A scorched earth policy is a military doctrine which aims to completely wipe out anything that may be helpful to the enemy. Any assets which may be useful to the attacker can be targeted, which in most cases includes obviously military assets, transport facilities, communication stations, and other economic assets. This is not to say that entire cities may be destroyed; sometimes just parts of them may be. Such actions are carried out as part of a scorched earth policy, and the phrase is typically used when describing the process of using weaponry in war.
During World War II, the United States implemented: what is known as the ‘scorched earth policy.’ Essentially, this means that any city which is discovered to have been occupied by the Germans during the war, is immediately destroyed. Although the phrase has often been described as a preemptive strategy, it is in fact a part of the Second World War’s doctrine. In addition, the United States dropped the A-bomb on Japan during the second world war, although technically the dropping of the bomb was considered to be an act of war. The result was the destruction of many Japanese cities, most of which were completely devastated.
Today, a similar type of strategy is used in war: Sometimes, the terms “scorched earth policy” is used, but it is more commonly referred to as the” withdrawing of tactical troops.” Basically, what this means is that certain troop positions are withdrawn from the battlefield to prevent an attack on the remaining troops or the base. In this way, the strategic value of the initial attack is minimized, because there will be fewer troops to engage the enemy.
The terms “scorched earth” and “military strategy” – have both been used often in popular culture, but what does the term “military strategy” mean? In reality, the phrase actually describes the eventual plan of a military operation, which is often referred to as the eventual plan of battle. When a military operation is launched, it is referred to as an initial attack. The intention behind this is to use as much force as possible to force the opponent to either yield or withdraw. If the opponent is unwilling to submit, the offensive force then may attempt to starve him or her in order to force the opponent to cave in and make peace.
For our purposes – the term “military strategy” refers to the overall strategy implemented by a military force in relation to the operation in hand. For example, if an army is engaged in a battle with another force, the military strategy would be to first secure the immediate area in which the two armies are engaged and then to attack the next force once the initial troops have been withdrawn. In other words, it would be a smart move for the army involved to “set the field on fire” so to speak, in order to demoralize the opposing forces so that they are more willing to negotiate.
In short, the term “what does scorched earth policy mean?” is a reference to the Soviet Union’s practice of destroying cities and other infrastructure in any military engagement or conflict with the United States. The Soviet Union viewed its actions as being in accordance with the Warsaw pact, in which the United States and its allies were agreeing not to attack military targets that came under the purview of the Warsaw pact.
The Warsaw pact was later revoked, however, after the Gulf War, when the US started targeting military bases in Iraq that were protected by the Warsaw pact.
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