The battle was fought during the War of the Second Coalition against Revolutionary France between French and Dutch forces under the command of General Guillaume Brune and Herman Willem Daendels and British and Russian forces under the command of the Duke of York, Sir Ralph Abercromby and the Prince of Orange.

The British and Russians were allowed to withdraw, without paying reparations, and retaining captured bounty.

As a sign of gratitude for enabling him honourably to emerge from the inglorious Dutch imbroglio, Brune received a number of horses from the Duke.

[1] Various locality names in Castricum also provide a reminder of the battle, like the Russenbergen dunes and the Doodelaan street.

The French victory was also commemorated on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris as "Alkmaer".