Today many people who know little and care little about the history of Mexico will take the opportunity to drink a few Coronas and eat some Mexican food in honor of one of the more notably symbolic battles of the 19th century. Cinco de Mayo (5th of May in Spanish) is a celebration of the 1862 battle where the Mexican army managed to defeat the French at the Battle of Puebla. It should be noted that this battle was not decisive–the French would end up regrouping and taking over Mexico for about five years while the United States was busy fighting the Civil War, and it should also be noted that this was not the first battle of Puebla because of its role as a strategic choke point in invasions of Mexico. As such, both the battle and the place are worthy of some comment.

I have already commented at some length about the indebtedness of Mexico in the early 1860’s, and the way in which this state led an imperialistic French nation to seek to increase its empire while the United States was distracted by fratricidal conflict [1]. Starting from that particular base, we may note that the outcome of the battle was quite a shock, given that the Mexican army was outgunned and outnumbered 2 to 1 by a French army that was at the time considered to be the best in the world. We should note that the Prussian/German army, which would soon hold that distinction, was still dealing with the aftereffects of its shameful performance in the Napoleonic Wars a few decades before and had yet to prove its fearsome reputation over the three wars of German unification that would take place in the 1860’s, as it was just beginning the Danish War allied with Austria to take German-speaking territories from that then-decrepit empire.

The French, who clearly did not respect the strength of the Mexican army, throught that they could take over the nation with an army of about 8,000 troops. For purposes of comparison, we should note that this is half the size of the Confederate Army at the contemporaneous battle of Pea Ridge, where they were defeated by a smaller Union Army led by one of my favorite Civil War generals, Samuel Curtis [2]. The French thought that they could take over all of Mexico with an army half the size of what the Confederacy thought would be necessary to take over Missouri, for purposes of comparison. When the Mexicans showed that they had some fight in them, winning a battle on their home turf, the French were forced to increase the amount of troops sent in their invasion effort, later building up their forces to about 30,000 men, which was sufficient to take Mexico City but not sufficient to stop the guerrila warfare against their puppet regime.

So, how did the Mexicans win? For one, the French had thought that the Mexicans lacked resolve and the will to fight and that their numbers were not sufficient to defend the city of Puebla, and thought that the citizens of the city of Puebla would prefer to surrender rather than to see warfare on their city. The first problem, therefore, was one of political resolve, as the French sorely underestimated the Mexican will to resist, which is a common underestimation in dealing with imperial conflicts, as nations which attack others often do not respect the desire for freedom and self-determination which is inside peoples all over the world.

The second key error of the French in the battle was tactical. Seeking to increase their own glory rather than gain victory with the lowest cost to themselves, they attacked the strongest point of the Mexican defenses at the fortress of Guadalupe [3]. Because of the first mistake, the French commander (a veteran of the Crimean War), assumed that the Mexicans would surrender quickly once their most powerful fortress had been taken. However, the Mexicans proved stout enough to resist three massive attacks on the fortress which had depeleted the ammunition of the French and led to the defensive victory of the Mexicans there at Puebla.

It should be noted that though the victory was a tactical defensive victory for a Mexican Army that was not highly respected in the world, the battle itself was not decisive. The French would regroup and later take Mexico City, forcing Benito Juarez (then president of Mexico, whose suspension of debt repayment had brought on the war in the first place) into exile. However, the Mexican peopole as a whole took heart in their successful defensive effort and their insurrection against the French ended up leading to a successful effort in preserving their independence after five years of war, when the French faced a 50,000 man Union army under the command of a very successful Union General (General Sheridan) poised to support Mexican independence in 1867. The Battle of Puebla therefore remains celebrated not because of its military importance but because of its emotional value as a symbol of Mexican bravery and dignity and desire for freedom, given that the Battle of Puebla was one of the few military successes Mexico has had over its period of independence.

It should be noted, though that Puebla’s strategic importance is not limited to its war against France celebrated with drinking to this day. Founded in the 1500s given the need by the Spaniards for a city between the port of Veracruz and the capital of Mexico City [4], the city quickly became the main route between the coast and the core of Mexico, which meant that any army that wanted to successfully invade Mexico’s capital area had to travel from the malarial coasts through the passes near Puebla and through the city itself to the Central Valley region. In this case geography and the understandable preference for armies to fight along transportation routes (for logistical reasons) and to avoid unnecessary mountain warfare by fighting in passes and valleys instead has tended to make Puebla a key point in the area between the coastal lowlands and the central highlands of Mexico. As a result, Puebla’s historical and geostrategic importance appears secure, at least if Mexico ever has to worry about foreign invasion again.

[1] http://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2012/05/04/cinco-de-mayo-and-the-american-civil-war/

[2] http://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011/09/24/civil-war-fantasy-roster-samuel-curtis/

[3] http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/thehistoryofmexico/a/cincodemayo.htm

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puebla,_Puebla