Scorched Earth (disambiguation)
Scorched earth is the military strategy or operational policy of destroying everything useful to the enemy in areas that cannot be defended.
Eastern Front (World War II)
Stalin ordered the retreating Red Army to initiate a scorched-earth policy to deny the Germans and their allies basic supplies as they advanced eastward. To carry out that order, destruction battalions were formed in front-line areas, having the authority to summarily execute any suspicious person. The destruction battalions burned down villages, schools, and public buildings. As a part of this policy, the NKVD massacred thousands of anti-Soviet prisoners.