Battle of Calpulalpan
Battle of Calpulalpan | |||||||
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Part of the Reform War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Liberals | Conservatives | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Jesús González Ortega | Miguel Miramón | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
11,000 14 guns |
8,000 30 guns |
The Battle of Calpulalpan took place on December 22, 1860 during the
Contenders
In the first stage of the conflict the balance seemed to tilt in favor of the conservatives, who had the support of most of the formal army, but gradually the trend was reversing, until in
Liberal army troops, commanded by General
Background
After the conquest of Guadalajara on 3 November 1860 the liberals seized the military initiative. They began to gain territories heading toward the Mexican capital. To stop the advance of their enemies General Miramon left Mexico City being constantly harassed by the liberal guerrillas operating around the city.
While General Gonzalez Ortega advanced to meet him with 20,000 men.[1]
Both armies met in Calpulalpan on December 21 and after failing the negotiations were prepared for the decisive battle that would determine the war. [2]
Battle
The next day despite their numerical inferiority, 8:00 am Miramon began an attack on the liberal left wing taking advantage of the superiority of their artillery, being counterattacked two hours later, by the superior forces of Zaragoza on their own right flank, and by Régules in the middle. At the same time, General Gonzalez Ortega, Leandro Valle and Alatorre advanced to wrap conservatives in the rear, in a move that decided the action of arms and the liberal victory. The Conservative army was completely destroyed. Gonzalez Ortega headed the end of the battle pursuing the decimated conservatives, resulting in a total defeat for the Conservative army.
Miramón escaped and returned to Mexico City in search of support, where he managed to gather 1,500 men but they soon defected. Knowing that the war was a lost cause, he left the capital and fled toward Veracruz days later to Havana, Cuba, from where he left for France. He would not return until during the French Intervention.
Consequences
The victory of this battle marked the end of the War of Reform and Conservative caused the disintegration of the army. On 25 December at Christmas 1860, General Gonzalez Ortega made his triumphant return to Mexico City in front of 30,000 troops input, thus ending the war with the triumph of liberal side in the War of Reform. On January 5 President
References
This article has an unclear citation style. (January 2017) |