flank of the French, the plan of attack may be characterized as one of "single envelopment." The first stages of the battle went according to the British plan. To allow all columns to advance at the same time the start time had to be delayed till low tide (6.30 AM that day) to allow general Abercromby's column to make use of the beach. Soon Coote and Chatham drove the French outposts from the villages of Camp and Groet, and cleared the dunes (which start to widen appreciably at this point). Essen's central column then advanced cautiously. Meanwhile, Burrard and Sedmoratzky drove the French and Batavian troops out of the villages of Schoorl and Schoorldam toward Koedijk. Here the Russians halted and limited themselves to shelling Koedijk and Bergen with their artillery for the remainder of the day. Meanwhile, the French left wing had fallen back on the village of Bergen. This was a strong position and York realized they had to be removed from it to secure success. He therefore ordered Chatham to bring up his brigade from the plain and support Coote's brigade in a combined attack on the French in the dunes. They managed to push the French back and forced them to give up their position in the heights near Bergen. All now seemed ready for an attack on that village, but Essen seemed to be very reluctant to press that attack and, as the two British brigades lacked the strength to go it alone, the allied attack stalled there. The French noted the Russian hesitation and at this time launched a fierce counterattack from Bergen in two columns under generals Gouvion and Boudet. These attacks were successfully countered by the British Reserve in cooperation with Coote's brigade. The French were driven from the dunes after a spirited fight (during which the British 27th Foot distinguished itself), but remained in possession of Bergen. Dundas' column remained in fire contact until 11 PM, but did not advance further that day. While this was going on, Abercromby's column had been steadily, if slowly, advancing along the beach. The incoming tide made the beach narrower all the time and forced the infantry to march through loose sand, while the cavalry on the right flank was forced to wade through the surf. After some time, the French discovered the advance and brought up sharpshooters who started to exact a steady toll,