Editing Benito Juárez (section)

===French advance in Central Mexico===
[[File:Second French Intervention.png|thumb|upright=1.35|French controlled territories in 1864]]

On 9 June 1862, Juárez had arrived at [[San Luis Potosí (city)|San Luis Potosí]] and dispatches were sent to state governors in the parts of the country that were not yet occupied.{{sfn|Burke|1894|p=208}}  French control continued to be centered upon Mexico City and Veracruz, although most major Mexican ports and their customs revenue had fallen into French hands.{{sfn|Burke|1894|p=209-210}}  In August, Saligny and Forey were recalled to France, and command over French administration and the military of the conquered Mexican territories fell upon General [[François Achille Bazaine]], already present in Mexico, who officially assumed his post on 1 October 1862.{{sfn|Bancroft|1888|pp=113}}

Against the French, Juárez still commanded five divisions throughout the country, under ex president [[Ignacio Comonfort]], who had been made Minister of War.{{sfn|Bancroft|1888|pp=115}} Nonetheless, throughout the rest of the year, the French gradually expanded out of their main Mexico City -Veracruz corridor to eventually encompass much of central Mexico, while the commanders of the Republic began to wage a campaign of guerrilla warfare. Minister of War Comonfort was killed in an ambush on 14 November and was succeeded as Commander in Chief by General [[José López Uraga]]. By December, President Juárez was forced to evacuate San Luis Potosi to set up a new capital at [[Saltillo]].{{sfn|Bancroft|1888|pp=119}}

The ongoing Republican counterattack was generally a failure, except for the Southern campaign of Porfirio Díaz.{{sfn|Bancroft|1888|pp=126}} With an army of 3000 men, he swept South through French lines and entrenched himself in the state of [[Oaxaca]], becoming the military commander of all of Mexico south of the French controlled areas.{{sfn|Bancroft|1888|pp=126-127}} From his base in Oaxaca he fought off French advances into [[Chiapas]], and commanded incursions into the state of Vera Cruz.{{sfn|Bancroft|1888|pp=127-128}} By January, 1864, however, the French through a naval attack had made inroads into Yucatán, capturing the city of [[Campeche (city)|Campeche]].{{sfn|Bancroft|1888|pp=128}}