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Battle of Puebla
Part of the French intervention in Mexico
Depictions of the battle showing Mexican cavalry overwhelming the French troops below the fort at Loreto. Note there are no machete wielding civilians, as some accounts have it.
Date May 5, 1862 Location Puebla, Mexico Result Mexican victory
Belligerents
United Mexican States	Second French Empire
Commanders and leaders
Ignacio Zaragoza	Charles de Lorencez
Strength
4,500 soldiers, mostly veterans of the Reform Wars 1857-1860, include Zappadores, Infantry, Cavalry and 18 guns in 3 batteries of artillery. (Civilian forces not substantiated)	6,040 soldiers, includes Chasseurs à Pied, Chasseurs de Vincennes, Chasseurs d'Afrique, 99th Infantry, 2nd Zouaves, Marine, Naval Infantry, and 12 guns Artillery, 6 guns Mountain Howitzer
Casualties and losses
83 dead, 131 wounded, 12 MIA	462 dead, more than 300 wounded, 8 captured

The Battle of Puebla took place on May 5, 1862 near the city of Puebla during the French intervention in Mexico. The battle ended in a victory for the Mexican Army against the French occupational forces. The victory is celebrated today during the festivities of Cinco de Mayo (5th of May).

In late 1861 Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, sent troops to Mexico, alongside British and Spanish forces, to collect debts owed by a previous Mexican government. President Benito Juárez had announced the annulment of these debts, and vowed to pay nothing to European powers. Napoleon’s troops occupied the port city of Veracruz on December 8, 1861. Soon thereafter, the British and Spanish forces returned home, having established a truce with Mexico.

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The Battle of Puebla was one of the few victories of the Mexican people over the occupying French Army. The battle was a single high-point moral victory, but its otherwise diminutive significance in the struggle for Mexico’s independence has caused its retelling to be distorted by many versions whose accuracy is questionable. From several reliable historical accounts, here is what seems to be consistent:

The French Army at the time was led by General Charles de Lorencez. The battle came about through a misunderstanding of the French forces’ agreement to withdraw to the coast before resuming hostilities. As many of the French soldiers had become ill, many were kept back in the inland and highland areas. When the Mexican people saw these French soldiers wandering about with rifles, they took it that hostilities had recommenced. They were of the understanding that there were not to be any able-bodied men left behind. The whole matter came to a boil when it was discovered that political negotiations for the withdrawal had broken down.

A vehement complaint was lodged by the Mexicans to General Lorencez who took the effrontery as a plan to assail his ailing forces. Lorencez decided to hold up his withdrawal to the coast by occupying Orizaba instead, which prevented the Mexicans from being able to defend the passes between Orizaba and the landing port of Veracruz. The 33 year old Mexican Commander General, Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín, fell back to Alcuzingo Pass, where he and his army were badly beaten in a skirmish with Lorencez’s forces on April 28. Zaragoza retreated to Puebla, which was heavily fortified. Puebla had been held by the Mexican government since the Wars of Reform in 1860. To its north lie the forts Loreto and Guadalupe on opposite hilltops. Zaragoza had a trench dug to join the forts via the saddle.

Lorencez was led to believe 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 made a show of force. This would prove to be a serious miscalculation on Lorencez's part. On May 5, against all advice, Lorencez decided to attack Puebla from the north. Unfortunately, he started his attack a little too late in the day, using his artillery just before noon and by noon advancing his infantry. By the third attack the French required the full engagement of all its reserves. Unfortunately the French artillery had run out of ammunition, so the third infantry attack went unsupported. The Mexican forces and the Republican Garrison both put up a stout 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 attacked them from the right and left while troops concealed along the road pivoted out to flank them badly. By 3 p.m. the daily rains had started, making a slippery quagmire of the battlefield. Lorencez 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. Lorencez then completely withdrew to Orizaba. The political repercussions were overwhelming, as the outnumbered Mexicans used what courage and determination they could to repel the French forces. When news of the defeat reached France, Napoleon III sent 29,000 additional troops to Mexico. They eventually overran Puebla, but the legendary battle had created a Mexican moral victory which is celebrated today as Cinco de Mayo.

Stories that many of the Mexican fighters were simple folks armed with nothing more than machetes are unsubstantiated. The Mexican Army under Zaragoza were regular military units, such as artillery, infantry and cavalry using real muskets and recognized military tactics 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.

Some accounts tell of French losses numbering in the thousands. The French had sent 7,000 men to Mexico, almost 1,000 of whom had become ill, most likely from New World diseases. Though Lorencez had 6,040 men, he only lost 462 with 8 captured.

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On september 16 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.

While the Battle of Puebla did not prevent the imminent French takeover of Mexico, it did go as an important morale victory for the Mexican Army. It also gave the Juárez government much needed time to organize its new government that many nations recognized as legitimate. The United States, embroiled in its own conflict, supported the Republican Mexican forces with much of its arms and equipment, including the very uniforms and weapons used by the Union Army in the Civil War. In 1867, the Republican forces defeated Maximilian and his allies, and he was executed.

• History of Mexico
• Ignacio Zaragoza
• Cinco de Mayo