The Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland (or Anglo-Russian expedition to Holland, or Helder Expedition) is a military campaign from August 27 to November 19, 1799, during the War of the Second Coalition, in which an expeditionary force of British and Russian troops invaded the North Holland peninsula in the Batavian Republic.
The campaign has two strategic objectives: to neutralize the Batavian fleet and to promote an uprising by followers of the former stadtholder William V against the Batavian government.
The invasion is opposed by a combined Franco-Batavian army slightly smaller.
Tactically, the Anglo-Russian forces are successful initially, defeating the defenders in the battles of Callantsoog and the Krabbendam, but subsequent battles go against the Anglo-Russian forces.
Following a defeat at Castricum, the Duke of York, the British supreme commander, decides upon a strategic retreat to the original bridgehead in the extreme north of the peninsula.
Subsequently, an agreement is negotiated with the supreme commander of the Franco-Batavian forces, General Guillaume Marie Anne Brune, that allows the Anglo-Russian forces to evacuate this bridgehead unmolested.
However, the expedition partly succeeds in its first objective, capturing a significant proportion of the Batavian fleet.
