War of the Burgundian Succession

Purple and hatched: occupied by France in 1477.
Orange plain: retained by Habsburg in 1482.
Hatched: returned to Habsburg in 1493.

Date	1477–1482
Location	France, Low Countries
Result	French victory; Treaty of Arras (1482)
Territorial changes	France annexes several Burgundian territories

Belligerents

Habsburg:

Burgundian Netherlands

Valois-Orléans:

Kingdom of France

Commanders and leaders

Maximilian I

Louis XI

The War of the Burgundian Succession took place from 1477 to 1482, immediately following the Burgundian Wars. At stake was the partition of the Burgundian hereditary lands between the Kingdom of France and the House of Habsburg, after Duke Charles the Bold had perished in the Battle of Nancy on 5 January 1477.

Charles the Bold had no male successor. Mary of Burgundy was the only child of the deceased duke, and many lords desired her hand in marriage to acquire the Burgundian inheritance. Amongst them was Charles, son of King Louis XI of France, who was formally the Burgundian duke's overlord. Louis sought to exploit the opportunity of Duke Charles' death, which triggered unrest and uprisings (such as the Guelderian War of Independence, 1477–1499) in the Burgundian lands, and sent his armies to occupy several territories, including the Duchy of Burgundy itself and the Free County of Burgundy (Franche-Comté), Picardy and the County of Artois. By having Mary married to his son and heir presumptive, he could secure all Burgundian hereditary lands. However, the heiress was put under pressure by the States General to not deliver the provinces to France. To rally foreign support and calm the unrest at home, Mary granted the Great Privilege to the States General on 11 February.

Besides the French candidate, there was also the captive Guelderian duke, Adolf of Egmont, who was released on the condition that he would liberate Tournai from the French. This way, Mary's party could strike two blows in one move: achieve peace between Burgundy and rebelling Guelders, and forge an alliance between both powers against France. The Siege of Tournai (1477), however, was a failure, which complicated the reconquest of Artois and Picardy. Moreover, Adolf was killed in action (27 June), which eliminated the Guelderian candidate, and prompted the States of Guelders to ally themselves with France instead, continuing their uprising against Burgundy.

...
Wikipedia