page_title: Porfirio Díaz
section_title: Military career
hierarchical_section_title: Porfirio Díaz / Military career
caption_attribution_description: English: Porfirio Díaz (1830-1915), full-length portrait, seated, facing front, former president of Mexico.Español: Porfirio Díaz, ex presidente de México.
context_page_description: José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 17 February 1877 to 1 December 1880 and from 1 December 1884 to 25 May 1911. The entire period 1876–1911 is often referred to as the Porfiriato.
  A veteran of the War of the Reform and the French intervention in Mexico, Díaz rose to the rank of General, leading republican troops against the French-imposed rule of Emperor Maximilian. He subsequently revolted against presidents Benito Juárez and Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, on the principle of no re-election to the presidency. Diaz succeeded in seizing power, ousting Lerdo in a coup in 1876, with the help of his political supporters, and Diaz was elected in 1877. In 1880, he stepped down and his political ally Manuel González was elected president, serving from 1880 to 1884. In 1884 Diaz abandoned the idea of no re-election and held office continuously until 1911.
  Díaz has been a controversial figure in Mexican history. His regime brought "order and progress", ending political turmoil and promoting economic development.
context_section_description: Díaz's military career is most notable for his service in the struggle against the French. By the time of the Battle of Puebla (5 May 1862), Mexico's great victory over the French when they first invaded, Díaz had advanced to the rank of general and was placed in command of an infantry brigade.
  During the Battle of Puebla, his brigade was positioned centered between the forts of Loreto and Guadalupe. From there, he successfully helped repel a French infantry attack meant as a diversion, to distract the Mexican commanders' attention from the forts that were the French army's main targets. In violation of General Ignacio Zaragoza's orders, after helping fight off the larger French force, Díaz and his unit then pursued them and later Zaragoza commended his actions during the battle as "brave and notable".
  In 1863, Díaz was captured by the French Army. He escaped and President Benito Juárez offered him the positions of secretary of defense or army commander in chief. He declined both, but took an appointment as commander of the Central Army. That same year, he was promoted to the position of Division General.
  In 1864, the conservatives supporting Emperor Maximilian asked him to join the Imperial cause. Díaz declined the offer. In 1865, he was captured by the Imperial forces in Oaxaca. He escaped and fought the battles of Tehuitzingo, Piaxtla, Tulcingo and Comitlipa.
  In 1866, Díaz formally declared loyalty. That same year, he earned victories in Nochixtlán, Miahuatlán, and La Carbonera, and once again captured Oaxaca destroying most French gains in the south of the country. He was then promoted to general. Also in 1866, Marshal Bazaine, commander of the Imperial forces, offered to surrender Mexico City to Díaz if he withdrew support of Juárez. Díaz declined the offer. In 1867, Emperor Maximilian offered Díaz the command of the army and the imperial rendition to the liberal cause. Díaz refused both. Finally, on 2 April 1867, he went on to win the final battle for Puebla. By the end of the war, he was hailed as a national hero.
caption: Colonel Porfirio Díaz, 1861.
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