When in 1862 did the Mexican army claim an unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla immortalizing the day in Mexican history?
Second French intervention in Mexico to the French fleet on 27 February 1862, and a French army, commanded by General Lorencez, arrived on 5 March. When the Spanish and British realised the French ambition was to conquer Mexico, they withdrew their forces on 9 April, their troops leaving on 24 April. In May, the French man-of-war "Bayonnaise" blockaded Mazatlán for a few days. Mexican forces commanded by General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated the French army in the Battle of Puebla on 5 May 1862 (commemorated by the Cinco de Mayo holiday). The pursuing Mexican army was contained by the French at Orizaba, Veracruz, on 14 June.
Battle of Puebla Battle of Puebla The Battle of Puebla (; ) took place on 5 May 1862, near Puebla City during the Second French intervention in Mexico. The battle ended in a victory for the Mexican Army over the occupying French soldiers. The French eventually overran the Mexicans in subsequent battles, but the Mexican victory at Puebla against a much better equipped and larger French army provided a significant morale boost to the Mexican army and also helped slow the French army's advance towards Mexico City. The Mexican victory is celebrated yearly on the fifth of May. Its celebration is regional in