Mexican forces defeat the French at the Battle of Puebla
On this day · 5 May 1862
On May 5, 1862, an outnumbered Mexican army turned back one of Europe's finest forces at Puebla, and Cinco de Mayo was born.
On May 5, 1862, near the city of Puebla, a ragged Mexican army did something it was not supposed to do: it beat the French. General Ignacio Zaragoza, a Texas-born commander, held roughly 4,500 poorly equipped troops against some 6,500 soldiers of Napoleon III’s army, then considered among the best in the world.
The French, led by General Charles de Lorencez, threw themselves at the hilltop forts of Loreto and Guadalupe and were thrown back each time. A well-timed cavalry strike on their flank broke the assault, and the invaders retreated to await reinforcements.
The victory did not end the war. France would seize Mexico City the next year and prop up an emperor before finally being driven out.
But the win became a lasting symbol of defiance. Celebrated as Cinco de Mayo, it is now marked more widely in the United States than in Mexico, where it remains largely a regional Puebla affair.
Sources & references
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