"Scorched earth" strategy. “Scorched earth” tactics of the initial period of the Great Patriotic War" in the magazine "Define the concept of scorched earth
Scorched earth tactics are a method of warfare that involves the destruction of everything usable or potentially useful to the enemy. It is usually used during retreat (retreating troops leave devastated territory behind them) or in the fight against partisans.
Originally the term referred to the practice of burning crops in fields to destroy enemy food sources, the term now includes the destruction of shelters, means of transportation, communications, industry and industrial resources.
This method of war was first described in the book. The use of such tactics has been known since antiquity. Rationale for tactics in modern times belongs to the Prussian general Karl Ludwig von Full.
In the modern sense, this term has been used since the Vietnam War, when American troops began to actively use napalm to destroy enemy strategic targets (mainly ground-based food warehouses), as well as places where the enemy was supposed to gather. The trick was that after hitting the ground, napalm burned for a long time, penetrating into the narrow catacombs, filling the shelters with acrid smoke, thereby making them unsuitable for shelter.
British soldiers burn Boer houses
Use of scorched earth tactics before World War II
Scythian campaign of Darius I
Patriotic War of 1812
Second Boer War 1899-1902
Use of the “scorched earth” tactics of the Red Army
At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, on July 3, 1941, J.V. Stalin made an appeal to the people with a speech that contained the following words: “In the event of a forced withdrawal of units of the Red Army, it is necessary to hijack all rolling stock, not to leave a single locomotive or one carriage, not to leave the enemy a single kilogram of bread or a liter of fuel. Collective farmers must drive away all the livestock and hand over the grain for safekeeping to government agencies for transportation to the rear areas. All valuable property, including non-ferrous metals, bread and fuel, which cannot be exported, must be absolutely destroyed.
In areas occupied by the enemy, it is necessary to create partisan detachments, mounted and on foot, to create sabotage groups to fight units of the enemy army, to incite guerrilla warfare everywhere and everywhere, to blow up bridges, roads, damage telephone and telegraph communications, set fire to forests, warehouses, and carts. In the occupied areas, create unbearable conditions for the enemy and all his accomplices, pursue and destroy them at every step, and disrupt all their activities.”
A few days later, on July 10, 1941, in a note to the Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine N.S. Khrushchev, I. Stalin addressed Khrushchev: “Your proposals for the destruction of all property contradict the guidelines given in Comrade Stalin’s speech, where The destruction of all valuable property was said in connection with the forced withdrawal of units of the Red Army. Your proposals mean the immediate destruction of all valuable property, grain and livestock in a zone 100-150 kilometers from the enemy, regardless of the state of the front. Such an event can demoralize the population and cause discontent Soviet power, to upset the rear of the Red Army and create both in the army and among the population a mood of mandatory withdrawal instead of determination to repel the enemy.”
On November 17, 1941, an Order from the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command was issued, obliging “in the event of a forced withdrawal of our units in one or another sector, to take the Soviet population with us and be sure to destroy everyone without exception.” settlements so that the enemy cannot use them. First of all, for this purpose, use teams of hunters allocated in the regiments.”
“Scorched earth” tactics- a method of warfare in which retreating troops carry out the complete and large-scale destruction of all supplies vital to the enemy (food, fuel, etc.) and any industrial, agricultural, civilian facilities in order to prevent their use by the advancing enemy.
The term "scorched earth" applies only to combat operations in which retreating troops destroy objectives of primary importance to the enemy.
"Scorched earth" tactics are prohibited by Protocol I of the 1977 Geneva Convention.
Story [ | code ]
This section does not contain all historical examples.
6th century BC e. [ | code ]
The first known case in history of the use of this tactic was the war of the Scythians with the army of Darius I, around 512 BC. e. invading the Black Sea steppes (see Book IV of Herodotus’s “History”).
15th century [ | code ]
At the end of 1474, during the struggle between the Ottoman Empire and the Principality of Moldova. A large Ottoman army led by the Rumelian beylerbey Suleiman Pasha entered the territory of the Moldavian principality. Using the “scorched earth” tactic, the Moldavian prince Stefan III inflicted defeat on the enemy at Vaslui (January 10, 1475).
19th century [ | code ]
Napoleonic Wars[ | code ]
Iberian Wars[ | code ]
During the (third) Napoleonic invasion of Portugal in 1810, as the Portuguese retreated to Lisbon, they were ordered to destroy all food supplies that could reach the French. The order was given due to the marauding French troops and mistreatment of civilians during previous invasions.
After Battle of Busacou Masséna's army marched on Coimbra, where much of the Old University and the city's libraries were sacked, houses and furniture were destroyed, and several civilians were killed. There were cases of robbery by British soldiers, but such cases were usually investigated and the perpetrators punished. When French troops reached the Torres Vedras line near Lisbon, French soldiers said the city was more like a wasteland. When Massena reached the city of Viseu, wanting to replenish the army's dwindling food supplies, the city was empty, and the only provisions remaining were grapes and lemons, the use of which large quantities It was more of a laxative than a source of calories. Low morale, hunger, disease and indiscipline weakened the French army and forced it to retreat the following spring.
American Civil War[ | code ]
Union forces under Sheridan and Sherman used this tactic extensively during the American Civil War. General Sherman used this tactic during his March to the Atlantic. Sherman's goal was to break the will and destroy the enemy's logistics by burning or destroying crops and other resources that could be used by Confederate supporters. During the campaign, his men burned all the court books in front of the courthouse to prevent planters from proving their ownership of the land. Another incident occurred when Sherman's army moved through Georgia for thirty-six days, encountering little resistance, plundering countryside and its inhabitants.
There are other known uses of the tactic during the Civil War.
XX century [ | code ]
The Great Patriotic War[ | code ]
Vietnam War[ | code ]
One of the largest and known cases the use of scorched earth tactics - Operation Ranch Hand, carried out by the US Army during the Vietnam War to destroy the jungle in Laos and South Vietnam.
Gulf War[ | code ]
Current position of society[ | code ]
Protocol I of the 1977 Geneva Conventions prohibits the destruction during hostilities of supplies and sources of food and drinking water for civilians.
| It is prohibited to attack or destroy, remove or render useless objects essential to the survival of the civilian population, such as food supplies, food-producing agricultural areas, crops, livestock, drinking water supplies and supplies, and irrigation works, specifically in order to prevent their use by the civilian population or the opposing party as a means of subsistence, regardless of the motive, whether it be to cause starvation among civilians, to force them to leave, or for any other reason. Article 54, Amendments to Protocol I of the 1977 Geneva Conventions |
Nevertheless, cases of the use of scorched earth tactics are still observed.
Countries that have not yet ratified Protocol I include the United States, Israel, Iran, and Pakistan.
see also [ | ]
Notes [ | code ]
- English version of the Annex to Protocol 1 of the 1977 Geneva ConventionPDF(English)
- Translation of the Addendum to Protocol 1 of the 1977 Geneva ConventionPDF
- 516, 514 BC BC: there are different justifications for relatively close dates.
ON THE QUESTION OF "SCORCHED EARTH TACTICS"
During the period of intense defensive battles near Moscow, a command directive Western Front of October 30, 1941 it was prescribed:
“Destroy all highways adjacent to the front line of defense, and highways that the enemy uses for his maneuver to a depth of 50 km. Maintain destruction continuously. Be sure to destroy all bridges. Min all tank-hazardous directions with anti-tank mines and petrol bottles. In possible directions infantry attacks, immediately place anti-personnel minefields, barbed wire, rubble, barricades and prepare fire barriers."
Similar requirements are not difficult to find among archival documents and other fronts. These, one might say, are classic methods of armed struggle. Warfare on transport communications and mining of areas of terrain easily accessible to the enemy have their own history, rich in various examples. For these tactics, the armed forces of most countries in the world have special troops.
During the Great Patriotic War, perhaps for the first time during the existence of Russian and Soviet armies Other methods of destruction tactics were also used - total destruction during the retreat of everything that could be destroyed, including populated areas. Residents of villages and villages located in the front line were subject to forcible eviction.
The damage caused by the German invaders to the national economy and citizens of the USSR has been carefully calculated. Its total figures were previously announced at the Nuremberg trials. By 1959, the data was clarified. In the statistical collection "The National Economy of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945." (M., 1990) the following is said:
"The Nazi invaders completely or partially destroyed and burned 1,710 cities and towns and more than 70 thousand villages; burned and destroyed over 6 million buildings and deprived about 25 million people of their homes; destroyed 31,850 industrial enterprises, put them out of action metallurgical plants, which before the war produced about 60% of the steel, mines that produced over 60% of the country's coal production, destroyed 65 thousand km of railway track and 4100 railway stations, 36 thousand postal and telegraph institutions, telephone exchanges and other communication enterprises ; ruined and plundered tens of thousands of collective and state farms, slaughtered, took away or drove away to Germany 7 million horses, 17 million heads of cattle, 20 million pigs, 27 million sheep and goats. In addition, they destroyed and defeated 40 thousand hospitals and other medical institutions, 84 thousand schools, technical schools, higher educational institutions, research institutes, 43 thousand public libraries."
Will the damage caused to the national economy and population by the orders of the leading officials of our state and army be so scrupulously calculated, and how can it be fairly correlated with the given statistics and the requirements of necessity?
Judging by the documents, ill-conceived regulations, from which primarily their own citizens suffered, came into practice at the very beginning of the war, and were legalized during the Battle of Moscow.
RESOLUTION OF THE MILITARY COUNCIL OF THE WESTERN FRONT
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION OF HARVESTING AND ELIMINATION OF AGRICULTURAL CROPS IN THE SMOLENSK REGION
№ 0012
Smolensk Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks
Smolensk Regional Council of Workers' Deputies
Copies: Military Councils of armies and military commissars of groups on a special list
THE MILITARY COUNCIL OF THE WESTERN FRONT DECIDED: 1. To propose to the Smolensk Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Regional Council of Workers' Deputies to immediately organize the implementation of the directive of the State Defense Committee regarding the sowing of industrial, grain crops and potatoes in front line to the border defined by the following settlements: Bely, Komary, railway road from the station. Nikitinka to st. mountains Dorogobuzh, Podmoshye, Oselye, Pavlikovo, Spas-Demensk (exclusively), Dobroselye, Krapivna, Ekimovichi (exclusively), Roslavl, Ershichi.
2. Organize in the territory specified in paragraph 1 the immediate mowing of ripened and unripe grain crops and the digging of potatoes, beets and other crops on collective farms, state farms and other state organizations and the transfer of cut and threshed grain and harvested potatoes to state organizations under the authority of the Smolensk Regional Council of Deputies Workers, as well as military units of the Red Army, leaving at the disposal of each collective farmer one and a half to two hectares for farming grain crops and potatoes. All cleaning work must be completed by August 15, 1941.
3. Destroy the crops of all other immature crops by mowing, feeding, trampling by livestock and other methods before August 15, 1941.
4. Oblige all local party and Soviet organizations to freely transfer fodder and potatoes to units and formations of the Red Army, both processed and standing, upon their request, signed and sealed by the commander and commissar of the unit and formation.
5. Oblige the Military Councils of armies and commanders-commissars of groups to give appropriate orders for the organization and implementation of this work to local party and Soviet organizations and military units within a specified period, while simultaneously establishing strict control over the implementation of this resolution.
TsAMO USSR. F. 208. Op. 2524. D. 2. L. 554
ABOUT THE EVACUATION OF THE POPULATION FROM THE FRONT-LINE
№ 0507
Military Councils of armies
By order of the Military Council of the Western Front dated August 12, 1941 No. 017, a 5-kilometer combat zone was established, from the territory of which the entire civilian population was subject to eviction. Despite the clarity and necessity of this event, many commanders and commissars of units and formations did not understand the essence of this order and allow the population to be left in the zone of combat operations, which, in essence, contributes to the penetration of spies and saboteurs into the local population, and the recruitment of spies from part of the local population , hostile to Soviet power.
For example:
a) in the villages closest to the location of the 316th [rifle] division, during an enemy air raid, part of the population came out with white flags and banners;
b) in the area of the 1077th [rifle] regiment, a spy was detained with fascist leaflets distributing among the population and units of the Red Army;
c) in the area of the 1306th [rifle] regiment, among the residents of the [village] Novo-Petrovskoye, local resident Kuznetsov was exposed as a spy;
d) in the area of the 4th Tank Brigade, counter-revolutionary leaflets were found, handwritten and scattered among Red Army units.
All these facts once again speak of the need for strict implementation of the order of the Western Front dated August 12 of this year, No. 017.
I ORDER: 1. Strictly follow the order of the Military Council of the Western Front No. 017 of August 12, 1941 in the eviction of the civilian population from the 5-kilometer combat zone.
2. All citizens who resist the eviction should be arrested and transferred to the NKVD.
3. Involve local authorities and employees of special departments of associations and units in the implementation of this order.
4. I entrust control over the implementation of the measures noted in the order to members of the Military Councils and heads of political departments of the armies.
Report to me on the progress of execution of order No. 017 in the next political reports.
TsAMO USSR. F. 325. Op. 5045. D. 4. L. 1-2
FROM THE ORDER OF THE SUPREME HIGH COMMAND
№ 0428
<...>I ORDER: 1. Destroy and burn to the ground all populated areas in the rear of German troops at a distance of 40-60 km in depth from the front edge and 20-30 km to the right and left of the roads.
To destroy populated areas within the specified radius, immediately use aviation, make extensive use of artillery and mortar fire, teams of reconnaissance personnel, skiers and trained sabotage groups equipped with Molotov cocktails, grenades and demolition devices.
<...>
3. In the event of a forced withdrawal of our units in one sector or another, take the Soviet population with us and be sure to destroy all populated areas without exception so that the enemy cannot use them.
TsAMO USSR. F. 353. Op. 5864. D. 1. L. 27
REPORT OF THE MILITARY COMMISSIONER OF THE 53rd CAVALRY DIVISION
Member of the Military Council of the 16th Army
divisional commissar LOBACHEV
With your letter No. 018, you indicate that we are not following the order of the Headquarters of the Supreme Command of the Red Army to destroy everything that can be used by the enemy, and that we are showing unnecessary and harmful liberalism in this matter.
I should note that before receiving the order from Headquarters on this issue, we actually showed liberalism and left bread, housing, etc. to the enemy.
Now in parts of our division this is not the case. On November 19 and 20 alone, we burned four settlements:
Gryada - only a few unburned houses remained, Mal[oe] Nikolskoye - completely, the villages of Lesodolgorukovo and Denkhovo - the result of the fire is not yet known to me, but I personally observed how these settlements were engulfed in flames.
For this purpose, we create special groups of fighters who prepare in advance and destroy [buildings] immediately upon the abandonment of a given settlement by our troops.
Your instructions will be carried out with even greater persistence in the future. During raids on the enemy by separate detachments, this will be given as a special task in order to destroy everything that could [could] remain [to the enemy].
TsAMO USSR. F. 358. Op. 5914. D. 1. L. 13
REPORT ON THE PROGRESS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF ORDER OF THE RATE FOR No. 0428 AS OF 11.25.41
№0324
| № pp |
Item names | By what means [destroyed] and the degree of destruction |
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1. | GOROBOVO | Destroyed by artillery |
| 2. | ZAOVRAZHIE | --"-- |
| 3. | SHARAPOVKA | Completely burned by troops |
| 4. | VELKINO | --"-- |
| 5. | ELBOW | --"-- |
| 6. | IGNATEVO | --"-- |
| 7. | Pos. them. KAGANOVICH | --"-- |
| 8. | SERGIEVO | --"-- |
| 9. | SPASSKOE | --"-- |
| 10. | ANASHKINO | --"-- |
| 11. | IVANEVO | --"-- |
| 12. | DYAKONOVO | --"-- |
| 13. | KAPAN | --"-- |
| 14. | HAMSTERS | --"-- |
| 15. | LYAHOHOHO | --"-- |
| 16. | BRYKINO | 5-6 houses left |
| 17. | YAKSHINO | Completely burned by troops |
| 18. | BOLDINO | Only stone buildings remain |
| 19. | EREMINO | 7-8 houses left |
| 20. | CRIMEA and storage farm. OAKS | Completely burned by troops |
| 21. | NARO-OSANOVO | --"-- |
| 22. | KRIVOSHEINO | Partially burned |
| 23. | ANALSHINO | --"-- |
| 24. | KOLYUBYAKINO | --"-- |
| 25. | TOMSHINO | --"-- |
| 26. | PICTURE | --"-- |
| 27. | MASEEVO | --"-- |
| 28. | KOZHINO | --"-- |
| 29. | MAXIHA | Partially burned and destroyed |
| 30. | DUBROVKA | Partially burned |
| 31. | SUKHAREVO | --"-- |
| 32. | MOLODEKOVO | --"-- |
| 33. | MAURINO | --"-- |
| 34. | State farm GOLOVKOVO | --"-- |
| 35. | SKUGROVO | --"-- |
| 36. | LOOKING OUT | --"-- |
| 37. | TUCHKOVO | --"-- |
| 38. | MUKHINO | --"-- |
| 39. | MYSHKINO | --"-- |
| 40. | PETROVO | --"-- |
| 41. | TRUTEEVO | --"-- |
| 42. | MIKHAILOVSKOE | --"-- |
| 43. | LARGE SEEDS | Completely burned by troops |
| 44. | VASILIEVSKOE | --"-- |
| 45. | GRIGOROVO | Partially burned |
| 46. | WANTS | --"-- |
| 47. | APARINA MOUNTAIN | --"-- |
| 48. | BEREZHKI | --"-- |
| 49. | ULITINO | --"-- |
| 50. | POKROVSKOE | --"-- |
| 51. | KARINSKOYE | --"-- |
| 52. | MOUTH | Partially burned |
| 53. | KOLYUBAKOVO | --"-- |
In addition, 9 sabotage groups of 2-3 people were organized and sent behind enemy lines with the task of arson. Neither group has returned yet. The main means of [destructing] these groups are COP bottles and gasoline.
The bridges located on the MOZHAYSK and MINSK highways from LYAKHOVO to KRUTITSA were blown up.
Deputy Chief of the Operations Department, Lieutenant Colonel PEREVERTKIN TsAMO USSR. F. 326. Op. 5045. D. 1. L. 62-63
ORDER OF THE MILITARY COUNCIL OF THE WESTERN FRONT
ON ORGANIZING DEFENSE IN SETTLED AREAS
№ 01126
The experience of past military operations shows that front troops often abandoned populated areas without taking advantage of their positive properties for battle. Settled areas, especially those with strong stone buildings and fences, in addition to camouflaging troops, provide them with protection from bullets, shrapnel, tanks and enemy armored vehicles.
In a number of cases, commanders of formations and units, not taking these properties into account and fearing “encirclement,” did not take any measures to adapt populated areas for stubborn combat and inflicting the greatest damage on the enemy.
In the future, we must resolutely demand from personnel:
1. It is imperative to use and adapt to defense all populated areas that have operational or tactical significance as strongholds in the defense system.
2. Defended settlements should be primarily adapted for anti-tank and anti-artillery defense<...>.
3. All streets adapted for the defense of a populated area should be barricaded, using local means and materials to construct barricades, regardless of damage <...>.
4. To dispose of personnel and firing points in the defense, first of all, adapt strong stone buildings that allow longitudinal flanking fire<...>.
5. In the fight for populated areas, the role of the commander is especially responsible, as the organizer and leader of the defense entrusted to the unit - part of the site or sector<...>.
6. Simultaneously with the adaptation of the populated area for defense, draw up a plan and carry out preparatory measures for destruction by destroying or burning all vital centers, buildings and supplies of food and materials in the event of a forced abandonment of the populated area.
TsAMO USSR. F. 326. Op. 5045. D4. L. 7-9
FROM A SPECIAL REPORT OF THE CHEMICAL DEPARTMENT OF THE 5TH ARMY OF THE WESTERN FRONT
ABOUT THE ACTIONS OF FLAMETHROWER UNITS
To the Chief of the Chemical Troops of the Western Front
Additionally, in a separate report, I convey factual data on the work of the 26th FOG company, the barrage of fire and the effectiveness of [KS] bottles in the 32nd S[rifle] Division.<...>
The village of AKULOVO was burned with bottles. CS was used up. The arson was carried out by soldiers of the chemical platoon of the 17th Rifle Regiment, led by the head of the chemical service, senior lieutenant EGOROV, and the commander of the department, comrade. KVASHIN.
<...>27 houses were burned with bottles.
<...>
TsAMO USSR. F. 326. Op. 5045. D. 1. L. 101-102
REPORT OF THE HEAD OF THE MOZHAYSK SECTOR OF THE NKVD
ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION OF SETTLEMENTS BEHIND ENEMY RAINS
Member of the Military Council of the Western Front
Comrade BULGANIN
In accordance with your instructions to destroy settlements occupied by the enemy, the Mozhaisk sector [NKVD] did the following:
NKVD sabotage groups, transferred behind the front line, set fire to: ROGATINO, ZABOLOTYE, USATKOVO, ARKHANGELSKOYE, VOLCHENKI, KOVRIGINO, GORBOVO.
The following sectors were set on fire by intelligence groups: KRIVO-SHEYNO, NEW VILLAGE, KHAUSTOVO, OGARKOVO and PAVLOVKA.
In addition, deep behind enemy lines, agents destroyed in the Smolensk region: in the village of KRASNY LUCH, a school where the Germans were stationed, and near the town of KOZELSK, a former dormitory for a glass factory, where the Germans were also housed.
The agents we sent to destroy DOROKHOVO, VEREY and some other points have not yet returned, and therefore the results of this task are unknown.
TsAMO USSR. F. 208. Op. 2524. D. 18. L. 88
“Scorched earth” tactics- a method of warfare in which retreating troops carry out the complete and large-scale destruction of all supplies vital to the enemy (food, fuel, etc.) and any industrial, agricultural, civilian facilities in order to prevent their use by the advancing enemy.
The term "scorched earth" applies only to combat operations in which retreating troops destroy objectives of primary importance to the enemy.
"Scorched earth" tactics are prohibited by Protocol I of the 1977 Geneva Convention.
Story
This section does not contain all historical examples.
6th century BC e.
The first known case in history of the use of this tactic was the war of the Scythians with the army of Darius I, around 512 BC. e. invading the Black Sea steppes (see Book IV of Herodotus’s “History”).
15th century
At the end of 1474, during the struggle between the Ottoman Empire and the Principality of Moldova. A large Ottoman army led by the Rumelian beylerbey Suleiman Pasha entered the territory of the Moldavian principality. Using the “scorched earth” tactic, the Moldavian prince Stefan III inflicted defeat on the enemy at Vaslui (January 10, 1475).
19th century
Napoleonic Wars
Iberian Wars
During the (third) Napoleonic invasion of Portugal in 1810, as the Portuguese retreated to Lisbon, they were ordered to destroy all food supplies that could reach the French. The order was given due to the marauding French troops and mistreatment of civilians during previous invasions.
After Battle of Busacou Masséna's army marched on Coimbra, where much of the Old University and the city's libraries were sacked, houses and furniture were destroyed, and several civilians were killed. There were cases of robbery by British soldiers, but such cases were usually investigated and the perpetrators punished. When French troops reached the Torres Vedras line near Lisbon, French soldiers said the city was more like a wasteland. When Massena reached the city of Viseu, wanting to replenish the army's dwindling food supplies, the city was empty, and the only provisions remaining were grapes and lemons, the consumption of which in large quantities was more of a laxative than a source of calories. Low morale, hunger, disease and indiscipline weakened the French army and forced it to retreat the following spring.
American Civil War
Union forces under Sheridan and Sherman used this tactic extensively during the American Civil War. General Sherman used this tactic during his March to the Atlantic. Sherman's goal was to break the will and destroy the enemy's logistics by burning or destroying crops and other resources that could be used by Confederate supporters. During the campaign, his men burned all the court books in front of the courthouse to prevent planters from proving their ownership of the land. Another incident occurred as Sherman's army marched through Georgia for thirty-six days, encountering little resistance, plundering the countryside and its inhabitants.
There are other known uses of the tactic during the Civil War.
XX century
The Great Patriotic War
Vietnam War
One of the largest and most famous cases of the use of scorched earth tactics is Operation Ranch Hand, carried out by the US Army during the Vietnam War to destroy the jungle in Laos and South Vietnam.
Gulf War
Current position of society
Protocol I of the 1977 Geneva Conventions prohibits the destruction during hostilities of supplies and sources of food and drinking water for civilians.
| It is prohibited to attack or destroy, remove or render useless objects essential to the survival of the civilian population, such as food supplies, food-producing agricultural areas, crops, livestock, drinking water supplies and supplies, and irrigation works, specifically in order to prevent their use by the civilian population or the opposing party as a means of subsistence, regardless of the motive, whether it be to cause starvation among civilians, to force them to leave, or for any other reason. Article 54, Amendments to Protocol I of the 1977 Geneva Conventions |
Nevertheless, cases of the use of scorched earth tactics are still observed.
Countries that have not yet ratified Protocol I include the United States, Israel, Iran, and Pakistan.
see also
Notes
- English version of the Annex to Protocol 1 of the 1977 Geneva ConventionPDF(English)
- Translation of the Addendum to Protocol 1 of the 1977 Geneva ConventionPDF
- 516, 514 BC BC: there are different justifications for relatively close dates.
- A.O. Chubaryan. History of Europe. Volume 2. Medieval Europe. Chapter V
- Grant's personal memoirs Ulysses, chapter XXV: “supplies within the reach of Confederate armies I was regarded as much contraband as arms or ordnance stores. Their destruction was accomplished without bloodshed and tended to the same result as the destruction of armies. I continued this policy to the close of the war. Promiscuous pillaging, however, was discouraged and punished. Instructions were always given to take provisions and forage under the direction of commissioned officers who should give receipts to owners, if at home, and turn the property over to officers of the quartermaster or commissary departments to be issued as if furnished from our Northern depots. But much was destroyed without receipts to owners, when it could not be brought within our lines and would otherwise have gone to the support of secession and rebellion. This policy I believe exercised a material influence in hastening the end.” (English)
Story
The term "scorched earth" applies only to combat operations in which retreating troops destroy objectives of primary importance to the enemy. In this case, the population of the other side can be exterminated, as the retreating ones did German troops and their allies during World War II.
One of the largest and most famous cases of the use of scorched earth tactics is Operation Ranch Hand, carried out by the US Army during the Vietnam War to destroy the jungle in Laos and South Vietnam.
Protocol I Geneva Conventions 1977 prohibits the destruction during hostilities of supplies and sources of food and drinking water for civilians.
Cases of the use of “scorched earth” tactics are still observed.
Countries that have not yet ratified Protocol I include the United States, Israel, Iran, and Pakistan.
see also
Write a review of the article "Scorched earth tactics"
Notes
An excerpt characterizing the scorched earth tactics
“It’s dirty,” said Prince Andrei, wincing.- We'll clean it up for you now. - And Timokhin, not yet dressed, ran to clean it.
- The prince wants it.
- Which? Our prince? - voices spoke, and everyone hurried so much that Prince Andrey managed to calm them down. He came up with a better idea to take a shower in the barn.
“Meat, body, chair a canon [cannon fodder]! - he thought, looking at his naked body, and shuddering not so much from the cold as from an incomprehensible disgust and horror at the sight of this huge number of bodies rinsing in the dirty pond.
On August 7, Prince Bagration in his Mikhailovka camp on the Smolensk road wrote the following:
“Dear sir, Count Alexey Andreevich.
(He wrote to Arakcheev, but knew that his letter would be read by the sovereign, and therefore, as far as he was capable of this, he thought about his every word.)
I think that the minister has already reported on the abandonment of Smolensk to the enemy. It’s painful, sad, and the whole army is in despair that the most important place was abandoned in vain. I, for my part, asked him personally in the most convincing way, and finally wrote; but nothing agreed with him. I swear to you on my honor that Napoleon was in such a bag as never before, and he could have lost half the army, but not taken Smolensk. Our troops fought and are fighting like never before. I held 15 thousand for more than 35 hours and beat them; but he didn’t want to stay even 14 hours. This is shameful and a stain on our army; and it seems to me that he himself should not even live in the world. If he reports that the loss is great, it is not true; maybe about 4 thousand, no more, but not even that. Even if it’s ten, there’s war! But the enemy lost the abyss...
Why was it worth staying two more days? At least they would have left on their own; for they had no water to drink for the people and horses. He gave me his word that he would not back down, but suddenly he sent a disposition that he was leaving that night. It’s impossible to fight this way, and we can soon bring the enemy to Moscow...
The rumor is that you think about the world. To make peace, God forbid! After all the donations and after such extravagant retreats - put up with it: you will put all of Russia against you, and each of us will be forced to wear a uniform for shame. If things have already gone this way, we must fight while Russia can and while people are on their feet...
We need to command one, not two. Your minister may be a good one in his ministry; but the general is not only bad, but trashy, and the fate of our entire Fatherland was given to him... I’m really going crazy with frustration; forgive me for writing impudently. Apparently, he does not like the sovereign and wishes death for all of us, who advises us to make peace and command the army to the minister. So, I write to you the truth: prepare your militia. For the minister most masterfully leads the guest to the capital with him. Mr. Adjutant Wolzogen casts great suspicion on the entire army. He, they say, is more Napoleon than ours, and he advises everything to the minister. I am not only polite against him, but I obey like a corporal, although older than him. It hurts; but, loving my benefactor and sovereign, I obey. It’s just a pity for the sovereign that he entrusts such a glorious army to such people. Imagine that during our retreat we lost more than 15 thousand people from fatigue and in hospitals; but if they had attacked, this would not have happened. Tell me for God's sake that our Russia - our mother - will say that we are so afraid and why we are giving such a good and diligent Fatherland to the bastards and instilling hatred and shame in every subject. Why be afraid and who to be afraid of? It is not my fault that the minister is indecisive, cowardly, stupid, slow and has all bad qualities. The whole army is completely crying and cursing him to death..."
