Cinco de Mayo, a holiday celebrated by Mexicans and Mexican Americans, commemorates the victory of a Mexican army over a French army at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Its name is Spanish for Fifth of May. These performers in Mexico City celebrate the holiday with a re-enactment of the battle. Credit: © Jorge Uzon, AFP/Getty Images

Today, May 5, is Cinco de Mayo, a holiday celebrated in Mexico and in many communities throughout the United States. Cinco de Mayo is Spanish for Fifth of May. Many people know that Cinco de Mayo commemorates the victory of a Mexican army over a French army at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. But few people know much about the battle itself, which took place near Puebla, a city in central Mexico, during a French invasion of Mexico. Mexican forces won the Battle of Puebla, but their victory did not stop the French from taking control of Mexico. A French-supported government led by Emperor Maximilian ruled Mexico from 1864 until 1867, when Maximilian was killed and the Mexican republic was restored.

A statue of former Mexican President Benito Juárez stands in Pachuca, the capital of the state of Hidalgo, in central Mexico. The hills of Pachuca contain deposits of valuable metals such as gold and silver. Credit: © AA World Travel Library/Alamy Images

In April 1862, a force of some 6,000 French troops marched inland from the port city of Veracruz, intending to take Mexico City, the nation’s capital. Puebla lay along the route to the capital, and Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza assembled about 4,800 troops nearby to stop the French advance. On April 28, the French won an initial battle at Acultzingo Pass leading to Puebla. Zaragoza then withdrew to Puebla, which was protected by fortifications on two large hills—Guadalupe and Loreto—and other defenses.

On May 5, 1862, French artillery began bombarding Puebla’s defenses, and an infantry assault soon followed. The French attack failed under the concentrated fire from Puebla’s defenders. A second attack also failed, but the French refused to quit and launched a third attack. It too failed. Suffering heavy casualties (people killed and wounded), the French called off the assault. Mexican cavalry then attacked the French as they attempted to withdraw, inflicting still more casualties. With the battle lost, the French eventually retreated to Orizaba, a city midway between Puebla and Veracruz.

The French suffered nearly 500 casualties at Puebla, including more than 100 killed in action. Mexican losses were about 85 dead and more than 100 wounded. Despite the defeat, the French recovered quickly. After receiving about 30,000 reinforcements the following autumn, the French renewed their march toward Mexico City. The French won the second Battle of Puebla in May 1863 and then pushed on to take Mexico City. Mexican President Benito Juárez was forced into hiding, and the French installed Archduke Maximilian of Austria as emperor of Mexico in 1864.

Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph served as emperor of Mexico from 1864 to 1867. His reign helped lead to the modernization of Mexico. Credit: © Andrew Burgess, Library of Congress

After the bloody American Civil War ended in the spring of 1865, the United States threatened to intervene to remove the French from Mexico. The French then began withdrawing their forces in 1866. At the same time, a resistance movement led by Juárez increased attacks on the French and Mexican troops loyal to Maximilian.

In February 1867, Maximilian and his army withdrew north of Mexico City to the city of Querétaro, where Mexican rebels soon besieged them. In May, Maximilian was betrayed by one of his officers and captured by rebel troops. The emperor—who had ordered all Juárez supporters caught bearing arms to be shot—was himself executed by firing squad on June 19, 1867. The Mexican republic was then restored, and Juárez again became president.

February 18, 2016

This Saturday, February 21, marks the 100^th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Verdun in France during World War I (1914-1918). The battle was fought between German and French troops around Verdun, a fortress city on the Meuse River. The brutal battle lasted more than nine months (until late December 1916), and ended in a slim and costly French victory. Together with the Battle of the Somme, which began a few months later, Verdun was one of the bloodiest examples of trench warfare in history. Verdun is a city of great historic and strategic value to France. The Germans knew the French would defend it at all cost.

The 1916 Battle of Verdun, in northeastern France, came to symbolize the destructiveness of warfare in World War I. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers died over the exchange of very little ground. Much of the fighting centered on the French forts northeast of Verdun, particularly Vaux and Douaumont. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

The Battle of Verdun began on Feb. 21, 1916, with a massive German attack on French positions around Verdun. For months, French defenses held the city against overwhelming force. However, a number of key positions—including forts Douaumont and Vaux—fell to the German attack. As the battle dragged into summer, both sides suffered major casualties. In July 1916, after the start of the Allied offensive on the Somme River, the Germans reduced their efforts at Verdun. In the autumn, repeated French attacks regained the lost forts. By battle’s end in December, the lines were almost exactly where they had been at the start.

Graves of French soldiers surround the Douaumont Ossuary near Verdun, France. The ossuary holds the remains of about 130,000 unidentified soldiers killed on nearby battlefields. Credit: © Julia Gavin, Alamy Images

General Henri Philippe Pétain organized the defense of Verdun. France hailed him as a hero. However, the Battle of Verdun came to symbolize the destructiveness of modern war. More than 2 million soldiers fought in the battle, and more than 700,000 of them were killed, wounded, or went missing. Verdun and the surrounding area were almost completely destroyed.

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