French intervention in Mexico

The Battle of Puebla took place on 5 May 1862 near the city of Puebla during the French intervention in Mexico. The battle ended in a victory for the... Mexican Army over the occupying French forces. 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 Mexico, primarily in the state of Puebla, where the holiday is celebrated as El Día de la Batalla de Puebla . There is some limited recognition of the holiday in other parts of the country. This holiday remains very popular in the United States where it is celebrated annually as Cinco de Mayo. The 1857–62 Mexican civil war known as The Reform War had disorganised the country's finances and the new President, Benito Juárez, was forced to suspend payments of foreign debts in 1861.
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The Battle of Tacámbaro took place on April 11, 1865 in the state of Michoacán in western Mexico during the French Intervention in Mexico.... The engagement, named for the town in which it was fought, pitted 300 members of the Belgian Legion against approximately 3,000 Mexican Republicans. The Belgian Legion, under the command of Baron Alfred Van der Smissen, had been organized at the request of Maximilian's wife, Empress Charlotte, and arrived in Mexico on December 14, 1864 to act as her personal bodyguard. The Belgians were placed under the command of Colonel de Potier of France and deployed to Michoacán to assist Maximillian's forces in fighting Republican guerrillas known to be operating in that area. The state of Michoacán lies within 100 miles of Mexico City. Its proximity to the capital combined with its heavy forests, mountainous terrain and difficult weather made it ideal for guerilla operations. The state's population was largely sympathetic to the Republican cause and the region was laced with routes for smuggling arms and supplies for Republican forces operating in the area.
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The Battle of San Pablo del Monte took place on May 5, 1863 during the Siege of Puebla.

The Battle of Orizaba was an engagement between France and Mexico. The Mexicans under Zaragoza and a French garrison had a cannon duel with each... other. After an inconclusive battle, the Mexicans retreated.
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