The French Occupation of Mexico Part II — The Battle of Puebla.In case you missed Part IAfter

The French Occupation of Mexico Part II — The Battle of Puebla.In case you missed Part IAfter the French captured the key port city of Veracruz in late 1861, the French Army began its advance towards the capital, Mexico City.  The conquest of Mexico was all a part of French Emperor Napoleon III’s plan to strengthen the French Empire by expanding it’s influence in Latin America.  In 1862 it seemed that little could stop the French, at the time one of the largest, most well equipped, and well trained armies in the world.At the same time the Mexican Army was barely a working fighting force.  After losing a war with Texas and the United States, and also fighting a bloody civil war, the Mexican Republic could barely afford to field an army of any sort.  Much of the Mexican Army was reliant on poorly trained and equipped militia units.  Mexican weapons were also lacking as well.  While Mexico had attempted to rearm with modern weaponry imported from Europe, much of the army still used the Brown Bess flintlock smoothbore musket, which had been imported from Britain.  By then considered obsolete antiques, the Brown Bess of the Mexican Army was also used to fight the French back in the Napoleonic Wars.  However by 1862, the Brown Bess was an entire generation behind the weaponry of the day which had limited range and accuracy.  Worse yet, many of the poorest militia fighters had nothing more than common farm tools and machetes.  The French Army, however, was a state of the art fighting force armed with the best in modern weaponry.  Unlike the Mexican’s, the French Army was entirely armed with a rifled musket called the Minie Rifle, which could fire accurately at several times the range of the Brown Bess.  The French also brought with them several cannon as well as a few early machine gun designs.On May 2nd 1862, the French advance was halted outside the city of Puebla, capital of the State of Puebla.  There Mexican forces under the command of Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza had gathered together a force of 4,500 men, most of whom were local militia.  The outskirts of the city were flanked by two large hills atop of which were two fortresses, Fort Loredo and Fort Guadalupe.  In between the fortresses Zaragoza ordered the construction of a network of trenches.  The French numbered 6,500 and were led by General Charles de Lorencez.  The French believed that the Battle of Puebla would be an easy victory. After all how could the humble farmers of Puebla stand against the mighty French Army?  De Lorencez himself had the weird notion that the people of Puebla were friendly to the French, and with a show of force the people of Puebla would abandon their defenses.  The arrogance of de. Lorencez would ultimately be his undoing.De Lorencez order a massive frontal assault on the forts and trenches.  While the Mexican’s were outnumbered and outgunned, the held the high ground and were defending a heavily fortified positions.  As the French attempted to advance up the hills they were mowed down by musket fire and grapeshot.  French artillery tried to soften up the defenses and provide cover for the infantry, but their fire was divided over a large front, and soon they ran out of ammunition.  Many French soldiers, unable to advance against the forts, could do little but hide behind the sparse agave plants which grew in the area.  De. Lorencez ordered a second assault on the Mexican defense, but the defenders grew more stubborn with each attack.  Finally all French reserves were thrown into a final last ditch attack, but the addition of more men only added more targets for the Mexican defenders.  Finally, after three failed assaults, the French Army sounded retreat.When the French retreated, Gen. Zaragoza unveiled his surprise.  Zaragoza ordered his cavalry to chase down the French.  Simultaneously reserves of Mexican soldiers hidden along the road ambushed the retreating French.  After being soundly defeated, the French were forced to withdraw from Puebla entirely.  They suffered 464 dead and hundreds more wounded.  Mexican casualties number 83 killed, and 130 wounded.News of victory over the French spread across Mexico, providing a much needed morale boost for the Mexican people.  President Juarez even declared the day a national holiday, a Mexican holiday still celebrated today called Cinco de Mayo.  The Mexican victory would be short lived.  Though the Battle of Puebla was a major victory for Mexico, it was a minor setback for the French.  By the summer of 1862 thousands of French reinforcements were offloading at Mexican ports.     -- source link

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