Wars of Liège The Wars of Liège were a series of three rebellions by the Prince - Bishopric of Liège , in the town of Liège in modern - day Belgium , against the expanding Duchy of Burgundy between 1465 and 1468 . On each occasion , the rebels were defeated by Burgundian forces commanded by Charles the Bold and the city was twice burned to the ground . Cause . 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 . In 1456 , Philip tried to expand his influence to the Prince - Bishopric of Liège . 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 . de Bourbon continued his studies at the University of Leuven for 7 more years , while Philip ruled " de facto " over Liège . First Liège war ( 1465 ) . In the meantime , the resistance to the Burgundians in Prince - Bishopric grew . The leader was Raes van Heers , bailiff of Heers . He contacted King Louis XI of France , who pledged his support . When Louis de Bourbon finally took up his functions in the Prince - Bishopric in 1465 , he was immediately deposed by the States of Liège . Raes van Heers was unable to control the rebellious populace , which plundered Lands of Overmaas which belonged to the Duke of Burgundy . Philip the Good sent an army , under command of his son Charles the Bold , to Liège to restore his authority . 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 . The battle was a clear victory for the Burgundians . Burgundian forces went on to occupy Sint - Truiden , where the Peace of Sint - Truiden was signed . Under the terms of the agreement , Liège lost all its rights and Louis of Boubon was reinstated as Prince - Bishop . Second Liège war ( 1467 ) . The unrest in Liège did not abate . In 1466 , the city of Dinant , to the south - west , rebelled and Philip the Good again sent troops , commanded by Charles the Bold , who punished the city by casting 800 burghers into the river Meuse and burnt the city . 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 . Even there , his position was not secure and he was forced to flee the Prince - Bishopric together with all the Burgundians . 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 . After the battle , Charles moved on Liège and forced the city to surrender on 12 November . The Prince - Bishopric became a Burgundian protectorate under Guy of Humbercourt , and all cities in the County of Loon were forced to tear down their defences . Third Liège war ( 1468 ) . Still , the people of Liège refused to accept Burgundian rule . In October 1468 , 240 rebels , under Jean de Wilde , Vincent de Bueren and Gosuin de Streel , invaded the city . In the confusion , Guy of Humbercourt and the entire Burgundian garrison fled . Liège was free again and Jean de Wilde occupied the Prince - Bishops ' palace . One night , a Liège militia attacked Tongeren and killed all Burgundians there . After this , Jean de Wilde opened negotiations with Guy of Humbercourt . But Charles the Bold had other plans : he led an army towards Liège to deal once and for all with the rebellious city . He was accompanied by Louis XI of France . Several cities on their path were plundered , including Tongeren . On 22 October , a 500 - strong militia that tried to stop the Burgundians at the village of Lantin were driven into the church and burned alive . Vincent de Bueren organised the defence of the city of Liège and achieved some successes with hit - and - run sorties . Jean de Wilde was mortally wounded during the raid of 26 October and died two days later . Best known is the attack by the " 600 Franchimontois " in the night of 29 – 30 October , who sneaked out of the city and attacked the sleeping Burgundians , with the aim of killing the Duke and the King . The plan failed and all 600 , including Vincent de Bueren and Gosuin de Streel , were killed . 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 city was set alight and is said to have burned for 7 weeks . End of Burgundian rule . In 1477 , Charles the Bold was killed in the Battle of Nancy and was succeeded by his only heir , his nineteen year - old daughter Mary of Burgundy . Mary was immediately attacked by France and turned for help to the States - General of the Netherlands . The help was given , but Mary had to concede the Great Privilege , abandoning the centralized policies of her father and grandfather . Liège also benefited from this , and Mary renounced her rights to the Prince - Bishopric on 19 March 1477 . Louis of Bourbon remained Prince - Bishop until he was murdered on 30 August 1482 by William de La Marck , who was supported by Louis XI of France . Legacy . The Wars of Liège were re - worked in later historiography to reflect a struggle for local freedoms and autonomy , reflected in the Perron of Liège and its inclusion into the coat of arms of the town . 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 .