22. The Battle of Puebla was a Mexican victory aided by rain
The holiday Cinco de Mayo, which is more widely celebrated in the United States than it is in Mexico, notes the Mexican victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla, fought on May 5, 1862. Mexican forces occupied two forts on hilltops north of Puebla, connected by a trench running between them. French forces attacked them from the north. The French launched their attacks at noon that day, with a heavy artillery bombardment preceding the infantry assault up the slopes. The Mexican defenders repulsed the first attack. French bombardment continued as the infantry regrouped for a second attack. It too was repulsed. The artillery ran out of ammunition as the French infantry prepared a third assault.
The third assault went forward without artillery support, and the Mexicans were encouraged to launch counterattacks in the open ground as the French advanced. Around three in the afternoon it began to rain heavily, an almost daily event known by the Mexicans, but not their French adversaries. The slopes of the hills became slippery quickly, and the booted French found the footing treacherous as they tried to move up the slopes. By late afternoon the French gave up and withdrew. They returned a year later and captured the city with a reinforced army, but the victory at Puebla, aided by the Mexican climate, became a point of pride in Mexico, and a declared national holiday.
