scorched earth policies
Destroy everything retreating
Scorched earth policies are military or political strategies of destroying anything useful to an enemy—crops, infrastructure, resources—rather than letting them be captured.
Retreating armies burn fields and poison wells; corporations may gut divisions before hostile takeovers.
The term evokes total destruction: The company's scorched earth policy left nothing for the acquiring firm.
- destructionAct of completely ruining
- fireCombustion with flames
- ruinComplete destruction or collapse
- devastationSevere widespread destruction
- pillagingForcible theft during conflict
attrition warfare · war of attrition · havoc · retreat · burned bridges · warfare · annihilation · military strategy · war crimes · obliteration · slash and burn · nuclear option · sabotage · wars · tactics · wasteland · total war · take no prisoners
scorched earth policiesholding actions
Maneuvers to delay enemy advance
defensive perimeter · nation-building · orderly retreat · asset seizure · pacification
scorched earth policiespreservation
Maintaining something's condition
conservation · building up · safeguarding · resource conservation · sustainable use
scorched earth policiescultivation
Fostering growth through care
land development · settlement · terraforming · rebuilding · reconstruction
scorch, scorched, scorching, earthy, earthen, earthly, unearthly, earthiness, policy