How many major French attacks did Mexican forces repel at the Battle of Puebla?
Answer
Three attacks
Mexican forces repelled three major French attacks at the Battle of Puebla.
On May 5, 1862, French troops advanced against Mexican defensive positions near Puebla. The defenders, commanded by General Ignacio Zaragoza, resisted repeated assaults, including attacks directed toward the fortified hills of Loreto and Guadalupe. After the French attacks failed, the invading army withdrew from the battlefield.
The victory was notable because France possessed a powerful and experienced military force, while the Mexican defenders were outnumbered and less heavily equipped. The result helped strengthen Mexican resistance during the French intervention and gave the struggling government of President Benito Juárez an important symbolic success.
Puebla was not the final military outcome of the intervention. France returned with a larger force, captured Mexico City the following year, and supported the creation of the Second Mexican Empire under Maximilian. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the 1862 victory itself, not the eventual defeat of the French intervention.