Clerk, John, of Eldin, of the Penicuik family, an Edinburgh merchant, first suggested the naval manoeuvre of “breaking the enemy's lines,” which was first successfully adopted against the French in 1782 (1728‒1812).
Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)
Clerfayt, Comte de * Clerk, John