Leopoldsvaart

Historically, the polders north of Assenede drained into the Westerschelde. However, at the declaration of Belgian independence and the separation from the Netherlands, the Dutch closed off these drainage streams. As a result, the polders on the Belgian side became moist, leading even to malaria (then called polders fever). A solution was proposed in the form of a canal that would run from Heist to Zelzate, thus simultaneously creating an additional connection between the North Sea and the Ghent-Terneuzen canal (which the Dutch had also closed off).

The digging of the canal took place from 1843 to 1854 but would never fully follow the original plan. The Leopoldvaart does not flow into the Ghent-Terneuzen canal but suddenly stops somewhere in the territory of Boekhoute. As a result of a new agreement between Belgium and the Netherlands, it was connected in 1920 to Braakman and thus to the Schelde, via the newly dug Isabellakanaal, until Braakman was dammed up in 1952 and largely reclaimed. The drainage function was preserved.

In addition to its drainage function, it was also intended to have a military purpose in case there were to be a war with the Netherlands again, which is why the canal roughly follows the Belgium-Netherlands border. However, it never came to that. The only time the canal served a military purpose was at the end of World War II. During October 1944, several Canadian and British divisions fought heavy battles with the German occupiers around the canal in Operation Switchback, as the latter wanted to keep control of the Scheldt estuary at all costs.

(Source: Wapedia

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