Born to a Dalmatin (Croats from Dalmatia, today known as Bunjevci)[1] family in Szeged, Hungary in 1734,[2] Bajalics enlisted in the Archduke Ferdinand Infantry Regiment # 2 from 1750 to 1754.
The Seven Years' War (1756-1763), which essentially pits France and Austria against England allied with Prussia, offers Bajalics the opportunity to earn his stripes of lieutenant in 1760.
During the French Revolutionary Wars he served as a brigade commander in Count Dagobert von Wurmser's army on the upper Rhine.
He earned the Military Order of Maria Theresa for his exploits during the Battle of Handschuhsheim on 24 September 1795, in which a French division was cut to pieces.
In this effort, in which Jozsef Alvinczi's main army advanced from the north and Giovanni di Provera's division moved against Legnago, the Austrian plan miscarried.
[5] On 14 January, Bonaparte crushed Jozsef Alvinczi's army at the Battle of Rivoli, then he hurried back to Mantua to wipe out Provera's column.