Battle of Krabbendam The Battle of Krabbendam ( also called the Battle of Zijpedijk ) of 10 September 1799 was fought during the Anglo - Russian Invasion of Holland between forces of the French Republic and her ally , the Batavian Republic , under the command of French general Guillaume Marie Anne Brune on one side , and a British division under general Sir Ralph Abercromby on the other . The British division had established a bridgehead in the extreme north of the North - Holland peninsula after the Battle of Callantsoog ( 1799 ) . Brune tried to dislodge them before they could be reinforced by further Anglo - Russian forces , but the British prevailed . This enabled the British and their Russian allies to land their expeditionary force and to break out of the bridgehead during the Battle of Bergen ( 1799 ) . Background . After the Battle of Callantsoog General Herman Willem Daendels with the 1st Batavian Division had fallen back all the way to the Schermer polder , as he deemed the " Zijpe " polder indefensible , because the British could easily perform another amphibious landing at the North - Sea dike near the village of Petten behind him . This left the " Zijpe " polder ( a former marsh that had been transformed into rich farmland by embanking during the 16th century ) open to the British . The " Zijpe " polder formed a natural redoubt , because of its high southern dike which had ( as usual with Dutch polders ) a deep circular drainage canal running along it , which acted as a kind of moat . The dike was high enough to afford a view a long way across all avenues of approach . In addition , it was not straight , but at intervals had circular and angular projections , somewhat like a " trace italienne " of old , which gave the defenders an opportunity to lay enfilade fire , if necessary . Abercromby took advantage from these natural properties of the terrain , by erecting artillery positions and earthworks at strategic points . His dispositions were anchored on the right on the subsidiary dike which runs parallel with the sea dike at Petten . Then they ran east along the dike of the " Zijpe " polder , with reinforcements at the villages of Krabbendam , Eenigenburg , and Sint Maarten , and finally at the " Oude Sluys " on the coast of ( then ) the Zuyder Zee ( the Wieringermeer polder did not yet exist in those days ) . The villages in front of this line , like Schagen were occupied as outposts . Meanwhile , the French and Batavians had frantically been bringing up reinforcements . A French division under General Dominique Vandamme was brought up via Haarlem and occupied a line between Alkmaar and the sea . Brune directed Daendels to come forward to Oudkarspel and Sint Pancras . General Jean - Baptiste Dumonceau brought up two - thirds of his 2nd Batavian division in forced marches from Friesland and he arrived on September 8 to take on a position in the center of the Franco - Batavian front , around Alkmaar . He was then reinforced with the 7th Demi - brigade of Daendels ' division . By September 9 the forces under General Brune had therefore reached a numerical superiority of about 25 , 000 troops over about 23 , 000 for General Abercromby ( who had by that time only been reinforced with about 500 men of the 11th Light Dragoon s ) . As it was known that soon strong Russian and British reinforcements would be landed , Brune decided to attack on the 10th , while he still had this advantage . The battle . Brune ' s plan of battle was simple : he would have the Batavian divisions attack the villages of Eenigenburg and Krabbendam , as these commanded two roads that led into the " Zijpe " polder and hence two of the few points of ingress . The main role would be performed by the French division of Vandamme , who would attempt to turn Abercromby ' s right flank by advancing along the subsidiary dike near Petten . The plan can therefore be characterised as an attempt at " single envelopment . " Because of the haste to get the attack underway , the preparations were apparently sloppy on the part of Brune ' s staff . The march routes of the columns of Daendels from St . Pancras and one of the columns of Dumonceau were mistakenly assigned to the same road , because a canal was mistakenly taken for a road due to inexpert map - reading by Brune ' s staff . This could only have happened because a proper reconnaissance apparently had not been performed . As a consequence , Daendels was forced to take a more easterly route and concentrate on the alternate objective of the village of Sint Maarten , which he duly took . Dumonceau ' s right - hand column , under General Bonhomme , then attacked Daendels ' original objective , the village of Eenigenburg . The attempt to storm the British defenses at this point was , however , frustrated by the circular canal in front of the dike and the well - aimed fire of the defenders . A second attempt likewise failed and Bonhomme remained in his position until both he and Daendels retreated that evening after the retreat of the Franco - Batavian left wing at the same time . However , Bonhomme ' s attack should have supported the other column under Colonel Bruce that had Krabbendam as its objective . Bruce was supposed to advance from Alkmaar , but was delayed appreciably because a large number of farmer ' s carts going to market blocked the city gate he was trying to use to march his column out . He therefore only arrived at his starting position at 7 AM . Meanwhile the impatient general Dumonceau had borrowed about 100 grenadier s from Bonhomme ' s column and had with this small force attacked the British strongpoint of Krabbendam with unexpected success . He even managed to drive the British out once he received reinforcements from Bruce ' s 6th Demi - brigade that had finally arrived , despite the murderous fire of two British field pieces that were positioned at the entrance of the village . However , these troops suddenly panicked and fled to the rear for reasons that remain unclear . After rallying and reforming these troops , Dumonceau attempted a new attack and again succeeded in taking Krabbendam . They were attacked by two battalions of the 20th Foot under Lt . Col . Smyth and Major Ross , however , which managed to drive them from the village . Seeing the futility of his efforts , Dumonceau therefore decided to withdraw to Schoorldam at 3 PM . The French attack on the left wing met with no more success . The French advanced along the sea dike and the parallel subsidiary dike near Petten . At the head of these dikes Abercromby had built a sconce that was defended by two brigades of Foot . Nevertheless , French grenadiers managed to penetrate as far as the dike of the " Zijpe " polder , but the ring canal here also proved too much of an obstacle . Many French soldiers drowned while they valiantly tried to cross this deep watercourse . One of the casualties was the French general David . When four British gunboat s , manoeuvring closely inshore , started to fire on his flank , Vandamme fell back to his starting positions . The losses on the Franco - Batavian side far outweighed the British losses : 1 , 876 dead and wounded against 184 . The defeat did not miss its effect on the morale of the Batavian troops . During the night a false rumor of a British attack caused panic among the troops of Daendels ' division . Their flight was stopped at Daendels ' headquarters in St . Pancras , but a few of the fleeing troopers reached Alkmaar where they caused more panic . Some even fled as far as Haarlem . Brune was not amused . Aftermath . After the battle Russian and British reinforcements arrived in Den Helder and the Anglo - Russian forces soon amounted to 40 , 000 men . The Duke of York , having assumed supreme command of the Anglo - Russian expeditionary force , decided to exploit this numerical superiority . He made an attempt to break out of his bridgehead in the " Zijpe " polder on 19 September . This resulted in the Battle of Bergen ( 1799 ) which , though ending in a tactical draw , failed to attain the British objectives . Only the following October did he manage to force a Franco - Batavian retreat in the Battle of Alkmaar ( 1799 ) . A few days later , at the Battle of Castricum the Franco - Batavian forces prevailed again and York had to withdraw to the " Zijpe " polder . His dire position then forced him to sue for an honorable capitulation in the form of the Convention of Alkmaar .