scorched-earth policy
Destroy everything retreating
A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy of destroying anything useful to an advancing enemy—crops, buildings, infrastructure, supplies—rather than letting them fall into hostile hands.
The term extends to any ruthless approach that sacrifices resources or relationships to deny advantage to opponents: The company's scorched-earth policy during the takeover left nothing worth acquiring.
- strategicDeliberately planned for advantage
- militaryArmed forces collectively
- siegeEncirclement forcing surrender
- Anglo-Boer WarColonial southern African struggle
- tactical retreatIntentional pullback for advantage
campaign · guerrilla warfare · capture · military strategy · enemy · withdraw · Boer War · total war · war of attrition · partisan warfare · occupation · no man's land · fighting · civilian casualties · destruction · resistance · Sherman's March · battle
scorched-earth policypreservation
Maintaining something's condition
surgical strike · precision targeting · conservation · measured response · proportional response
scorch, scorched, scorches, scorching, earth, earths, earthen, earthly, earthy