Simultaneous to this battle of wills in the Sticht, war broke out in Holland between the anti-Burgundian
Hook and the pro-Burgundian
Cod leagues. Archduke
Maximilian I of Habsburg, who had married the Burgundian heiress,
Mary of Burgundy, shortly after her father's death, faced threats to the Burgundian heritage from all sides and was initially unable to intervene decisively in Holland. The Hook party in Holland was led by Reinier van Broeckhuysen, a nephew of the former Bishop-Elect
Gijsbrecht van Brederode. In 1481 Reinier managed to shortly capture Leiden with an army of Hook exiles but was ultimately forced to abandon the city to the more powerful Habsburg forces. He and his army then sought refuge in the Sticht where they stood under the protection of the energetic and ferocious Viscount
Jan of Montfoort, leader of the anti-Burgundian forces in the bishopric. The Viscount, with the support of the
Zoudenbalchs and other anti-Burgundian notables, then effectively staged a coup in the city government of Utrecht, ejecting the pro-Burgundian regents from their offices and thus ensuring that the council was fully committed to the Hook cause. War between the Burgundian's Habsburg heirs and the Hooks of Holland and Utrecht became inevitable. In late 1481 the forces of Archduke Maximilian, under the leadership of
Frederik van Egmond, Lord of Egmond and IJsselstein, began to ravage the Sticht and the countryside around Utrecht in particular. On 26 December
Joost van Lalaing won an important victory in the
Battle of Westbroek. == 1482 ==