Bastion of Toledo

The last battle around the citadel took place in 1832. Belgium had declared its independence two years earlier. The Dutch troops that were quartered in the citadel were summoned to leave in October 1832, but they refused. So King Leopold I called on the French for assistance. French troops laid siege to the citadel. They dug trenches, filled holes under the walls with gunpowder and used artillery. Finally the walls caved in near the Toledo Bastion. The situation became untenable for the Dutch and they surrendered on 23 December. A hundred or so soldiers perished on either side.