A sudden surprise attack, especially one made by an army during war.
‘the bridge was seized by a coup de main’
‘A small force of his glider troops knocked out the Belgian Eben Emael fortress in a spectacular coup de main in May 1940.’
‘So he is working on expanding his repertoire of moves, trying to find a coup de main.’
‘The 4th AD pursued German forces into Lorraine, and crossed the Meuse River in a coup de main on 31 August 1944.’
‘The German invasion of Crete relied heavily on air power - an aerial bombardment to demoralize the defenders followed up by paratroopers who delivered the coup de main.’
‘This cooperation, called coups de main (literally, ‘strokes of the hand’), was especially crucial in the era before worker's compensation, welfare, social security, and the like.’
‘The neocons' coup de main was foiled, or at least postponed.’
‘On the other hand there was also a discernible inclination amongst some officers to be associated with a spectacular, war-winning coup de main operation.’
Origin
French, literally ‘stroke of hand’.
Are You Learning English? Here Are Our Top English Tips