Georg the Rich, Duke of Bavaria-Landshut, died in his sleep, leaving no legitimate male heir. In his will, the subject of an ongoing court case, he had ruled that his daughter Elisabeth would inherit his title and lands, together with her husband, and Georg's adopted son, Ruprecht. However, this had gone against the agreed status quo of the various Bavarian Wittelsbach family lines which was originally signed in 1392 and then re-affirmed in 1450. In this treaty, the remaining Bavarian Wittelsbach family would succeed the other should they be left without a legitimate male heir. The head of the remaining Bavarian Wittelsbachs and Duke of Bavaria-Munich, Albert IV, has claimed the right to the remaining Bavarian lands. Elizabeth's husband, Ruprecht, has also died and left her as the sole ruler of the Duchy. She has ended the Regency Council of Estates in Bavaria-Landshut, claiming her father's will has given her the legal and legitimate power to do so.

Pointing towards the recent slow down in the Reichskammergericht and Elizabeth's actions, Albert has raised an army to march on Elizabeth in Landshut. Elizabeth has done the same, backed by the nobility of her father's territory, and requests assistance from her allies in the Palatine branches of the Wittelsbachs even though her husband has passed away. Hearing word of this Albert has also requested his brother-in-law, Maximilian I, to step in and assist him in enforcing imperial law against Elizabeth. Fear spreads throughout the Bavarian and Swabian circles that this conflict will only incense the local peasantry and exacerbate the tensions in the region. The Swabian League requests another meeting of its members to discuss the situation fearing a possible Swiss incursion. The Tagsatzung in Switzerland claims fear that the Habsburgs may use their army in Italy to encroach on the Swiss, possibly with Imperial allies should Maximilian find victory in Bavaria. More secret letters fly as the two most prestigious royal houses of Germany enter conflict for the first time in decades.