| Revision as of 16:39, 21 April 2015 editClueBot NG (talk | contribs)Bots, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers6,438,600 editsm Reverting possible vandalism by 168.174.253.26 to version by 206.29.180.75. False positive? Report it. Thanks, ClueBot NG. (2203736) (Bot)← Previous edit | Revision as of 16:39, 21 April 2015 edit undo168.174.253.26 (talk) ←Replaced content with ' 'Tag: non-English contentNext edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{distinguish|Siege of Puebla (1865)|Siege of Puebla (1869)}} | |||
| {{ref improve|date=April 2014}} | |||
| {{Infobox military conflict | |||
| |conflict=Battle of Puebla | |||
| |image=] | |||
| |caption=Depictions of the battle showing Mexican cavalry overwhelming the French troops below the fort at Loreto | |||
| |partof=the ] | |||
| |date=May 5, 1862 | |||
| |place=], Mexico | |||
| |result= Mexican republican victory<ref name=About>{{Cite web |url=http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/thehistoryofmexico/a/cincodemayo_2.htm |title=Latin American history: Cinco de Mayo/The Battle of Puebla |author=Christopher Minster |year=2011 |publisher=About.com |accessdate=17 November 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=In Mexico, Cinco de Mayo a more sober affair |author=Booth, William |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=5 May 2011 |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/americas/in-mexico-cinco-de-mayo-is-a-more-sober-affair/2011/05/05/AFq0Om0F_story.html |accessdate=17 November 2011 }}</ref> <br> Political victory for Mexican republicans<ref name=About/> | |||
| |combatant1={{flagicon|Mexico|1823}} ] | |||
| |combatant2={{flagicon|France}} ] | |||
| |commander1={{flagicon|Mexico|1823}} ] | |||
| |commander2={{flagicon|France}} ] | |||
| |strength1=4,500-12,000<ref name="mexonline.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.mexonline.com/cinco-de-mayo.htm |title=Cinco de Mayo |publisher=Mexico Online |date=2007-04-25 |accessdate=17 November 2011 }}</ref> | |||
| |strength2=6,500 soldiers<ref name="mexonline.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.mexonline.com/cinco-de-mayo.htm |title=Cinco de Mayo |publisher=Mexico Online |date=2007-04-25 |accessdate=17 November 2011 }}</ref><ref name=DeRouenHeo2005>{{Cite book |last1=DeRouen |first1=Karl R. |last2=Heo |first2=Uk |title=Defense and security: a compendium of national armed forces and security policies |year=2005 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |location=Santa Barbara, CA |isbn=978-1-85109-781-4 |page=472 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=wdeBgfmZI0cC&pg=PA472 |accessdate=17 November 2011 }}</ref> | |||
| |casualties1=83 killed,<br>131 wounded,<br>12 missing | |||
| |casualties2=462 killed,<br>~300 wounded,<br>8 captured | |||
| }} | |||
| {{Campaignbox French intervention in Mexico}} | |||
| The '''Battle of Puebla''' took place on 5 May 1862 near the city of ] during the ]. The battle ended in a victory for the ] over the occupying French forces. The French eventually overran the Mexicans in subsequent battles, but the Mexican victory at Puebla against a much better equipped and larger<ref name="French_forces">The following sources are mentioning that ] was heading 12,000 troops : see - HICKS Peter, Fondation Napoléon, and General Gustave Léon Niox book, ''Expédition du Mexique : 1861-1867'', published in 1874 by Librairie militaire de J. Dumaine, p. 162 {{External link|http://www.archive.org/stream/expditiondumex00niox#page/162/mode/2up|Read online}}</ref> French army provided a significant morale boost to the Mexican army and also helped slow the French army's advance towards Mexico City. | |||
| The Mexican victory is celebrated yearly on the fifth of May. Its celebration is regional in ], primarily in the state of ],<ref name="mexonline">{{Cite web |url=http://www.mexonline.com/cinco-de-mayo.htm |title=Cinco de Mayo |work=Mexico Online: The Oldest and most trusted online guide to Mexico}}</ref><ref name="NatGeo">{{Cite web |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/0505_060505_cinco_de_mayo.html |work=National Geographic News |title=Cinco de Mayo, From Mexican Fiesta to Popular U.S. Holiday |first=Stefan |last=Lovgren |date=2006-05-05}}</ref><ref name=list> April 14, 2008. This list indicates that Cinco de Mayo is not a ''día feriado obligatorio'' ("obligatory holiday"), but is instead a holiday that can be voluntarily observed.</ref><ref name=globe> Accessed May 5, 2009</ref> where the holiday is celebrated as ''El Día de la Batalla de Puebla'' (English: The Day of the Battle of Puebla).<ref> Colegio Rex: Marina, Mazatlan. Retrieved 25 May 2011.</ref><ref> Retrieved 25 May 2011.</ref><ref> Retrieved 25 May 2011.</ref> There is some limited recognition of the holiday in other parts of the country. This holiday remains very popular in the ] where it is celebrated annually as ]. | |||
| ==Background== | |||
| The 1858–60 Mexican civil war known as ] had caused distress throughout Mexico's economy. Upon taking office as the elected president in 1861, ] was forced to suspend payments of interest on foreign debts for a period of two years. At the end of October 1861 diplomats from Spain, France, and Britain met in London to form the Tripartite Alliance, the main purpose of which was to launch an allied invasion of Mexico, take control of Veracruz, its major port, and force the Mexican government to negotiate terms for the repayment of its debts and for reparations for alleged harm to foreign citizens in Mexico. In December 1861 Spanish forces landed in Veracruz; the British and French followed in early January. The allied troops occupied the port city of ] and then advanced to ]. The Tripartite Alliance fell apart by early April 1862 when it became clear that the French wanted to impose harsh demands on the Juarez government and provoke war. The British and Spanish troops withdrew from Mexico in April 1862 leaving the French to march on Mexico City. ] wanted to seize the opportunity presented by the ] to set up a ] ]. | |||
| ==Event== | |||
| {{refimprove section|date=May 2011}} | |||
| ] | |||
| The French expeditionary force at the time was led by General ]. The battle came about by a misunderstanding of the French forces’ agreement to withdraw to the coast. When the Mexican people saw these French soldiers on the march, they took it that hostilities had recommenced and felt threatened. To add to the mounting concerns, it was discovered that political negotiations for the withdrawal had broken down. | |||
| A vehement complaint was lodged by the Mexicans to General Lorencez who took the effrontery as a plan to assail his forces. Lorencez decided to hold up his withdrawal to the coast by occupying Orizaba instead, which prevented the Mexicans from being able to defend the passes between Orizaba and the landing port of Veracruz. The 33-year-old Mexican Commander General, ], fell back to ] Pass where he and his army were badly beaten in a skirmish with Lorencez's forces on 28 April. Zaragoza retreated to Puebla which was heavily fortified – it had been held by the Mexican government since the Reform War. To its north stood the forts Loreto and Guadalupe on opposite hilltops. Zaragoza had a trench dug to join the forts via the ]. | |||
| ] | |||
| Lorencez was led to believe that the people of Puebla were friendly to the French, and that the Mexican Republican garrison which kept the people in line would be overrun by the population once he made a show of force. This would prove to be a serious miscalculation on Lorencez's part. On 5 May 1862, against all advice, Lorencez decided to attack Puebla from the north. However, he started his attack a little too late in the day, using his artillery just before noon and by noon advancing his infantry. By the third attack the French required the full engagement of all their reserves. The French artillery had run out of ammunition, so the third infantry attack went unsupported. The Mexican forces and the Republican garrison both put up a stout defense and even took to the field to defend the positions between the hilltop forts. | |||
| As the French retreated from their final assault, Zaragoza had his cavalry attack them from the right and left while troops concealed along the road pivoted out to flank them. By 3 p.m. the daily rains had started, making a slippery quagmire of the battlefield. Lorencez withdrew to distant positions, counting 462 of his men killed against only 83 of the Mexicans. He waited a couple of days for Zaragoza to attack again, but Zaragoza held his ground. Lorencez then completely withdrew to Orizaba. | |||
| ==Aftermath== | |||
| ] in 1863. ]] | |||
| The Battle of Puebla was an inspirational event for wartime Mexico, and it provided a stunning revelation to the rest of the world which had largely expected a rapid victory for French arms.<ref name=Beezley71>{{Cite book |last=Beezley |first=William H. |title=Mexico in World History |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=IHmDtqb7qM4C&pg=PA71 |accessdate=17 November 2011 |year=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-515381-1 |page=71 }}</ref> | |||
| Slowed by their loss at Puebla, the French forces retreated and regrouped, and the invasion continued after Napoleon III determinedly sent additional troops to Mexico. The French were eventually victorious, winning the ] on 17 May 1863 and pushing on to ]. When the capital fell, Juárez's government was forced into exile in the remote north.<ref name=Beezley71/> | |||
| With the backing of France, the ] ] became ] in the short-lived ]. "Some have argued that the true French occupation was a response to growing U.S. power and to the ] (America for the Americans). Napoleon III believed that if the United States was allowed to prosper indiscriminately, it would eventually become a power in and of itself."<ref>{{verify credibility|date=November 2011}}</ref> | |||
| ] | |||
| ==Celebration== | |||
| On 9 May 1862, President Juárez declared that the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla would be a national holiday,<ref> Tony Burton. Mexconnect. Retrieved 29 April 2013.</ref><ref> Geo-Mexico. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2013.</ref><ref> Ana Elba Pabon. Diana Borrego. 2003. American Library Association. Page 14. Retrieved 29 April 2013.</ref><ref> Jesse Greenspan. May 3, 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2013.</ref><ref> Page 7488. May 9, 2001. Retrieved 29 April 2013. Note that contrary to most other sources, this source states the date Juarez declared Cinco de Mayo to be a national holiday was 8 September 1862.</ref> regarded as "Battle of Puebla Day" or "Battle of Cinco de Mayo". Although today it is recognised in some countries as a day of Mexican heritage celebration, it is not a federal holiday in Mexico.<ref> Accessed May 8, 2007.{{failed verification|date=November 2011}}</ref> | |||
| A common misconception in the United States is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day,<ref> | |||
| {{cite web | |||
| |url=http://www.nbc11.com/cincodemayo/2990178/detail.html | |||
| |title=Is Cinco De Mayo Really Mexico's Independence Day? | |||
| |author=Adam Brooks | |||
| |publisher=NBC 11 News | |||
| |accessdate=2008-09-18 | |||
| }}{{citation broken|date=November 2011}}</ref> the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico.<ref> Retrieved February 6, 2009.{{dead link|date=November 2011}}</ref> Mexico celebrates Independence Day on the 16th of September, commemorating the beginning of the war of Independence (September 16, 1810, '']'').<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mx.html |title=The World Factbook: Mexico |author=Central Intelligence Agency |authorlink=Central Intelligence Agency |year=2011 |publisher=] |accessdate=17 November 2011 }}</ref> Mexico also observes the culmination of the war of Independence, which lasted 11 years, on the 27th of September. | |||
| Since the 1930s, a re-enactment of the Battle of Puebla has been held each year at ], a rocky outcrop close to ].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://geo-mexico.com/?p=4166 |title=The Battle of Puebla is re-enacted each year on Cinco de Mayo (May 5), but in Mexico City |author=Geo-Mexico |year=2010 |publisher=Geo-mexico.com |accessdate=17 November 2011 }}</ref> | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| *] | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| {{Commons category|Battle of Puebla}} | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| {{coord|19.0500|N|98.2000|W|source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:MX|display=title}} | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Puebla}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||