The Battle of Montenaken was fought between the forces of

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

and the Burgundian State on 20 October 1465 as part of the First Liège War. Although outnumbered, the Burgundian force succeeded in routing the militia of Liège, inflicting heavy casualties.

Background

The

War of the Public Weal The War of the Public Weal (French: ''La guerre du Bien public'') was a conflict between the king of France and an alliance of feudal nobles, organized in 1465 in defiance of the centralized authority of King Louis XI of France. It was masterminde ...

between

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...

and many of his senior nobles began in March 1465. As a consequence, the Burgundian State found itself at war with France. Louis, anxious to find allies, entered into talks with the city of

, which had historical grievances with Burgundy, leading to a military treaty in June 1465. With the major part of the Burgundian army, under Charles, Count of Charolais, engaged in France, the Liègois declared war on Burgundy on 28 August. Despite having most of his forces committed in France, the elderly

Philip the Good Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonge ...

, Duke of Burgundy, rapidly assembled a force to defend his possessions against the attack of Liège.

Armies

The Liegois army, commanded by Raes de Lyntre, Lord of

Heers Heers (, li, Hiër ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. Since 1971 it comprises the parishes Batsheers, Opheers, Veulen, Gutschoven and Mettekoven, and since 1977 also Mechelen-Bovelingen, Rukkelingen-Loon (which in 19 ...

was approximately 2-3,000 strong, mostly infantry with some field artillery. The Burgundian force was about 1,800 strong, mostly cavalry, not all of whom took part in the battle.

Battle

The Burgundian army, having confronted the Liège forces at

Montenaken Gingelom () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On 1 January 2006 Gingelom had a total population of 7,847. The total area is 56.49 km2 (21.81 sq mi) which gives a population density of 139 inhabitants per km2 (359/sq ...

found themselves too weak to assault the defences. They therefore sent out raiders to burn the countryside in the hope of provoking the Liege troops to confront them. This was successful and a large Liege force, perhaps their whole army, met with a force of 3-500 Burgundian cavalry in open country. The Liege forces drew up between two

tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...

, of which there are a number around Montenaken. The Burgundian cavalry charged but were beaten back by artillery fire. Regrouping, they charged again and were again beaten back. This time, however, their opponents pursued them. The Burgundians rallied again and charged a third time. The Liège army, out of its defensive position and disordered by pursuit was routed. 1,200 men were estimated to have been killed in the battle and pursuit.

Aftermath

On 21 October, Louis XI wrote to Liège, informing the city he had made an independent peace with the Burgundians (the

Treaty of Conflans The Treaty of Conflans (or the Peace of Conflans) was signed on 5 October 1465 between King Louis XI of France and Count Charles of Charolais. This treaty was signed months after the Battle of Montlhéry (13 July 1465), where the French dukes of ...

), and advising them to do likewise before the main Burgundian army returned. This they did, signing the Treaty of Saint-Trond in December.Vaughan (2002), pp394-5

References

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Mont Mont may refer to: Places * Mont., an abbreviation for Montana, a U.S. state * Mont, Belgium (disambiguation), several places in Belgium * Mont, Hautes-Pyrénées, a commune in France * Mont, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, a commune in France * Mont, Sa� ...

1465 in Europe

1460s in the Burgundian Netherlands 1460s in the Holy Roman Empire