In 1798, the Second Coalition against Revolutionary France was formed. That same year, the "1st Battalion's" light companies took part in a raid on Ostend in what is now Belgium. The raid had the objectives of destroying the lock-gates and sluices of the Bruges to Ostend canal. The expedition was supported by a bombardment from Royal Navy (RN) warships. The locks were destroyed, but due to unfavourable winds preventing re-embarkation, the 1,300 men of the army contingent under the command of Major General Coote were captured by the French. In 1799, the "1st Battalion" took part in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland, in the French puppet-state of the Batavian Republic, in what is now the Netherlands. An Anglo-Russian force took part in the campaign there, which had the intentions of restoring the exiled Dutch King, with the hope that the population of Batavia would be keen on such a move after suffering bad times economically due to France forbidding any trade with Great Britain. Shortly after the landing took place a large number of warships of the Batavian Fleet surrendered peacefully to the British. In October, the Foot Guards, along with many other regiments, were involved in the engagements of Egmont-op-Zee and Alkmaar, the latter of which ended in a British victory. In 1800, the "1st Battalion" took part in the expeditions against the coastal Spanish cities of Ferrol, Vigo and Cadiz, the latter of which would become more prominent during the Peninsular War only a few years later.