Scorched earth
A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy that aims to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy while it is advancing through or withdrawing from a location. Any assets that could be used by the enemy may be targeted, for example food sources, water supplies, transportation, communications, industrial resources, and even the locale's people themselves.
Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Chichester
During the Nine Years' War Chichester commanded royal troops in Ulster. His tactics included a scorched earth policy. He encircled O'Neill's forces with garrisons, effectively starving the Earl's troops. In a 1600 letter to Cecil he stated ""a million swords will not do them so much harm as one winter's famine"". While these tactics were not initially devised by Chichester, he carried them out ruthlessly, gaining a hate-figure status among the Irish. O'Neill's weakening military position forced him to abandon and destroy his capital at Dungannon.