Battle of Puebla
In the battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 , the French were defeated by Mexican troops. The Battle of Puebla was the most important Mexican victory in the early days of the French intervention in Mexico , and the anniversary, or Cinco de Mayo for short , is celebrated annually in Puebla and by Americans of Mexican origin.
The Mexican troops (approx. 4000 soldiers) under the leadership of the Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza faced 6000 men strong troops of the French General Lorencez . The Mexican troops were poorly armed, but General Zaragoza was a very experienced guerrilla fighter.
Historical context
In 1861 the French Emperor Napoléon III sent his troops to Mexico. The official aim of the campaign was to collect the Mexican government's debt. Napoleon III however, also intended to replace the Mexican constitutional government with the monarchy. As a result, the French emperor hoped to expand France's sphere of influence in Central and South America.
On December 8, 1861, French troops occupied the port city of Veracruz . It soon emerged that the real aim of the campaign was not to collect the debt but to gain control of Mexico.
The battle
The road to Puebla was protected by Fort Loreto and Fort Guadalupe . General Zaragoza gave the order to dig the trenches along the way to Puebla and to connect the two forts with one another.
The situation of the Mexicans was favored by the weather conditions: the downpour made the ground muddy and prevented the French artillery from advancing. General Lorencez was convinced that the Mexicans would avoid the difficult battle and flee quickly. Around noon he gave the order to attack. However, the Mexican troops were able to hold their position and threw the French troops back. After regrouping, the French tried again to attack the Mexicans, but were again thrown back in the same way. Porfirio Díaz , who later became President of Mexico, attacked the flank of the French, who retreated , with the well-organized and disciplined cavalry . The battle ended at around 4:30 p.m.
After dark, the French troops withdrew and waited two days for a counter-offensive by the Mexicans. However, Zaragoza was aware that his troops had no chance in the open field and therefore gave the French no opportunity to use the defensive advantage. General Lorencez did not want to risk another attack and therefore ordered his troops to withdraw and return to Orizaba .
Web links
- Cinco de Mayo - The Battle of Puebla, 1862 (English) ( Memento of May 10, 2008 in the Internet Archive )