On February 13, 1811, François Achille Bazaine, a French marshal and one of the most celebrated members of the Foreign Legion, was born. He became a soldier of Bazaine in 1831, and soon joined the Legion of Aliens, which was formed at that time. During his military career, Bazain then ascended the ranks to the very top, passing all ranks and positions, from the ordinary soldier to the Marshal of France. He also made war on exotic locations where the Legion of Aliens fought. For example, he spent much of his time in North Africa, fighting in the Crimea and Mexico.
He was at one time allegedly the youngest general in the French army, and had been wounded several times. For his courage in Mexico, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, which was the highest French award. Marshal of France became Bazaine in 1863, when he was only in his early 50s. There was a rumor that he intended to overthrow Emperor Maximilian Habsburg in Mexico and proclaim himself emperor.
A few years after Bazaine’s return from Mexico, Napoleon III. gave him a leading role in the Franco-Prussian War. The French were defeated, and then the new Republican government then used Marshal Bazain as a scapegoat. He was sentenced to death, but his sentence was nevertheless remanded to prison. After a while, he managed to escape from prison on the French Mediterranean island of Sainte-Marguerite (where the mysterious Iron Mask Man was also allegedly detained). Bazaine then took refuge abroad, and died in 1888 in Madrid as a poor man.
