Mexico on the eve of the war
Mexico, extending over two million square kilometers, was populated, at the time of the intervention, by 8.5 million people. Three ethnic groups were present:2 million whites (descendants of the conquistadors and Spanish colonists.), 2.5 million mestizos, 4 million Amerindians, as well as a few hundred thousand black slaves.
Racial antagonism was strong:the whites considered themselves superior, and the mestizos were jealous of the whites and despised the Indians. The latter, on the other hand, were divided into a multitude of tribes.
Moreover, the three major ethnic groups were themselves politically divided:on the one hand, the conservative party, centralist and clerical, was supported by the large landowners; on the other hand, the liberal party, federalist and anticlerical, was mainly supported by the small owners as well as by the bourgeoisie. Mexico was therefore far from being a united country able to fight against a foreign invasion.
Juarez in power
Since Mexico had proclaimed its independence, a multitude of coups d'etat had succeeded one another. In 1858, the Indian Benito Juárez, a member of the Liberal Party, seized power.
A rebellion broke out, however, led by Generals Zuloaga and Miramon. The latter succeeded in driving out Juárez, who nevertheless ended up putting down the insurgents, in 1861. This new civil war had once again impoverished the state. Juárez acknowledged that Mexico owed 70 million pesos to England, 9 million to Spain and 3 million to France, but, since Mexico's coffers were almost empty, he decided in July 1861 to suspend payment for two years. external debt.
The reasons for the intervention
This country was not at the time a real nation. Ethnic and political rivalries divided the population. In addition, since independence, Mexico had been plagued by incessant coups d'etat, financially wearing down the country. The opportunity for a powerful country like France to install a strong regime there and reap the rewards was tempting.
The only solution, according to Napoleon III, was to put an end to the anarchy that reigned in this country, and to establish an Empire there. Indeed, once order was restored to Mexico, progress would be there:the country would become the first industrialized country in Latin America and once Mexico had become an attractive country, thousands of settlers would come to settle in the temperate lands, leading to urbanization and immigration. The port of New York and the famous Ellis Island (where immigrants had to pass a battery of exams before settling in the United States.) would be abandoned in favor of the port of Veracruz. Thousands of Italians, Irish, Greeks, thousands of nationals of all countries in difficulty would come to reside in Mexico and no longer in the United States.
This plan of Napoleon III, who saw in it the opportunity to set up against the United States a Catholic empire allied with France, was notably supported by Eugène Rouher, who spoke of it as "the Greatest Thought of the Reign". P>
The geopolitical conditions were excellent in 1861:Juárez provided an excellent pretext for France to intervene legitimately. Besides, the Americans couldn't do anything because they were embroiled in the Civil War.
The beginnings of the intervention
Initially, the Spanish and British governments also sent an expeditionary force (Mexico owed them much more money than France). Negotiations took place between Mexicans and Europeans (after the latter had signed the Convention of Soledad in February 1862, in which they undertook not to attack Mexico), but they only led to an impasse. In April 1862, English and Spanish returned to the port of Veracruz and left the country.
The first French offensive
The French decided to hold on. General Charles Ferdinand Latrille de Lorencez, at the head of the French command, decided to march towards Puebla (which, once taken, would open the way to Mexico City).
After small clashes against the Mexicans, the French arrived in front of the city on May 5, 1862. General Saragoza's 12,000 men were firmly entrenched there, but were poorly armed. Lorencez launched his troops in a frontal assault against the fortified convent of the Cerro (convent) of Guadalupe. Well entrenched behind the walls, the Juarists managed to repel the French, a thousand of whom perished during the battle. Lorencez then sounded the retreat, and retired pitifully.
When the news of the defeat before Puebla was known in Paris, Napoleon III sent a reinforcement of 26,000 men to Mexico, under the command of the new general-in-chief:Elie Frédéric Forey. The latter and his men arrived in Mexico in September 1862. They laid siege to Puebla a second time.
The capture of Puebla and Oaxaca
The city fell only after great effort, in May 1863. Thousands of Mexicans were then in the city when it fell. Not all of them could be imprisoned and were therefore released. A few days later, they had joined the ranks of the rebels. Subsequently, the French army managed to progress without incident to Mexico City, from where Juárez had fled (the latter took refuge in Paso del Norte, on the border with the United States). There, in July 1863, an assembly of notables offered the Imperial crown to the Austrian Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg, who took more than a year to accept it...
Following the capture of the city, the army received the task of pacifying the state of Puebla. The soldiers multiplied the marches, fortified the villages visited, and managed, not without difficulty, to establish order. But one obstacle stood in their way:the city of Oaxaca, the stronghold of rebel leader Porfirio Diaz.
General Bazaine (who had replaced Forey), decided to carry out the operations against this town himself. These began at the end of 1864. However, the siege did not last long:in February 1865, Porfirio Diaz signed the surrender of Oaxaca. Thousands of Mexicans were in the city when it fell. Once again, not all of them could be imprisoned and were therefore released. A few days later, most had joined the guerrillas in the north.
The French army against the guerrillas
After the capture of Oaxaca, the soldiers were sent to fight in northern Mexico, where the guerrillas were the most virulent. The expeditionary force was not accustomed to fighting in this way:when the rebels were in a strong position, they attacked, otherwise they fled. In addition, they had horses, which the French did not.
In order to fight against this strategy, Colonel Dupin's counter-guerrillas were set up:a troop of local men, knowing the terrain on which they were venturing, equipped with horses, acted on the fringes of the French army.
The end of the war
In 1866, the fighting continued, but the French soldiers knew very well that the war could no longer be won. Napoleon III could no longer afford to waste his troops in fruitless battles:Bismarck's Prussia had just crushed the Austrians at Sadowa.
Moreover, the Civil War, which prevented the American government from protesting the French intervention, was over. The American Minister of Foreign Affairs, William H. Seward, told Napoleon III that his country took a dim view of the French intervention against the Republican government of Juárez (which enjoyed the sympathy of the American Union) to replace him by a monarchy. He demanded the withdrawal of French troops, and offered his financial and military aid to Juárez. He refused, distrusting the interested help of the Americans. According to him, imperialism could change its name, but its intentions always remained the same.
Napoleon III therefore withdrew his troops, gradually abandoning the northern cities of Mexico, Puebla, and Veracruz. In February 1867, the last French ship left the shores of Mexico...
The war in Mexico claimed another death in June 1867. Emperor Maximilian, who had refused to abdicate, took refuge in Santiago de Querétaro. Soon surrounded by the Juarists, he surrendered, following the siege of the city (Maximilien naively thought that he would have the right to be taken to Veracruz, and re-embarked on the first ship leaving for Europe). On the contrary, taken prisoner, he was condemned to death. On June 19, 1867 in Santiago de Querétaro, he was executed along with his generals, Miramon and Mejia.
French order of battle and foreign forces
Of the 38,493 French soldiers sent to Mexico (20% of the French forces), 6,654 died of wounds or disease.
In 1863, the Khedive of Egypt offered a battalion of 450 soldiers to the Mexican Empire, many of them Sudanese supposedly more resistant to tropical diseases. From 1864-1865, Austria-Hungary sent 7000 men (Poles, Hungarians...). 2000 Belgian volunteers formed the Empress Charlotte regiment.
French units involved in this expedition include
:
* the 7th, 51st, 62nd, 81st, 95th and 99th line infantry regiments;
* the 1st, 7th, 18th and 20th chasseurs à pied;
* the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Zouaves;
* the 2nd African Light Infantry Battalion;
* a marching battalion of Algerian skirmishers.
* the foreign regiment, the first regiment of the foreign legion which distinguished itself at the Battle of Camerone;
Clarification on the commitment of the Foreign Legion
Initially, the Legion was not to participate in the campaign, it had to do so as a punishment from its officers who delivered a petition which disobeyed the Minister of War.
The regiment arrived on March 25, 1863 and was then given the thankless task of escorting convoys between Veracruz and Puebla. But the 3rd company distinguished itself on April 30, 1863 during the Camerone battle, which remains in history as an illustration of sacrifice in the name of the word given. Although it was a defeat for the Legion, it is commemorated by the legionnaires with as much fervor as by the Mexicans, who wholeheartedly recognize the courage of the Legionnaires (the latter surrendered only when only three fighters remained!).
From December 1864 to February 1865, the units of the regiment took part in the siege of Oaxacca.
On July 3, 1866, the 3rd and 5th companies of the 4th battalion fought a fight comparable to that of Camerone. Under the orders of Captain Frenet, the 125 legionnaires surrounded in the Hacienda de l'Incarnacion resisted victoriously for 48 hours against more than 600 Mexicans.
Total losses in the Mexico expedition:22 officers, 32 non-commissioned officers and 414 legionnaires.
The agreement made with Emperor Maximilian indicated that the Foreign Legion should go into the service of Mexico; as the French adventure in Mexico turns into a disaster, the Legion returns to France.
Main Battles of the Expedition
* Battle of Las Cumbres
* Battle of Puebla (May 5, 1862) then Siege of Puebla
* Battle of Camerone
* Battle of Baghdad (Mexico)
* Battle of La Carbonera
* Siege of Querétaro