Explanation: The core principle of a scorched-earth policy is the systematic destruction of resources, such as infrastructure, food, and water, to deny them to an opposing force and thereby weaken or impede their advance or occupation.

Explanation: While often used by retreating armies, scorched-earth tactics can also be employed by advancing armies, particularly in counter-insurgency or when facing unconventional warfare, to deny resources and support networks to the enemy.

Explanation: The term 'scorched earth' was first documented in English in a 1937 report concerning the Second Sino-Japanese War, although similar tactics were employed much earlier, including during Napoleon's Russian campaign.

Explanation: Carl von Clausewitz considered making an enemy's subsistence difficult a primary objective, alongside direct battle, as it could lead to the enemy's disorganization and retreat, resulting in significant losses.

Explanation: The Scythians evaded Darius the Great's army by retreating and simultaneously destroying resources and poisoning wells, rather than engaging in direct, large-scale battles.

Explanation: Xenophon's 'Anabasis' details how enemy forces, in an effort to impede the Ten Thousand, burned crops and destroyed other useful resources in their path.

Explanation: Following the Battle of Lake Trasimene, Quintus Fabius Maximus ordered the inhabitants in Hannibal's path to burn their houses and grain, but this was in areas directly threatened by Hannibal's army, not those not threatened.

Explanation: While Carthage was destroyed after the Third Punic War, the story of the Roman Senate ordering the salting of its lands is considered apocryphal; the primary action was the demolition of its structures and scattering of stones.

Explanation: 'Vastatio' in the context of the Gallic Wars described the punitive destruction of property and subjugation of populations, often involving the burning of resources and villages to hinder enemy movements or enforce compliance.

Explanation: During Emperor Julian's invasion, the Persian region between the Tigris and the mountains of Media implemented a scorched-earth policy, devastating the land and driving away resources to hinder the Roman army.

Explanation: The primary objective of a scorched-earth policy is to deny resources, such as food, water, shelter, and infrastructure, to an enemy force, thereby weakening their operational capacity or forcing their withdrawal.

Explanation: Scorched-earth policies are primarily employed by retreating armies to deny resources to pursuers, or by advancing armies as a tactic against unconventional warfare, aiming to disrupt enemy support and resources.

Explanation: The term 'scorched earth' first appeared in English in a 1937 report concerning the Second Sino-Japanese War, detailing the destruction of resources by retreating Chinese forces.

Explanation: Clausewitz observed that when a retreating army employed scorched-earth tactics, the pursuing army would face 'pressing wants from the very first day' due to the complete destruction of resources.

Explanation: The Scythians evaded Darius the Great's invasion by retreating and simultaneously destroying food supplies and poisoning wells, thereby denying essential resources to the Persian army.

Explanation: Xenophon documented that enemy forces encountered during the March of the Ten Thousand burned crops and destroyed useful items to hinder the Greek soldiers' progress and sustenance.

Explanation: In the Gallic Wars, 'vastatio' described the systematic destruction of property and subjugation of people, often involving the burning of resources and villages, as a military tactic.

Explanation: The Persian inhabitants between the Tigris and the mountains of Media implemented a scorched-earth policy during Julian's invasion, destroying resources and driving away livestock to hinder the Roman army.

Explanation: Historical accounts indicate that during the First Fitna, forces loyal to Muawiyah I engaged in scorched-earth tactics, including burning crops and homes of Ali's supporters in regions like the Hejaz and Yemen.

Explanation: The Mercians countered Hastein's Viking invasion by destroying crops and livestock in the surrounding countryside, effectively denying resources and forcing the Vikings to leave.

Explanation: William the Conqueror's 'Harrying of the North' involved the systematic destruction of villages, crops, and livestock, leading to widespread famine and depopulation in northern England.

Explanation: 'Chevauchée' raids during the Hundred Years' War were primarily focused on devastating enemy territory, destroying infrastructure, and denying resources, rather than capturing fortifications.

Explanation: Robert the Bruce advocated for a scorched-earth strategy that involved burning the plains and keeping supplies in fortified places, thereby creating a wasteland to impede invading armies, not maintaining open supply depots.

Explanation: 'Slighting' is the practice of deliberately destroying fortifications, either partially or completely, to render them unusable by enemy forces, a tactic employed in various conflicts.

Explanation: Stephen the Great employed scorched-earth tactics in the Carpathians against the Ottoman Army to deny resources and hinder their advance, not to lure them into supplied regions.

Explanation: Vlad the Impaler's scorched-earth tactics included destroying resources and famously presenting Mehmed II's army with a 'forest' of impaled bodies, but poisoning the entire army's water supply is not the primary described tactic.

Explanation: During the 16th century Anglicisation of Ireland, English commanders employed scorched-earth policies, particularly in Munster, leading to severe hardship and depopulation for the local Irish population.

Explanation: During the Great Siege of Malta, Grandmaster de Valette ordered the harvesting of all crops, including unripe grain, and the poisoning of wells with bitter herbs and dead animals to deny resources to the Ottoman attackers.

Explanation: Imperial General Torquato Conti, upon retreating during the Thirty Years' War, ordered his troops to burn houses, destroy villages, and generally harm property and people to deny resources to the Swedish army.

Explanation: During the Nine Years' War, French forces implemented a scorched-earth policy in the Palatinate, systematically destroying towns and villages to deny resources to German allies and prevent French territory from being invaded.

Explanation: Shivaji Maharaj's 'Ganimi Kava' tactics involved looting Mughal traders and burning cities, but strictly prohibited harming civilians or disrespecting religious sites.

Explanation: 'Slighting' refers to the deliberate destruction of fortifications to prevent their reuse by an enemy, a practice seen in various historical conflicts.

Explanation: During the First Fitna, forces associated with Muawiyah I, including Sufyan ibn Awf, reportedly burned crops and homes of Ali's supporters in regions like Iraq.

Explanation: The Mercians countered Hastein's Viking invasion by destroying local crops and livestock, thereby denying the Vikings the resources they needed to sustain themselves.

Explanation: William the Conqueror's 'Harrying of the North' resulted in the destruction of food stores and livestock, leading to widespread starvation, famine, and a significant depopulation of the region.

Explanation: 'Chevauchée' raids during the Hundred Years' War were designed to devastate enemy territory, destroy infrastructure, and deny resources to the opposing side, weakening their ability to wage war.

Explanation: Robert the Bruce reportedly advocated for a scorched-earth strategy involving burning the plains and securing supplies in fortified locations to create a wasteland that would impede English invasions.

Explanation: The practice of 'slighting,' the deliberate destruction of fortifications, was notably employed during conflicts such as the Wars of Scottish Independence and the English Civil War.

Explanation: Stephen the Great utilized scorched-earth tactics in the Carpathians against the Ottoman Army by destroying resources and hindering their advance, thereby denying them sustenance and logistical support.

Explanation: Vlad the Impaler's scorched-earth campaign against Mehmed II in 1462 famously included the horrifying tactic of displaying over 20,000 impaled bodies, intended as a psychological deterrent.

Explanation: Edmund Spenser described the devastating impact of 16th-century scorched-earth policies in Ireland, noting the extreme hardship and depopulation inflicted upon regions like Munster.

Explanation: During the Great Siege of Malta, Grandmaster de Valette ordered the harvesting of unripe grain and the poisoning of wells to deny resources to the Ottoman attackers.

Explanation: Imperial General Torquato Conti ordered his troops to burn houses, destroy villages, and generally harm property and people to deny resources to the Swedish army during his retreat in 1630.

Explanation: The French scorched-earth policy in the Palatinate during the Nine Years' War aimed to deny resources to German allies and prevent the invasion of France by systematically destroying towns and villages.

Explanation: Shivaji Maharaj's 'Ganimi Kava' tactics, while involving looting and destruction, strictly prohibited harming civilians or disrespecting religious sites, distinguishing them from more brutal scorched-earth approaches.

Explanation: Slighting is the historical practice of deliberately destroying fortifications to prevent their reuse by an enemy, often carried out after a successful siege or during periods of consolidation.

Explanation: Peter the Great's scorched-earth strategy during the Great Northern War aimed to deny sustenance to the Swedish army by destroying resources and infrastructure, not by leaving captured cities intact.

Explanation: The Sullivan Expedition, conducted during the American Revolutionary War, systematically destroyed over 40 Iroquois villages and their winter crop stores, leading to severe hardship for the Iroquois population.

Explanation: Toussaint Louverture's scorched-earth plan for the Haitian Revolution instructed his forces to destroy everything that could provide sustenance to the French, including tearing up roads and burning resources.

Explanation: During the Napoleonic invasion of Portugal, the Portuguese population was ordered to destroy all food supplies, forage, and shelter to deny resources to the French army, creating a 'scorched earth' belt.

Explanation: Russia's scorched-earth policy in 1812 involved burning the countryside and Moscow during Napoleon's invasion, significantly hindering the Grande Armée's ability to sustain itself and contributing to its disastrous retreat.

Explanation: Manuel Belgrano's Jujuy Exodus in 1812 was a scorched-earth policy that involved the destruction of houses, crops, and food stocks to deprive the Royalist army of resources.

Explanation: During the Greek War of Independence, Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt conducted a scorched-earth campaign in the Peloponnese, burning villages and fields and deporting civilians to suppress the rebellion.

Explanation: During the American Civil War, General Sherman destroyed Confederate supplies to hasten the war's end by crippling the Confederacy's ability to wage war, not to prolong it.

Explanation: General Order No. 11, issued by Thomas Ewing Jr. during the American Civil War, mandated the evacuation and subsequent destruction of property in three-and-a-half counties in western Missouri.

Explanation: As Confederate forces retreated from Richmond in 1865, military supplies were destroyed, and fires spread to buildings, rather than preserving them to deny to Union forces.

Explanation: Kit Carson implemented a scorched-earth policy against the Navajo, which included burning their fields and homes and destroying livestock, ultimately forcing their surrender due to lack of resources.

Explanation: Peter the Great's scorched-earth tactics during the Great Northern War aimed to deny sustenance to Charles XII's Swedish army and impede their campaign by destroying resources and infrastructure.

Explanation: The Sullivan Expedition's scorched-earth campaign resulted in the destruction of Iroquois villages and crop stores, leading to severe starvation and deaths among the Iroquois population during the subsequent winter.

Explanation: Toussaint Louverture's scorched-earth plan for the Haitian Revolution directed his forces to destroy all resources that could sustain the French, including food, shelter, and infrastructure.

Explanation: The Portuguese population's scorched-earth actions during the Napoleonic invasion of 1810 created a resource-depleted zone that significantly weakened the French army, hindering its advance and sustenance.

Explanation: Napoleon's disastrous retreat from Russia in 1812 was primarily attributed to the lack of supplies, exacerbated by Russia's scorched-earth policy which denied resources to the Grande Armée.

Explanation: Manuel Belgrano's Jujuy Exodus in 1812 was a scorched-earth policy designed to deprive the advancing Royalist army of resources and sustenance.

Explanation: Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt employed scorched-earth tactics during the Greek War of Independence by burning villages and fields and deporting civilians in the Peloponnese.

Explanation: Union Generals Sherman and Sheridan employed scorched-earth policies during the American Civil War to destroy Confederate supplies and infrastructure, aiming to hasten the war's conclusion by crippling the Confederacy's ability to fight.

Explanation: As Confederate forces retreated from Richmond in 1865, military supplies were destroyed, and the resulting fires spread to buildings, contributing to the city's devastation.

Explanation: Kit Carson's scorched-earth policy against the Navajo aimed to destroy their fields, homes, and livestock, thereby forcing their surrender due to a critical lack of resources.

Explanation: During the Second Boer War, British forces destroyed Boer farms and homes to deny food and supplies to Boer guerrillas, not to support them.

Explanation: Historian P. L. A. Goldman estimated that around 27,927 Boer civilians, primarily women and children, perished in British concentration camps during the Second Boer War due to disease, poor conditions, and lack of supplies.

Explanation: During the New Zealand Wars in 1868, the Tūhoe people were subjected to a scorched-earth policy involving the destruction of their crops and buildings, and the capture of those of fighting age, but not specifically their leaders.

Explanation: During their retreat on the Eastern Front in World War I, the Imperial Russian Army employed a large-scale scorched-earth strategy, destroying crops, houses, railways, and forcibly relocating populations to deny resources to the advancing German forces.

Explanation: In late 1916, the British army set fire to Romanian oil fields to prevent their capture by the Central Powers, resulting in the destruction of approximately 800 million liters of oil.

Explanation: Operation Alberich was a strategic scorched-earth withdrawal by the German army, not the French, to the Hindenburg Line in 1917.

Explanation: The retreating Greek Army during the Greco-Turkish War implemented a scorched-earth policy, engaging in widespread destruction and outrages against Turkish villagers as they withdrew from Anatolia.

Explanation: The Imperial Japanese Army's 'Three Alls Policy' during the Second Sino-Japanese War was a brutal scorched-earth strategy characterized by 'killing all, burning all, looting all,' resulting in catastrophic destruction and loss of life.

Explanation: In an effort to impede the Japanese advance during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Chinese Nationalist forces deliberately breached dams and levees, leading to the devastating 1938 Yellow River flood.

Explanation: During the Winter War, Finnish forces employed scorched-earth tactics near the border, destroying provisions and shelter, and some soldiers even burned their own homes to deny resources to the invading Soviet Red Army.

Explanation: During Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, Soviet district governments implemented scorched-earth policies, destroying vital resources such as electrical and telecommunications infrastructure to hinder the German advance.

Explanation: The 'Nero Decree,' ordered by Adolf Hitler in 1945, mandated a nationwide scorched-earth policy to destroy German industry and infrastructure, though Albert Speer actively resisted this order.

Explanation: The railroad plough was used during World War II retreats to partially destroy railways, thereby denying their use to enemy forces, not to repair them for troop movements.

Explanation: During the Indonesian National Revolution, Indonesian fighters executed a scorched-earth tactic known as the 'Bandung Sea of Fire,' deliberately burning down the southern part of Bandung as they evacuated.

Explanation: The 1938 Yellow River flood was a result of deliberate actions by Chinese Nationalist forces who breached dams and levees to impede the Japanese advance during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Explanation: The German scorched-earth policy in the Soviet Union during WWII was intended to slow down pursuing Soviet forces by destroying resources and settlements, thereby hindering their advance, not to support Soviet civilians.

Explanation: The British scorched-earth policy during the Second Boer War targeted Boer farms and homes to deny essential food and supplies to Boer guerrillas, thereby undermining their resistance.

Explanation: High death tolls among Boer civilians in British concentration camps during the Second Boer War were significantly attributed to infectious diseases, inadequate planning, and a severe lack of essential supplies.

Explanation: During the New Zealand Wars in 1868, scorched-earth tactics were employed against the Tūhoe people, involving the destruction of their crops and buildings.

Explanation: The Imperial Russian Army's scorched-earth strategy during their 1915 retreat on the Eastern Front was massive in scale, encompassing the destruction of crops, houses, railways, and cities, alongside the forced removal of populations.

Explanation: In late 1916, the British army set fire to Romanian oil fields to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Central Powers during World War I.

Explanation: Operation Alberich, a German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line, had its effectiveness limited by the static nature of the Western Front, which meant the withdrawal did not significantly alter the strategic balance.

Explanation: The retreating Greek Army's scorched-earth policy during the Greco-Turkish War resulted in widespread destruction and outrages against Turkish villagers, making the retreat more devastating than the preceding occupation.

Explanation: The Imperial Japanese Army's 'Three Alls Policy' during the Second Sino-Japanese War was characterized by 'killing all, burning all, looting all,' representing a brutal scorched-earth strategy.

Explanation: During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Chinese Nationalist forces deliberately breached dams, causing the 1938 Yellow River flood, a significant instance of environmental damage resulting from military actions.

Explanation: During the Winter War, Finnish forces utilized scorched-earth tactics by destroying provisions and shelter near the border to deny resources to the invading Soviet Red Army.

Explanation: The German scorched-earth policy in the Soviet Union during WWII was implemented to slow down pursuing Soviet forces by destroying resources and settlements, thereby hindering their advance.

Explanation: The 'Nero Decree,' issued by Adolf Hitler in 1945, mandated a nationwide scorched-earth policy to destroy German industry and infrastructure, though it was largely resisted.

Explanation: The 'railroad plough' was used during World War II retreats to partially destroy railways, thereby denying their use to advancing enemy forces.

Explanation: The 'Bandung Sea of Fire' refers to the event during the Indonesian National Revolution when Indonesian fighters deliberately burned down the southern part of Bandung as they evacuated.

Explanation: During the Yugoslav Wars, scorched-earth tactics were employed by the Croatian Army and Serbian paramilitary groups against various settlements, not primarily by Croatian civilians against Serbian settlements.

Explanation: The Soviet army employed scorched-earth tactics in Afghanistan, destroying towns and villages and using mines, with the objective of preventing the Mujahideen's return and disrupting their support networks.

Explanation: In 2009, the United Nations accused the Sri Lankan government of employing scorched-earth tactics against the Tamil population during the final stages of the civil war.

Explanation: Since the 2021 coup, the Burmese military has faced accusations from the UN of using scorched-earth strategies, leading to significant destruction, civilian deaths, and displacement.

Explanation: The Dahiya doctrine involves the destruction of civilian infrastructure to pressure hostile governments, not specifically to encourage population resettlement. It has been applied in conflicts including Gaza.

Explanation: UN figures as of early 2025 report that approximately 90% of Gaza's homes have been destroyed or damaged, with a significant percentage of all buildings affected by Israeli military operations.

Explanation: During the Yugoslav Wars, scorched-earth tactics were employed by both the Croatian Army and Serbian paramilitary groups against various settlements.

Explanation: The Soviet army's scorched-earth strategy in Afghanistan aimed to prevent the Mujahideen's return by destroying towns and villages and using mines to disrupt their supply lines and support networks.

Explanation: In 2009, the United Nations accused the Sri Lankan government of employing scorched-earth tactics against the Tamil population during the final phase of the civil war.

Explanation: Since the 2021 coup, the Burmese military has allegedly used scorched-earth strategies, resulting in the destruction of houses, civilian deaths, displacement, and the denial of humanitarian access.

Explanation: The 'Dahiya doctrine' is an Israeli military strategy involving the destruction of civilian infrastructure to pressure hostile governments, which has been applied in conflicts including Gaza.

Explanation: UN figures as of early 2025 indicate that approximately 90% of Gaza's homes have been destroyed or damaged, with 60% of all buildings affected by military operations.

Explanation: The 1977 Geneva Conventions, specifically Additional Protocol II, explicitly prohibit the destruction of objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, including foodstuffs, agricultural areas, crops, and drinking water installations, regardless of the motive.

Explanation: In business, a 'scorched-earth defense' strategy involves making a company less attractive to a potential acquirer, often by selling off valuable assets or taking other actions that diminish its desirability.

Explanation: International law, particularly the 1977 Geneva Conventions, prohibits scorched-earth tactics directed against civilian populations and objects indispensable for their survival, regardless of military necessity.

Explanation: The 1977 Geneva Conventions, particularly Additional Protocol II, explicitly prohibit attacks on objects indispensable for the survival of the civilian population, effectively prohibiting scorched-earth tactics against non-combatants.

Explanation: In business, a 'scorched-earth defense' strategy involves actions like selling off key assets to make a company less attractive to a potential acquirer.

Explanation: Scorched-earth tactics directed against civilian populations are prohibited under international law, specifically by the 1977 Geneva Conventions, which protect objects indispensable for civilian survival.