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KF5JRV > TODAY 19.06.24 12:46l 47 Lines 2172 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 1193_KF5JRV
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Subj: Today in History - Jun 19 (corrected)
Path: IZ3LSV<ED1ZAC<CX2SA<VE3CGR<KF5JRV
Sent: 240619/1043Z 1193@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.24
Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, installed as emperor of
Mexico by French Emperor Napoleon III in 1864, is executed on
the orders of Benito Juarez, the president of the Mexican Republic.
In 1861, the liberal Mexican Benito Juarez became president of
a country in financial ruin, and he was forced to default on his
debts to European governments. In response, France, Britain
and Spain sent naval forces to Veracruz to demand reimbursement.
Britain and Spain negotiated with Mexico and withdrew, but
France, ruled by Napoleon III, decided to use the opportunity
to carve a dependent empire out of Mexican territory. Late in
1861, a well-armed French fleet stormed Veracruz, landing a
large French force and driving President Juarez and his
government into retreat.
Certain that French victory would come swiftly in Mexico, 6,000
French troops under General Charles Latrille de Lorencez set
out to attack Puebla de Los Angeles, a small town in east-central
Mexico. From his new headquarters in the north, Juarez rounded
up a rag-tag force of loyal men and sent them to Puebla. Led by
Texas-born General Ignacio Zaragoza, the 2,000 Mexicans fortified
the town and prepared for the French assault. On May 5, 1862,
Lorencez drew his army, well-provisioned and supported by heavy
artillery, before the city of Puebla and began his assault from the
north. The battle lasted from daybreak to early evening, and when
the French finally retreated they had lost nearly 500 soldiers to the
fewer than 100 Mexicans killed.
Although not a major strategic victory in the overall war against the
French, Zaragoza\u2019s victory at Puebla represented a great moral victory
for the Mexican government and symbolized the country\u2019s ability to
defend its sovereignty against threat by a powerful foreign nation.
Today, Mexicans celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla
as Cinco de Mayo. Six years later, under pressure from the newly
reunited United States, France withdrew. Abandoned in Mexico,
Emperor Maximilian was captured by Juarez\u2019 forces and on
June 19, 1867, executed.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
Email KF5JRV@gmail.com
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