coup de main
{{Short description|Military tactic}}
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A coup de main ({{IPA|fr|ku də mɛ̃}}, {{small|plural}}: {{lang|fr|coups de main}}, {{gloss|blow with the hand}}){{cite web|url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/coup%20de%20main|title=coup de main|website=dictionary.com|access-date=10 January 2024}}{{efn|In French, coup de main can also mean "a helping hand" (informal language){{cite web |url=https://www.linguee.com/english-french/search?source=french&query=coup+de+main |title=coup de main - English translation |website=Linguee |access-date=10 January 2024 |language=en}} or "know-how" by common usage{{cn|date=January 2024}}}} is a swift attack that relies on speed and surprise to accomplish its objectives in a single blow.
Definition
The United States Department of Defense defines it as
"An offensive operation that capitalizes on surprise and simultaneous execution of supporting operations to achieve success in one swift stroke."{{cite web |url=http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/dod_dictionary/?zoom_query=coup+de+main&zoom_sort=0&zoom_per_page=10&zoom_and=1 |title=Coup de Main |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200711/http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/dod_dictionary/?zoom_query=coup+de+main&zoom_sort=0&zoom_per_page=10&zoom_and=1 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |url-status=dead |work=DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms }}
The term coup de main originally meant "by direct assault rather than by artillery".{{cite book|author=Académie française|title=Dictionnaire de l'Académie françoise|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y57VIFOi41MC|year=1765|publisher=Chez les Libraires associés|page=291}}
Examples
The first airborne assault by the Allies in World War II during the invasion of Normandy, on Pegasus Bridge, is sometimes referred to as Operation Coup de Main, although the actual code name for the British airborne attack was Operation Tonga.{{cite magazine |last1=Perry |first1=Mike |title=Operation Tonga |url=https://sofrep.com/news/operation-tonga/ |access-date=15 August 2021 |magazine=SOFREP |date=9 December 2012 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Fowler |first1=Will |title=Pegasus Bridge: Bénouville, D-Day 1944 |date=2010 |publisher=Osprey |location=Oxford |isbn=9781846038488}}
In the American Civil War, Emory Upton used the tactic for the Union Army during the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse.{{cite web |first=Kristopher D. |last=White |url=https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/bloody-horror-uptons-charge|title=Bloody Horror of Upton's Charge|date=9 January 2018 |publisher=American Battlefield Trust }}
During the Second Battle of Porto, Arthur Wellesley crossed the Douro in a coup de main attack upon the French forces of Marshal Soult.
See also
- Battle of Fort Eben-Emael
- Blitzkrieg
- Coup d'état
- Coup de grâce
- Leadership spill (can be considered a political application of the concept)
- Raid on Drvar
- Siege
- Tatsinskaya Raid
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- [http://britisharmedforces.org/pages/nat_jim_wallwork.htm Flight to Pegasus]