Bazaine, François Achille

(1811-1888)

   military figure, marshal of France

   François Achille Bazaine was born in Versailles and received his military education in Paris. After having fought in Algeria and in spain against the Carlists, he was made a general and distinguished himself during the Crimean War (the capture of Sevastopol) and again during the campaign in Italy (victory of Solferino). In 1862, he was sent to Mexico, where he was named commander in chief and made a marshal of France (1864). Having married a Mexican woman, he intrigued, in part because of her influence, to oust the emperor Maximilian. In disgrace for a time upon his return to France, he was nonetheless named commander of the Imperial Guard by napoléon III (1869). Commander in chief of the French army in Lorraine during the franco-prussian war (1870), he fell back upon Metz without trying to establish a connection with the army at Châlons, commanded by General MacMahon. Wishing to exploit the abdication of Napoléon III and the fall of the second empire (september 4, 1870), he tried to negotiate with German prince Bismarck and the empress Eugenie, but was finally forced to surrender (october 27, 1870). In 1873, he was condemned to death for treason by a military tribunal. His sentence was commuted to 20 years in prison, but having escaped from the fortress of sainte-Marguerite, he eventually reached spain, where he died.