Bell Curve The Law Talking Guy Raised by Republicans U.S. West
Well, he's kind of had it in for me ever since I accidentally ran over his dog. Actually, replace "accidentally" with "repeatedly," and replace "dog" with "son."

Thursday, May 05, 2005

May 5

Hi Guys,

On this day in 1862 a Mexican army defeated a French army occupying their country at the Battle of Puebla. The French troops (including the Foreign Legion) had been sent to Mexico by Napoleon III to establish a French client state ruled by the Hapsburg prince, Maximilian.

On this day in 1945, NAZI German forces occupying Denmark were surrendered to allied forces along with all German forces facing General Sir Bernard Law Montgomery's forces in the Netherlands and Northern Germany.

On this day in 1961, Alan Sheppard became the first free man to go into space. He was launched up and out of the atmosphere and returned to Earth fairly quickly.

Today in the United Kingdom, British citizens are going to the polls. The latest polls show that it is most likely that the Labour party will retain its majority - barely. Poll trends have shown a lot of movement back and forth in the level of support for Labour and the Liberal Democrats with the support for the Conservatives being stuck in the low 30s.

Lots of stuff happens in May!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Minor correction.

The battle of Puebla in May 5, 1862 was a victory for an all-but-unarmed group of Mexican irregulars against the French dragoons. This was a low point for the Union in the Civil War, and the US did not raise our Monroe Doctrine concerns about re-colonization of the New World. At Puebla, about 6,000 French were defeated by about 4,000 Mexicans, largely Zapotec Indians. Apparently, part of the problem was that the French had such disdain for the Mexican forces that they foolishly charged headlong into the center of the force. The Zapotecs held their ground, and the counter-attack was more of a stampede. The French retreated to Veracruz, waited for reinforcements, and then, with 30,000 men, swept virtually unopposed into Mexico city. Maximilian was installed as Emperor of Mexico. In 1865, the US won the Civil War, and began to make Monroe Doctrine noises. The US Ambassador demanded the French drop their support. Benito Juarez was leading partisan resistance at the time. With the world's largest, best-equipped, battle-trained army numbering over a million, a large portion of which was within a few days' march of the border, the US was formidable and France (Napoleon III) did not want to tangle. It dropped its support of Maximilian after some wrangling in 1866, soon after the Prussians convincingly and quickly defeated Austria in the short Austro-Prussian war, and Napoleon III realized that the Mexican gambit was also endangering his chances at home. Maximilian was ousted by Juarez and fled back to Austria in 1867. In 1871, Prussia turned on France, which had not benefitted from its imperial venture in Mexico, and crushed the Second Empire, giving birth to the Third Republic.

// posted by LTG  

// posted by LTG

Anonymous said...

"Maximilian was ousted by Juarez and fled back to Austria in 1867?" I guess that was someone elses blood stained shirt hanging, riddled with bullets,in the museum at Chapultepec Castle in Mexico city. What have you been drinking? Can I have some of that? DAH! 

// posted by maria