Coup de main
A coup de main (plural: coups de main, French for blow with the hand[1][2]) is a swift attack that relies on speed and surprise to accomplish its objectives in a single blow. 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. [3] | ” |
The term coup de main originally meant "by direct assault rather than by artillery".[4]
The very first airborne assault in the World War II Battle of Normandy, on Pegasus Bridge, is an example of a "coup de main" operation, and is sometimes referred to as Operation Coup de Main though the actual code name for the British airborne attack was Operation Deadstick. Another example of "coup de main" tactics was the Argentine capture of the Falkland Islands in the 1982 Falkland war. The Argentine army had repeatedly displayed this tactic in their military take overs where they used special forces to capture lightly defended government positions, just as they did on the Falklands.
[edit] See also
- Attack on Pearl Harbor
- Battle of Fort Eben-Emael
- Tatsinskaya Raid
- Raid on Drvar
- Coup d'état
- Coup de grâce
- Siege
[edit] References
- ^ coup de main on Dictionary.com
- ^ In French, coup de main can also mean "a helping hand" (informal language), or "know-how".
- ^ Coup de Main, DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms
- ^ Dictionnaire de l'Académie françoise (1765)
 |
This military-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
