Allied withdrawal and Battle of Puebla in the French intervention in Mexico

Background. The intervention arose after Mexican President Benito Juárez imposed a moratorium on loan-interest payments to French, British, and Spanish creditors from July 1861, and expelled Spanish diplomats. Spanish general Juan Prim occupied Veracruz with 6,200 soldiers from Cuba on 14 December 1861; 2,000 French and 700 British forces joined them on 7 January 1862. The expedition was initially supported by the United Kingdom and Spain, though the supplied passages do not record the subsequent withdrawal of the allied forces or its cause.

Battle of Puebla. General Charles de Lorencez led French troops toward Puebla in May 1862, confident of a quick victory. Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza, commanding the Army of the East, engaged the French at Acultzingo in April before withdrawing. At Puebla, Zaragoza’s forces defeated the French due to poor tactics and overconfidence. This victory delayed the French advance on Mexico City for a year, becoming a celebrated event in Mexican history.

Aftermath. The defeat at Puebla delayed the French advance on Mexico City for a year. The date is commemorated as Cinco de Mayo, marking the day Mexico defeated the Second French Empire's forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1862 under General Ignacio Zaragoza, a Texas native. The supplied passages do not state Lorencez's fate after the battle; the passage describing him in command in France covers 1855 to 1861, before the Mexican expedition.