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A scorched earth policy is a military Tactic which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area. The term refers to the practice of burning Crops to deny the enemy food sources, although it is by no means limited to food stocks, and can include shelter, transportation, communications and industrial resources, which are often of equal or greater military value in modern warfare, as modern armies generally carry their own food supplies. The practice may be carried out by an army in enemy territory, or by an army in its own home territory. MILITARY USAGES During the Napoleonic Wars , scorched earth policies were successfully employed in both Spain (see Peninsular War ) and Russia (see Napoleon's Invasion Of Russia ). Vlad Tepes also used such tactics to great effect in 1462 during the Turks invasion of Wallachia . In the American Civil War , General Sherman utilized this policy during his March To The Sea . During the Second Sino-Japanese War , Chinese soldiers destroyed dams and levees in an attempt to flood the land to slow down the advancement of Japanese soldiers. This policy resulted in the 1938 Huang He Flood . The Japanese also adopted a scorched-earth policy in China during the war, known as " Sanko Sakusen ". German troops destroyed vast rail networks as they retreated during World War II . The Soviet Union also employed this tactic extensively during the Second World War , including mass repressions against civilians, destruction of its own villages, etc. Indonesia and Pro-Indonesia Militia s used this tactic in their Timor-Leste Scorched Earth campaign around the time of East Timor 's referendum for independence in 1999. BUSINESS The scorched-earth defense is a form of Risk Arbitrage and anti- Takeover strategy. When a target Firm implements this provision, it will make an effort to make it unattractive to the hostile bidder. For example, a company may agree to liquidate or destroy all valuable assets, also called " Crown Jewels ", or schedule Debt repayment to be due immediately following a hostile takeover. In some cases, a scorched-earth defense may develop into an extreme anti-takeover defense called a " Suicide Pill ". SCIENCE FICTION In many Science Fiction scenarios, scorched earth is a battle tactic taken to its most literal extreme—in order to ensure that the Earth, or other inhabited planet, is not taken in an Alien Invasion , an individual or group possessing the requisite technology will obliterate the planet's surface or the entire planet in total or at least make it inhospitable for as long as possible. SEE ALSO REFERENCES AND NOTES |
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