Apart from the state of undeclared war that caused so much harm to the population of the Principality, it would in addition be the site of two memorable battles between French troops on one side, commanded by the Marshal of Saxony – and Allied troops, mostly Austrian divisions. The first battle occurred on October 11, 1746, was known as the battle of “Raucoux” (Rocourt, near Liège); the French had somewhat the better of things. But the next year, on July 2, 1747, the Allied army was defeated – as Louis XV looked on – at the bloody battle of “Lawfeld” (Lafelt, near Maastricht), and this turn of events opened the way to the United Provinces to the victors, and also raised again the spectre of troops quartering in Liège for the winter.

In the face of this disaster which forced citizens to attempt to supply several thousand soldiers, the leadership of the Principality had recourse to certain expedients, which caused the population to pay a heavy price. The Estates of the country, for their part, presented a document “of protest” to the Diète, entitled “Portrait of the devastation in the Country of Liège” (which produced no result). The ensuing period was full of suffering, which only partially abated when a peace treaty was signed on October 18, 1748 at Aix-la-Chapelle. This was the culmination of the War of Austrian Succession, a conflict as absurd as it was long, in the annals of European history. Concluded Jozic, “Thus for nearly 4 years the Principality, despite its neutrality, was the site of bloody battles and the innocent victim of long, painful periods of occupation by troops who remained on its territory during the winter. The country was spared nothing. These years of conflict left the country completely ruined and drained, so much so that one person at the time agreed readily that Liège had not experienced such desolation since Charles the Bold!”