The French Occupation of Mexico Part III — The Fall of MexicoThe Mexican victory against the F
The French Occupation of Mexico Part III — The Fall of MexicoThe Mexican victory against the French at Puebla was stunning, no one expected the outnumbered and outgunned Mexican Army and militia to defeat the professional French Army. However the victory over France was very short lived. After the Battle of Puebla, tens of thousands of French troops began to land in French controlled ports, reinforcing the French Army. By 1863, the French were ready for another assault on Mexico City.Once again the French were halted outside of the heavily fortified city of Puebla. However this time the French, under a new commander named Gen. Elie Frederic Forey, took another approach rather than simply conducting a massive frontal assault. The French surrounded Puebla, laying siege to the fortified city. Cut off from supplies and reinforcements, the Mexicans slowly starved in their fortresses and trenches. The French also brought along several siege guns with the intent of shelling the Mexicans into submission.During the Siege of Puebla, a unit of 62 soldiers from the newly formed French Foreign Legion were tasked with guarding an inbound wagon train full of supplies for the siege. On April 30th, 1863 the convoy was ambushed by 800 cavalry and 2,200 Mexican infantry. In the battle that ensued the French were forced to take defensive positions at the Hacienda Camaron. Surrounded, the French Legionnaires literally fought to the last bullet. When out of bullets they fixed bayonets and fought hand to hand. In the ensuing Battle of Camaron the Foreign Legion inflicted heavy casualties but were completely wiped out. Of the 67 men, 43 were killed and the rest were wounded and captured. In the meantime the wagon convoy made its way safely to Puebla. Today the Battle of Camaron is celebrated as one of the defining moments of the French Foreign Legion.After a two month siege the Mexican garrison at Puebla was forced to surrender. This left the road to Mexico City open to the French. Two weeks later President Juarez and his government fled the city, retreating to the distant town of Chihuahua, where the exiled government would remain for the rest of the war. On the 7th of June, 1863 the French marched into Mexico City unopposed. From there the army spread out, one by one capturing other important cities such as Guadalajara, Acapulco, Jalisco, Matzatlan, and Durango. By 1864, the French controlled almost all of the country except the northern border regions along the Rio Grande and the southern most parts of the country.With Mexico solidly in Napoleon III’s hands, Napoleon declared the country to be reformed into the Second Mexican Empire. Napoleon himself did not become the new Emperor of Mexico, he was busy enough as Emperor of the Second French Empire. Rather, he pressured a Austrian noble named Maximilian to become Emperor of Mexico. Maximilian was brother to Emperor Franz Josef of Austria, and a descendant of the ancient House of Habsburg-Lorraine. While technically Maximilian was the official head of state for Mexico, in reality Maximilian was a puppet ruler, and the French were unquestionably in charge. The resulting Second Mexican Empire was thus a hodgepodge collection of French military men, Austrian nobles, and Mexican conservatives. The new flag for the Second Mexican Empire reflected this, keeping the original green, white, and red color scheme as well as the Mexican serpent and eagle. However the eagle was framed with the Habsburg seal. -- source link
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