhvitski, took part in the fighting near Courcy, where they behaved courageously and suffered severe losses.
In February 1918, as
Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was ...
recalls in his memoirs, four regiments of the
42nd Infantry Division, the ''Rainbow Division'' of the
American Expeditionary Forces
The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought along ...
, « were placed under the command of General Georges de Bazelaire of the French VII Army Corps to be battle-trained with four French divisions.» Colonel MacArthur took part in what was his first raid against German trenches where several prisoners were seized, after which he was awarded a ''
Croix de Guerre
The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...
'' by Bazelaire.
Captain Clarence Van Schaick Mitchell, a Liaison Officer for the American Expeditionary Forces on the staff of
General de Castelnau, relates a meeting he had with Bazelaire : « General de Bazelaire I met in
Lunéville
Lunéville ( ; German, obsolete: ''Lünstadt'' ) is a commune in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle.
It is a subprefecture of the department and lies on the river Meurthe at its confluence with the Vezouze.
History
L ...
in April, 1918 when he was in command of a corps and our 42nd Division was under his orders. He was a tall shaggy looking man, with keen blue eyes and a very energetic, sharp manner of speaking. He questioned me about the arrival of our troops from America, said that if they were all as good as those in the 42nd Division, the Allies could ask for nothing better. He expressed his admiration for
General Menoher, then commanding the Division, and was particularly enthusiastic about the then Chief of Staff, MacArthur (...) He is known for his forcefulness and unambiguous methods and our men and officers were enthusiastic about him.»
Military Commendations
Georges de Bazelaire received several military citations for his services in World War I
*Croix de Guerre 1914-1918 (France)
*Allied Victory Medal (Médaille Interalliée de la Victoire) (France)
*Grand-Croix of the Legion of Honor (Légion d'honneur) (France)
*Croix de Guerre (Belgium)
*Commander of the Order of Leopold (Commandeur de l'Ordre de Léopold) (Belgium)
*Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown (Grand Officier de l'Ordre de la Couronne) (Belgium)
*
Army Distinguished Service Medal
The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. Th ...
– 1919 (United States)
Military Times : Hall of Valor - Georges de Bazelaire
/ref>
Documents
* Map of the left bank of the river ''Meuse'', between Cumières and Avocourt, near Verdun, showing ''Cote 304'', ''Le Mort-Homme'' and ''Bois des Corbeaux''
* Brenda Haugen - ''Douglas MacArthur, America's general'' - Compass Point Books - Minneapolis, 2006 - pages 39 and 40, with a photograph of MacArthur with general de Bazelaire at practice maneuver
* Review of American troops by general de Bazelaire, 23 March 1918. Photograph on the site of the ''Bibliothèque de Documentation internationale contemporaine (BDIC)'
* General de Bazelaire, with US Charles T. Menoher, general Menoher (42nd Infantry Division Rainbow) and French general Gaucher, decorates 165th Infantry troops, Lunéville sector, February 2016. Historical film from the ''Department of Defense, US National Archives'
* Documentary film including narration of the defense of the left bank of the river Meuse by general de Bazelaire and the counter-attack by colonel Macker in the ''Bois des Corbeaux'', in : Indiana Neidell
Indiana "Indy" Neidell (born 28 September 1967) is an American-Swedish documentarian, historian, actor, voice actor, musician and YouTube personality, best known for presenting the video series, ''The Great War'' on '' The Great War Channel'' wh ...
The Great War - Week by week 100 years later - Week 85
References
Further reading
* Georges de Bazelaire - ''Un chef, Ferdinand Foch'' - Paris, 1930
* Georges de Bazelaire - ''Souvenirs de guerre, du 135e RI au 7eCA, 1914-1918'' - Paris, 1988
* Alan Axelrod - ''The battle of Verdun - The story of the iconic WWI clash, the bloodiest battle in history'' - Lyons Press - Guilford, Connecticut, 2016
* William F. Buckingham - ''Verdun 1916 - The deadliest battle of the First World War'' - Amberley Publishing - 2016
* François Cochet et Rémy Porte (sous la direction de) - ''Dictionnaire de la Grande Guerre 1914 -1918'' - Robert Laffont, collection Bouquins - Paris, 2008
* Jamie H. Cockfield - ''With snow on their boots: the tragic Odyssey of the Russian expeditionary force in France in World War I'' - St Martin Press - New York, 1999
* Alain Denizot - ''Verdun 1914 - 1918'' - NEL - Paris, 1996
* Elizabeth Greenhalgh - ''The French Army and the First World War'' - Cambridge University Press - 2014
* Alistair Horne - ''The price of glory - Verdun 1916'' - Penguin Books - London, 1991
* Ministère de la Guerre (France) - ''Les armées françaises dans la Grande Guerre'', tome IV, 1er volume - Imprimerie nationale - Paris, 192
* Ministère de la Guerre (France) - ''Les armées françaises dans la Grande Guerre'', tome IV, 2e volume - Imprimerie nationale - Paris, 193
* Ministère de la Guerre (France) - ''Les armées françaises dans la Grande Guerre'', tome IV, 3e volume - Imprimerie nationale - Paris, 193
* Ministère de la Guerre (France) - ''135e régiment d'infanterie - Journal des marches et des opérations du 1er août 1914 au 21 septembre 1914'
* Pierre Miquel - ''Mourir à Verdun'' - Éditions Tallandier, collection Texto - Paris, 2011
* Pierre Montagnon - ''Dictionnaire de la Grande Guerre'' - Pygmalion - Paris, 2013
* Philippe Pétain - ''La Bataille de Verdun'' - Présentation de Bénédicte Vergez-Chaignon - Perrin, collection Tempus - Paris, 2015. This book was initially published in 1929 by Éditions Payot, on occasion of the election of Philippe Pétain, Marshal Pétain at the ''Académie française
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...
''
* Henri Philippe Pétain - ''Verdun'' - Authorized translation by Margaret Mac Veagh - The Dial Press - New-York, 193
* Antoine Prost et Gerd Krumeich - ''Verdun 1916'' - Tallandier - Paris, 2015
External links
* :fr:Georges de Bazelaire, Georges de Bazelaire article at French Wikipedia
French Army Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bazelaire, Georges
French generals
French military personnel of World War I
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)
1858 births
1954 deaths