Wars of Liège

Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy had become ruler of large parts of the Low Countries in the first half of the 15th century, to that extent that these were now called the Burgundian Netherlands.

Through his excellent relations with Pope Callixtus III, he had Prince-Bishop John of Heinsberg deposed, and replaced by his 18-year-old nephew Louis de Bourbon.

Raes van Heers was unable to control the rebellious populace, which plundered Lands of Overmaas which belonged to the Duke of Burgundy.

Raes van Heers assembled an army of 4,000 men, mostly civilians and confronted Charles the Bold at the Battle of Montenaken on 20 October 1465.

[1] When Philip died in 1467, unrest broke out in the city of Liège and Louis of Bourbon was forced to flee to Huy, to the west.

Again, Raes van Heers and Count Jan de Wilde of Kessenich raised an army to confront Charles the Bold.

The reinforcements promised by Louis XI of France again didn't materialise, and the troops of Liège were decisively defeated in the Battle of Brustem on 28 October 1467.

The next day, Liège surrendered, and at the command of Charles the Bold, hundreds of Liègois were tied together and thrown into the Meuse river.

The failed attack of the 600 Franchimontois was later mythologized and celebrated as an example of Walloon heroism, equivalent to the Flemish defeat of the Kingdom of France at the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302.