1st Infantry Brigade (Tunisia) (1899) Governor of Nice defences and Antibes (1901–1903) 57th Infantry Brigade (Digne) (1903–1904) 10th Infantry Division (1904–1906) Member of the Committee of Infantry Techniques and the Committee of Colonial Forces (1904–1906) 13th Army Corps, Clermont-Ferrand (1906–1907) 4th Army Corps (1908)
Bazaine-Hayter engaged as a volunteer on 19 July 1862 in the 34th infantry regiment. When war was declared in 1870, he was appointed orderly officer of the Marshal commanding the 3rd corps of the Army of the Rhine. He attended all the battles fought under Metz.[1]
When describing the French position in the Franco-Prussian War, in particular, the shortcomings of the military organisation; incoherence of the first operations; and the incompetence of command, which were described as a "harbinger of inevitable disasters",[2] Bazaine-Hayter stated "We had no preparation: no horses to haul the artillery reserves and the bridge equipment, no tools to dig the trenches; our machine guns arrived directly from the factories and those using them were not properly trained in their use; our artillery was inferior in number, in effectiveness and in reach, in summary, we were powerless against the Prussian artillery. Our battle formations, already old in 1859, were old-fashioned and stuck in a rut; our procedures and regulations had not been reviewed for over 30 years; our orders, brave beyond doubt, were ignorant, without doctrine and without initiative. These were the causes of our defeats, of all our defeats".[2]
He was taken prisoner on 29 October 1870, but eventually returned to France on 15 March 1871. After a short period of redundancy on 23 July 1871, he started back into military service on 11 November 1871.[1]
Despite France's loss and his familial connection with François Achille Bazaine, who was eventually convicted of treason for his role in the Franco-Prussian War, Bazaine-Hayter had a successful military career of his own.
Bazaine-Hayter progress through a variety of military ranks:[1]-
Date
Rank
19 July 1862
volunteer
16 October 1862
corporal
1 April 1863
sergeant
1 June 1864
second lieutenant
15 September 1866
lieutenant
13 July 1872
captain
29 December 1890
lieutenant-colonel
4 October 1883
major
10 July 1894
colonel
7 October 1899
brigadier general
Bazaine-Hayter was assigned to a number of militrary postings:[1]-
He was also an early critic of the lack of effective French military preparation to counter the increasing threat posed to France by the German Empire. He was one of the early pioneers of military aviation and a keen supporter of the Wright brothers when they visited Camp d'Auvours, Le Mans in 1908.[3]
Placed in the reserve section on 4 December 1908, at the end of a successful career.[1]
Personal life
He adopted his mother's maiden name Hayter as part of his surname in recognition of the support the Hayters gave to his unfortunate uncle, Marshal Bazaine, in escaping from his prison on Île Sainte-Marguerite and in his later life in exile.
Awards
By decree on 9 September 1870,[4] Bazaine-Hayter was awarded a Knight in France'sLegion of Honour. This Legion of Honour rank was upgraded by decree on 4 May 1889[4] to that of Officier, and then again upgraded by decree on 3 September 1903 to Commander.[4] He was ultimately awarded the title of Grand Officier by decree on 30 December 1908[4]
Works
He co-wrote a number of works on infantry tactics and the use of attacking tactics in infantry doctrine:-
Author
Title
Translation
Date
George Albert Bazaine-Hayter
La Nation Armée: Leçons Professées a L'École des Hautes Études Sociales
The Nation Armed: Lessons Professed at the School of Higher Social Studies
"Firepower does not weaken the offensive. Never forget that defensive battle will seldom bring victory. However powerful weapons become, the victory will go to the offensive which stimulates moral forces, disconcerts the enemy and deprives him of his freedom of action"[7]
Death
Bazaine-Hayter died on 30 January 1914 in Morcote (Switzerland).[1]
^ abde Freycinet, Charles (1912). "3". In Delagrave, Ch. (ed.). Souvenirs 1848-1878. Vol. 1 (4 ed.). pp. 1–403. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022. p. 99: We had no preparation: no horses to haul the artillery reserves and the bridge equipment, no tools to dig the trenches; our machine guns arrived directly from the factories and those using them were not properly trained in their use; our artillery was inferior in number, in effectiveness and in reach, in summary, we were powerless against the Prussian artillery. Our battle formations, already old in 1859, were old-fashioned and stuck in a rut; our procedures and regulations had not been reviewed for over 30 years; our orders, brave beyond doubt, were ignorant, without doctrine and without initiative. These were the causes of our defeats, of all our defeats
^Flight Log: 1908, Camp d'Auvours, Le Mans, France
^Bazaine-Hayter, Georges-Albert; Bouglé, Célestin; Bourgeois, Émile; Croiset, Alfred; Demenÿ, Georges; Pineau, L.; Pineau, L.; Rauch, F. (1909). La Nation Armée: Leçons Professées a L'École des Hautes Études Sociales [The Nation Armed: Lessons Professed at the School of Higher Social Studies] (in French). Paris, France. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Balédent, Adrien (1911). L'Infanterie à la guerre [Infantry in War.]. Paris, France: Chapelot & Cie.
