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N0KFQ > TODAY 19.06.11 22:39l 50 Lines 2278 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 9048_KB0WSA
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Subj: Today in History - Jun 19
Path: IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<JH4XSY<JE7YGF<F6CDD<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 110619/2024Z 9048@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.0.4
Jun 19, 1867:
Emperor of Mexico executed
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's victory at Puebla represented a great
moral victory for the Mexican government and symbolized the
country's 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, a national
holiday in Mexico. Six years later, under pressure from the newly
reunited United States, France withdrew. Abandoned in Mexico,
Emperor Maximilian was captured by Juarez' forces and on June 19,
1867, executed.
73, K.O. n0kfq
Another old retired guy
N0KFQ@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: n0kfq@centurytel.net
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