[3] The Belgian Legion, under the command of Baron Alfred Van der Smissen, had been organized at the request of Emperor Maximilian's wife, Charlotte, and arrived in Mexico on 14 December 1864 to act as her personal bodyguard.

[4] The Belgians were placed under the command of Colonel de Potier of France and deployed to Michoacán to assist Maximillian's forces in fighting Republican guerrillas known to be operating in that area.

[6] Its proximity to the capital combined with its heavy forests, mountainous terrain and difficult weather made it ideal for guerilla operations.

He found it important both strategically and politically that his forces quell Republican activity in Michoacán to prevent the destabilization of his regime.

[12] Baron Alfred Van Der Smissen accused Colonel de Potier of "criminal negligence and gross incompetetence" for sending the inexperienced detachment into what he labeled a "dangerous and exposed position" unsupported, destroying any hopes of the Belgians obtaining an independent military command.