Battle of Puebla
Encyclopedia : B : BA : BAT : Battle of Puebla
The Battle of Puebla took place on May 5, 1862 near the city of Puebla, Mexico, during the French intervention in Mexico. It was a major Mexican victory, and is commemorated every year as Cinco de Mayo.
Background
In late 1861, Napoleon III of France sent his troops to Mexico, supposedly to collect debts owed by a previous Mexican government. President Benito Juárez had agreed to pay these debts, but only in installments. The true goal of Napoleon III was to depose the Mexican Constitutional Government, set up a monarchy favorable to France, and then expand control to Central and South America.Napoleon III's troops occupied the port city of Veracruz on December 8, 1861. The expedition's true goal soon became apparent.
The battle
The Battle of Puebla, Mexico on May 5, 1862 is one of the single conquests of the Mexican people over the occupying French Army. The battle has become legendary and has been susceptible to many variations of the telling.
This is what seems to be consistent and factual:
The French Army at the time was being led by General Charles Latrille de Lorencz (not Lorencez, as is often misspelled.) He held great contempt for the Mexican people so much that he believed he could control the whole country like puppets with his massive army of 6,000 men. What led up to the battle was a misunderstanding, fired by infuriation, of the French forces’ agreement to withdraw to the coast before resuming hostilities. The French left some of their sicker men in the highlands. When the Mexican people saw these men walking around with rifles, they took it that hostilities were rekindling. There were not supposed to be any able-bodied men left behind. Add to that the fact that negotiations of the withdrawal were breaking down.
A vehement complaint was lodged to General Lorencz who took the effrontery as a plan to murder his ailing forces. Lorencz decided to hold up his withdrawal to the coast by instead occupying Orizaba, which prevented the Mexicans from defending the passes between Orizaba and the landing port of Vera Cruz. The 33 year old Mexican Commander General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin fell back to Alcuzingo Pass where he and his army were badly beaten in a skirmish with Lorencz’s aggressive forces on April 28. Zaragosa retreated to Puebla which was heavily fortified. Puebla had been held by Mexico since the Wars of Reform in 1860. To its north lie the forts Loreto and Guadalupe on opposite hilltops. Zaragoza had a trench join the forts via the saddle.
Lorencz heard 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 showed a show of force. This would be proven incorrect. Against all advisement he decided to attack from the north. Unfortunately for Lorencz, he started the battle late in the day, using his artillery just before noon and by noon advancing his infantry which by the third advance needed the full engagement of all its reserves. French artillery had run out of ammo so the third offensive went unsupported. The Mexican forces and the Republican Garrison all put up a great 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 on the right and left while the troops concealed along the road pivoted out to flank them badly. By 3 p.m. the daily rains had started making a slippery mess of the battlefield. Lorencz 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. Lorencz completely withdrew to Orizaba. The political repercussions were overwhelming as the outnumbered Mexicans used what courage and determination they could to repel the ominous French Army. When news of the defeat reached France, Napoleon III sent 29,000 additional troops to Mexico. Suffice it to say they had eventually overrun Puebla, but the legendary battle had created a Mexican moral victory which is celebrated today as Cinco de Mayo.
Unsubstantiated accounts
Stories that many of the Mexican fighters were simple folks armed with nothing more than machetes are unsubstantiated. The Mexican Army under Zaragoza were legitimate military units, such as artillery, infantry and cavalry using real muskets and recognized military tactic that in this one instance overcame an overconfident French army.
A story of the French being deliberately trampled by a herd of cattle is unsubstantiated. The fight was strictly military and did not require mythical, romantic screenplay scenarios.
Accounts have had French losses in the thousands. The French at this time had sent 7,000 men to Mexico, almost 1,000 of whom had become ill, most likely from New World diseases. Though Lorencz had 6,040 men, he only lost 462 with 8 captured.
Aftermath
On May 10, 1862, President Juárez declared that the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla would be a national holiday, regarded as "Battle of Puebla Day" or just Cinco de Mayo. Although it is recognized as a day of celebration, nowadays it is not a federal holiday in Mexico, and whether or not people take time off school or work depends on the particular situation.
Realizing their expeditionary force was understrength for its intended task, the French reinforced it with an additional 30,000 troops. In 1863, the French again marched towards Mexico City, this time bypassing Puebla. Following their success in capturing the capital, they installed the puppet regime of Emperor Maximilian.
While the Battle of Puebla did not prevent the French takeover of Mexico, it was nonetheless an important victory for the Mexicans. It raised their morale and strengthened their determination to resist the invasion. It gave the Juárez government much needed time. While they were forced to abandon Mexico City and retreat to the north, they maintained a working government that many nations recognized as legitimate. In 1867, they defeated Maximilian and his allies.
The Battle of Puebla was also of historic importance in that it squashed Napoleon III's hopes of a quick takeover of Mexico, which he was planning to use as a base to aid the Confederates in the American Civil War
See also
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.