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Revision as of 22:46, 3 May 2003 by Infrogmation (talk | contribs) (In progress)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Battle of Puebla took on May 5, 1862 near the city of Puebla, Mexico during the French invasion of Mexico. It was a major Mexican victory, and is commemorated in the Mexican holiday the Cinco de Mayo.
Background
The Combatants
French General Conde de Lorencez commanded 6,000 to 6,500 well trained troops.
Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza commanded some 2,000 to 4,000 forces. Less than 1,000 were regular Mexican army; these were suplimented with local militias and untrained volunteers.
The Battle
The third French charge
The Mexicans then counter-attacked, including a force of Zapotec Indians, many armed only with machetes but who none the less succeded in overrunning part of the French lines. Porfirio Diaz (later to be President of Mexico]] led a well disiplined company of Mexican cavelry which flanked the French.
The French then pulled back some distance as dark fell. General Lorencez waited two days for a Mexican offensive, but Zaragoza did not wish to attack the French in open country where he would lose his defensive advantage. Unwilling to risk another attack on the Mexican position, Lorencez then withdrew his forces back to Orizaba.
Aftermath
The French realized their forces were inadiquate to their intended task, and were reinforced with an additional 30,000 troops. In 1863 the French again marched towards Mexico City -- this time bypassing Puebla on their route-- and succeeded in taking the capital and installing the puppet regime of Emperor Maximilian.
While the Battle of Puebla did not stop the French takeover of Mexico, it was an important victory for the Mexicans none the less. It greatly raised Mexican morale and strenghtened determination to resist the invasion. It gave the Juarez government more time to prepare, and while they were forced to abandon Mexico City and retreat to the north of the country, they continued to maintain a working government which was recognized as the legitmate government of Mexico by many foreign nations, and eventually succeeded in defeating Maximilian and his allies in 1867.
The Battle of Puebla was also of historic importance in that it quashed Napoleon III's hopes of a quick take over of Mexico, which he could then use as a base to aid the Confederates in the American Civil War.
See also: