The people of the Waasland, historically ruled from Ghent, had joined the Revolt of Ghent (1449-1453). An army of some 13,000 men under the command of Wouter Leenknecht had gathered in the village of Bazel. The Duke of Burgundy had brought important reinforcements to Flanders, after some embarrassing defeats against the rebels, especially in the Battle of Nevele (1452).

On June 14, the Duke had 30,000 men in Rupelmonde, and Leenknecht took up defensive positions in Bazel. Two days later, Duke Philips the Good lured the rebels out of their positions and defeated them during a battle in open field. 2,000 rebels were killed or captured, and the rest fled towards Ghent. During his flight, one of the rebels killed Corneille of Burgundy,^[1] Philip's favourite bastard son. As a revenge, Philip had all prisoners killed and lay the entire Waasland to waste.

Around 800-1,000 soldiers from the Duchy of Luxembourg (which Philip the Good had ordered to be present) deliberately arrived at the battle when the latter was already over in order to avoid fighting for a Duke they despised.^[2]