BAVAI, town of north France, department of Nord, 15m. E.S.E. of Valenciennes. Pop. (1931) 1,538. It has been a focus of important roads since early times. The capital of the Nervii, it was known to the Romans as Bagacum or Bavacum, and was the meet ing place of eight of their roads. It was destroyed in the 5th cen tury and has suffered much in later wars. It was the British ad vanced headquarters in 1914 but was taken later, and recaptured in Nov. 1918.