Shrewdness, coup d’œil, and genius: the cognitive attributes of the consummate general (Greek antiquity, Byzantine era, modern times)

Everett Wheeler's hypothesis that the Greek concept of _ankhínoia_ finds its equivalent in eighteenth-century military writers' notion of the _coup d'oeil_ is tested by comparing treatises on the art of war written in the two periods. After highlighting the different meanings of the _coup d’oeil_ in 18th century military terminology, Clausewitz's approach is examined in the light of his concept of the genius for war.