Emperor Napoleon III commanded one of the world’s strongest armies. The goal of Napoleon III and his army was to expand his French empire, make it stronger, and have a solid government set in place for France in the Americas. With a French influence in Louisiana, Napoleon hoped to conquer Mexico and begin expanding his empire.
In over 50 years the French Army was never defeated and it was with this great confidence that they planned to destroy Puebla on their way to the capitol, Mexico City. In a time when the Americas were new independent countries the risk of European foreign invasions was very high. All countries had to worry about losing their new countries but few could defend themselves against larger more advanced armies. <\/p>\n
General Ignacio Zaragoza of Mexico knew the French were coming full force. The Monroe doctrine had recently been signed stating that the Americas belonged to Americans and that foreign powers were not welcome. This naturally angered the English, Spanish, and French all of whom had colonies lost in the Americas. The French were the only armies that stayed in Mexico. On May 5th 1862 the French invaded Mexico through Puebla. The Mexican army used many peasants, most not trained to fight as soldiers but trained to work the land. <\/p>
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