May 5 1862 – The Mexican Army Defeats the French at the Battle of Puebla
*Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons Five months after Napoleon III of France ordered troops into Mexico under the guise of defending his country’s interests, the Mexican Army scored a major victory at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Facing superior numbers and advanced technology held by their counterparts from Europe, the native soldiers managed to slow the French march toward Mexico City. Cinco de Mayo, an annual celebration in the state of Puebla and across the United States, commemorates the triumph to this day. Ever since achieving independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico faced tremendous upheaval as opposing factions attempted to wrangle control of the government. Some, interested in central control placed in one individual, attempted to create a parliamentary monarchy similar to those on the rise in Europe. Others, enticed by the possibility of a federal republic similar to that in the neighboring U.S., attempted to exert influence by shedding the Catholic Church and subjugating the military. In 1855, led by Benito Juarez and Ignacio Comonfort, the progressive element gained control from General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Following the Mexican-American War, the country was now significantly smaller — Texas and much of the Southwest U.S. were lost — and the ousting of Santa Anna amounted to a new lease on life for Mexico as a nation.