Georges de Bazelaire
Georges de Bazelaire (January 30, 1858 – March 29, 1954) was a Major General in the French Army during World War I.[1]
Bazelaire commanded the 135th Infantry Regiment, the 27th and 38th Infantry Divisions and the 7th Army Corps.
In 1916, he took part in the Battle of Verdun, defending the left bank of the river Meuse.[2]
In February 1918, as Douglas MacArthur recalls in his memoirs, four regiments of the 42nd Infantry Division (United States), the Rainbow Division of the American Expeditionary Forces, "were placed under the command of General Georges de Bazelaire of the French VII Army Corps to be battle-trained with four French divisions."[3] 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 by Bazelaire.[4]
Military Commendations
Georges de Bazelaire received several military citations for his services in World War I[5]
- Croix de Guerre 1914-1918 (France)
- Allied Victory Medal (Médaille Interalliée de la Victoire) (France)
- 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 – 1919 (United States)[6]
Documents and references
- 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 maneuvers [6]
- Review of American troops by general de Bazelaire, 23 March 1918; photograph on the site of the Bibliothèque de Documentation internationale contemporaine (BDIC) [7]
- ↑ Georges de Bazelaire de Saulcy. Individual. [1]
- ↑ Battle of Verdun - Situation on 21 February 1916 [2]
- ↑ Douglas MacArthur - Reminiscences, page 54 - Naval Institute Press - Bluejacket Book, 2001. [3]
- ↑ J. L. Abrahamson and A.P. O'Meara - Leadership - Combat leaders and lessons - 2008 [4]
- ↑ fr:Georges de Bazelaire
- ↑ Military Times: Hall of Valor. Georges de Bazelaire. [5]
External links
- Georges de Bazelaire article at French Wikipedia
- French Army Official Website
