The English and French fleets reached Veracruz between January 6 and 8, 1862. The city of Campeche surrendered to the French fleet on February 27, and on March 5, a French army commanded by General Charles de Lorencez arrived. In April, the Spanish and English—having finally understood Paris’s true territorial conquest—withdrew their respective contingents. In May, the French warship La Bayonnaise blockaded Mazatlán for several days. Although the French army was considered one of the most efficient in the world, it nevertheless suffered an initial defeat in the Battle of Puebla (May 5, 1862, a date still celebrated as a Mexican national holiday: Cinco de Mayo), and only eventually managed to overcome the defenders. The Mexican army, which was about to pursue the French, was stopped by the latter near Orizaba (July 14). This breakthrough allowed the arrival of two separate columns of reinforcements for the invaders (September 21 and October 16). Tampico fell on October 23, and Xalapa was taken without a fight on December 12.
