Scorched earth tactics - eyewitness accounts. Scorched earth tactics. Use of scorched earth tactics in the early modern era
Scorched earth. Order 0428.
With the beginning of the advance of German troops across Soviet territories during World War II, the Soviet leadership immediately began to use “scorched earth tactics.”
This tactic was absolutely natural and logical for the Soviet leadership and had enormous historical roots and practice in the past.
This practice was finally approved by the now famous secret order No. 0428 of November 17, 1941. Settlements and other material objects were destroyed not only in the retreat zone, but also continued to be destroyed throughout the entire territory captured by the Germans, not only by bombing, but also with the help of partisans and sabotage groups.
Separately, it is necessary to say about the offensive tactics of the Soviet troops, this is another big topic.
The damage caused to the national economy and citizens of the USSR as a result of World War II 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:
"...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 made about 25 million people homeless; destroyed 31,850 industrial enterprises, disabled metallurgical plants factories that produced about 60% of steel before the war, mines that produced over 60% of the country's coal production; destroyed 65 thousand km of railway track and 4,100 railway stations, 36 thousand postal and telegraph institutions, telephone exchanges and other communications 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 destroyed 40 thousand. . hospitals and other medical institutions, 84 thousand schools, technical schools, higher educational institutions, research institutes, 43 thousand public libraries."
In this listing, all destruction is attributed to the Wehrmacht. And it seems logical, if there had been no war, then this would not have happened. But there are different ways of waging war. The “scorched earth tactics” in World War II were massively used only by the Soviet leadership and army.
Report of the Military Council of the Western Front to the Supreme Command Headquarters dated November 29, 1941 on the measures taken to implement the Supreme Command Headquarters order No. 0428
To Comrade Stalin (Dzhugashvilli)
To Comrade Shaposhnikov
In pursuance of Headquarters order No. 0428 of November 17 regarding the burning of populated areas, the Military Council immediately took the following measures:
1. Divisions and regiments have begun to form teams of hunters, most of whom are already actively working.
2. The intelligence agencies of the special department sent sabotage groups, totaling up to 500 people, to the territory occupied by the enemy.
3. The armies are allocated a squadron of P-5 and U-2 aircraft, a total of 45 aircraft.
4. Manufactured and allocated parts of individual incendiary means - thermite fuses, balls, cylinders, checkers - with a total of 4,300 units.
5. Over 100,000 Molotov cocktails and devices for their use were issued.
6. To help create teams of hunters, 38 commanders were sent from the front reserve to the divisions.
7. For each army, points to be burned and destroyed were approved and tasks were established, in connection with this, for the branches of the military (aviation, artillery, hunter teams, sabotage and partisan detachments).
Over the elapsed time, 398 settlements were burned and destroyed (in 12 days), of which: in the 30th army - 105, 16 - 113, 5 - 55, 33 - 17, 43 - 24, 29 - 52, 50 - 32.
Most of the points were burned and destroyed by teams of hunters and sabotage groups; artillery, due to the lack of incendiary shells, and aviation, due to bad weather, did not actively work to complete the mission.
The active work of front units to set fire to populated areas caused serious damage to the Germans, as evidenced by the following order from the German command, intercepted by us:
“According to a report from the headquarters of 57 Ak, it has been established that recently in many places, individuals and groups penetrating through the front line have been systematically setting fires to populated areas. It is necessary to increase control over the movement of the civilian population and strengthen security at cantonment sites.”
Work to implement Headquarters order No. 0428 continues in all parts of the front.
Zhukov
Bulganin
Source: TsAMO, f. 208, op. 2524, d. 1, l. 257-258
What do Emperor Alexander I and Soviet dictator Dzhugashvilli have in common? It would seem a wild question; just compare their appearance: an angel-like enlightened sovereign and a freckled, evil ghoul with yellow eyes. However, one should not rush to conclusions.
Three years ago, my friend and I visited the village of Tarutino in the Kaluga region. Let me remind you that during the War of 1812 in Tarutino there was a camp of the Russian army, which, having completed its famous maneuver, managed to break away from Marshal Murat who was pursuing it and take up an advantageous strategic position. Here, on October 18, 1812, a battle took place between Kutuzov’s army and Murat’s troops. Then Kutuzov failed to achieve decisive success due to poor cooperation between Russian troops.
After talking with an employee of the local museum, we found out that the Russian army, while stationed in Tarutino, dismantled 199 residential peasant houses - almost the entire village - for baths, bridges and fuel. That's how many bathhouses and bridges the glorious warriors built! This is probably why Tarutino - once the richest - never rose to its former strength. What is behind this attitude towards our own population? Was it only for bathhouses and bridges that brave Kutuzov soldiers dismantled peasant dwellings? Maybe they simply scattered the huts, log by log, for firewood, so that Bonaparte would not get a large, rich village to stay in? If Moscow was not spared by the arsonists of Count Rastopchin, then what can we say about some village? Maybe Dzhugashvilli, with his order No. 0428 - about scorched earth - was just imitating Alexander the Blessed? Note that this happened in the fall, on the eve of winter. How did the Tarutino peasants, left homeless, spend the winter?
Even then, three years ago, I shared these thoughts on the Internet and received a response in the form of a link to the article “The High Treason of Field Marshal Kutuzov.” I found this text interesting and thorough. I bring to the attention of readers a fragment from this material.
Long before the war, Emperor Alexander made a firm decision that, if necessary, to retreat during Napoleon’s invasion, the army would not only retreat, but, if possible, expel the population from the abandoned cities and villages, and completely burn the cities and villages with all the reserves available there. The meaning of this action was that in this way the victorious enemy would not be able to take advantage of either entire apartments or food in occupied settlements. It was mainly the Cossack units that had to carry out the burning of cities and villages in the retreat zone. At the beginning of February 1812, Alexander told the Austrian ambassador: “I assume that at the beginning of the war we will face defeat, but I am ready for this; retreating, I will leave behind me a desert; men, women, children, cattle, horses - I will take everyone and everything with me, and the Russian light cavalry has no equal in carrying out such operations.”
While the Russian army was retreating through Lithuania and Belarus, this strategy was not used, since the advancing enemy had many roads at his disposal and, as a rule, did not move along the same routes along which the Russians retreated. The retreating troops had neither the time nor the strength to devastate all of Lithuania and Belarus - and to devastate the areas lying along the retreat route directly turned out to be not a particularly meaningful matter, since their desolation would not bring any damage to the enemy: he walked along other and unknown routes roads. At that time, they were limited mainly to the partial dispersal of the population from those areas from which they could be dispersed, and the burning of populated areas was carried out only sporadically.
However, from the moment the army arrived at Smolensk, it walked along the same road along which the enemy was pursuing it - there were no other routes at its disposal for pursuit. Now the scorched earth strategy made more sense and was immediately applied in full. All the cities and villages through which the army retreated were burned, all the villages on the sides that the patrols managed to reach were burned. The French did not immediately understand what they were faced with - the destruction of military warehouses or bridges during a retreat was commonplace in any war; when changing hands, settlements often caught fire from shooting or the negligence of troops, and sometimes individual houses and neighborhoods were set on fire to directly cover the retreat - but the idea of systematically burning their entire villages and towns simply so that the enemy would not find comforts and food in them when he occupied them - this idea seemed so self-evidently wild to the French that for some time they could not admit that the Russians it is being implemented.
However, I had to believe it. The final insight overtook the French in Vyazma. Here, according to Caulaincourt, “based on the testimony of city residents, we were convinced that all measures for arson and the spread of the fire were taken by the Cossack rearguard detachment long before our arrival, and the arson was done as soon as our troops appeared. Indeed, in various houses, especially in those where there was food, there were flammable materials, methodically prepared and laid out for arson. In a word, we received evidence that in this case there was a fulfillment of measures prescribed from above and prepared in advance - evidence similar to what we already had before and received subsequently. These facts, which had already been reported earlier by some residents of other cities and towns, but which we refused to believe, were then confirmed at every step. Everyone was shocked by this, the emperor as much as the army, although he pretended to laugh at this new type of war.”
The burning of Moscow, prepared by Rostopchin and carried out on his orders (mainly by police servants subordinate to him) was simply another act of execution of this strategy. Then, when meeting with Kutuzov, Napoleon’s envoy, Lauriston, extensively justified the French army to him, assuring that it was not she who burned Moscow, that, on the contrary, it tried to put out the fire. "The French would not defile themselves by such actions even if they occupied London." Kutuzov answered quite calmly that he knew this well, that Moscow was burned down by the Russians themselves, who value Moscow no less and no more than any other city in the empire. Rostopchin, long before the surrender of Moscow, informed the dignitaries with whom he corresponded that if the city was abandoned, he, Rostopchin, would burn it out, and that he had everything prepared for this. In a letter to Bagration dated August 12, apparently , propaganda and intended for distribution in the army, Rostopchin wrote: “... The people here / Moscow /, out of loyalty to the Sovereign and love for the Fatherland, will decisively die at the walls of Moscow and if God does not help him in his good enterprise, then, following the Russian rule, don’t get villain_, will turn the city into ashes and Napoleon will receive instead of booty the place where the capital was. It’s not a bad thing to let him (Napoleon) know about this, so that he doesn’t count millions of stores of bread, for he will find coal and ash.” Rostopchin wrote about the same thing on August 13 to Balashov and (according to Vyazemsky) spoke shortly before leaving Moscow with Chief of Police Kaverin and Karamzin. On the morning of September 1, after a meeting with Kutuzov, Rostopchin told Ermolov, according to the latter’s notes: “If you leave Moscow without a fight, you will see it burning after you!”
About this application of the “scorched earth” strategy to his own country, Napoleon wrote to Alexander (in his usual tone of feigned benevolent teaching addressed to the enemy ruler) on September 8/20, 1812: “The beautiful, magnificent city of Moscow does not exist: Rostopchin burned it down. 400 incendiaries were caught at the scene of the crime, they all announced that they burned on the orders of the governor and the chief of police; they were shot. ..Wanted to take away some funds? ...Be that as it may, how can one decide to destroy a city, one of the most beautiful in the world and a work of centuries, to achieve such an insignificant goal? This is what they did, starting from Smolensk, and sent six hundred thousand families around the world... If I had imagined that such things could have been done by order of Your Majesty, I would not have written you this letter, but I consider it impossible that you, with your principles , with their hearts, with the justice of their ideas, could authorize such extremes,” etc.
The Emperor of the French was wrong, and he was hardly deceived in his soul on this score. The “scorched earth” strategy, including the burning of Moscow, was applied, of course, with the knowledge and order of Alexander. Is it conceivable that Barclay and Rostopchin would systematically burn the cities of the Russian Empire, right up to its second capital, at their own peril and risk, without obtaining the consent of the autocrat, and without incurring any responsibility for this, not even verbal reprimands? Is it conceivable that the emperor, learning about the burning of settlements along the entire retreat zone by the retreating army and the burning of Moscow, would not understand and stop this system and not even make a single comment to the military and civilian dignitaries who carried it out, if this was done differently than with his knowledge? Of course, it was Alexander who prescribed this method of warfare to the army and Rostopchin; as we remember, he warned the Austrians six months in advance that when retreating he would leave a “desert” behind him. As Runich, a famous figure of Alexander’s time, wrote in his memoirs, “for every sane person there is only one way out of the labyrinth in which he found himself, listening to the contradictory opinions that were expressed regarding the fire of Moscow. Undoubtedly, only Emperor Alexander could stop at this measure... Rostopchin only has the glory that he skillfully thought out and carried out one of the greatest plans that arose in the human mind.”
It is interesting to evaluate the effect of all these measures. Russia in 1812 lost 2 million people extinct and killed; of these, the army accounts for about 300,000. The remaining 1.7 million are civilians. The enemy troops, in every conceivable excess, killed no more than a few hundred or thousands of civilians throughout the country; the vast majority of victims are those who died of hunger, disease and cold in the fall and winter as a result of the effective implementation of the “scorched earth” strategy in their own provinces. (In the work of researcher A. Klepov “Why are historians again turning to the topic of the War of 1812?” the following figures are given: “During the war with Napoleon, about three million people died in Russia, while its population at the beginning of the 19th century was about 36 million people, which amounted to 10% of the country's population. (The losses were almost the same as in the USSR in the Patriotic War of 1941-1945.) Of course, in the future this played a huge role in hindering the economic, scientific and technical development of Russia, throwing it back many years” - A.Sh.).
How much did Napoleon lose from this strategy? From Smolensk (including the Battle of Smolensk) to Moscow, the losses of his army were wounded, killed, sick, stragglers, and prisoners (the statistics of Russian losses given above take into account, in contrast, only irretrievable losses - that is, killed, those who died from wounds and those who died from disease, hunger and cold) amounted to approx. 85 thousand people More than half of these losses (including 28 thousand at Borodino, 5 thousand at Shevardino, about 15 thousand at Smolensk and Valutina Gora) fell in battles; a large proportion of the remaining part constitutes the usual sanitary losses for any war of that time, developing at a rapid pace (that is, not specifically caused by the “scorched earth” strategy). During the retreat from Moscow to the Berezina (excluding the Battle of Berezina itself), Napoleon lost (all types of losses are also taken into account here) - 40-45 thousand people; of them, the overwhelming majority can be attributed to the “scorched earth” strategy, since without it Napoleon’s army would not have starved during the retreat and the battles themselves would have taken place completely differently for it (not to mention the fact that, for example, the battles of Maloyaroslavets wouldn't exist at all).
In general, we can assume that the Russian “scorched earth” strategy cost Napoleon about 50 thousand people out of action, out of 610 thousand people he concentrated against Russia (without the convoy, which, however, is not taken into account by the above statistics of composition and loss of parts). Note that in the very first month of the war, from the border to Vitebsk (where, I repeat, “scorched earth” was not used), Napoleon’s troops lost a total of more than 150 thousand people. - almost exclusively from desertion and disease. And in three weeks of December, due to incredible frosts (there were practically no combat losses at that time), the losses of these troops during the retreat from Lithuania across the Neman amounted to approximately 85 thousand people. (these were almost entirely irretrievable losses, since the wounded and prisoners of that time died almost one hundred percent). Russian losses of the civilian population from hunger, disease and cold - the overwhelming majority of them must be attributed to the “scorched earth” strategy - amounted, as already mentioned, to more than one and a half million people
Thus, the “scorched earth” bought the incapacitation of one enemy soldier at the cost of the death of 20-30 people of its own civilian population - and bought, in the overall result of this exchange, the loss of 7-8 percent of the enemy’s troops. These numbers, of course, Alexander and his military leaders could not have known in advance; but what it means to turn one’s own land “into the desert” was clear, and that the population, whose homes and supplies were destroyed, was doomed to spend the winter on pasture in dugouts and die out in droves - this was also clear without any numbers and was cleared up in advance by the emperor.
Napoleon called this method of war “new.” In fact, however, it is not entirely unprecedented for its time, and not too old for ours. In 334 BC. the Greek Memnon, a mercenary commander in the Persian service, in the face of Alexander’s invasion, suggested to the Persian governors of Asia Minor: “We must retreat, trample down pasture with the cavalry, burn the crops and not even spare our cities; Alexander will not be able to stay in a country where there is no food.” The Persian governors unanimously refused, citing the fact that this was “unworthy of the spiritual greatness of the Persians”; one of them declared that “he would not allow even one house of his subjects to burn down,” the rest joined him (as reported by Arrian and Diodorus). By the standards of the Achaemenids, as we see, the strategy of the imp. Alexandra was too criminal an infamy against her own population to be permissible; but the Christian St. Petersburg Empire treated the misfortunes of its population much more easily than the government of the all-Asian despot a little over two millennia earlier...
A couple more words from myself, instead of an epilogue. In 1829, Count Rumyantsev, who owned Tarutino, decided to thank his men for their contribution to the victory over the adversary. He gave them freedom, but with one small condition. In exchange for their freedom, the count obliged the men to chip in for the monument to the military glory of 1812. So, a small change: 44 thousand rubles. To understand the amount we are talking about, I will only say that a cow in those days cost twelve rubles. Like this: first they stripped their houses, left them in the cold, and then they turned out their pockets...
But the patriotic monument in the form of a pillar topped with an eagle still stands today.
To this we can also add the works of Evgeny Ponasenkov about the War of 1812, which are well presented on the Internet.
"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)
As the popular saying goes: “If you want peace, prepare for war.” Here, dear friends, this is what it’s all about. You and I often read catchy headlines in the media, they say, the militants agreed to surrender their weapons, 30 cities came under the control of Syria with the support of Russia, etc. All this is often taken for granted, but how often do we ask the question - at what cost are these victories given to us?
We must understand that the enemy will not return an inch of land just like that. Here, you see, even in football, grown men cry because a couple of balls flew into their goal, and the team was defeated. But this is nothing compared to the defeats that Russia inflicts on the enemy in the Arab Republic. There the stakes are much higher - these are not balls in the net, but human lives, at the cost of which the enemy held their positions for a long time.
Therefore, leaving a city or town is a much greater defeat for them, one might say, a tragedy of their entire life. That is why they fight to the death, to the last bullet, so as not to lose their possessions. Defeating such an opponent at the front is, to put it mildly, very difficult. In this article, we will use a specific example to tell you what incredible efforts our military personnel are making to ensure that beautiful headlines appear in the media the next day.
So, let's recall the chronology of the events of the last week. Exactly a week ago, last weekend, our military personnel met with representatives of the rebels in the city of Busra al-Sham. Then we managed to push our position a little, and the armed groups agreed to surrender their positions. However, the problem is that illegal armed groups in the Arab Republic are like fleas on a stray dog. This is an endless Syrian wedding in Malinovka, where the government changes every day. And it’s not entirely clear with whom to negotiate. Thus, a few days after the deal on July 1, in the middle of the week we again faced a problem - some of the groups refused to accept a peaceful solution. It’s worth mentioning here that Russia’s actions are very tough, but the problem is being solved very quickly. When our military personnel were once again faced with the impenetrable intractability of the militants, we had to resort to radical measures. But first, let's outline what points we couldn't agree on?
Firstly, our side demanded the immediate surrender of all weapons and heavy equipment. The militants insisted on the gradual surrender of weapons, hoping to “clean up their tracks.”
Secondly, the militants demanded the opportunity to freely leave the combat area. This was the case in Eastern Ghouta, when we provided the rebels with “green buses”. But, apparently, our military is quite tired of this practice, since when we release the militants, we later have to fight with these same people in other parts of Syria. Therefore, the requirement is simple - either go over to the side of the Syrian army or be shot.
As a result, the rebels rejected our side's demands. Introducing himself as Alexander, the Russian officer threatened the militants that if they did not agree to the deal, then 40 planes would immediately leave the Khmeimim air base to begin attacks on the rebel positions. This warning did not work, but the officer kept his words. On Wednesday, July 4, an operation by the Russian Aerospace Forces, unprecedented in its scale, began in the southwest. Having started combat missions on Wednesday, our pilots carried out attacks on enemy positions for 15 hours without a break, firing more than 600 missiles during this time. The operation was completed only the next day - Thursday, July 5. Think about the scale of the work done! This is about the price of our victories. But on the same day, Hussein Abazid, representing the interests of the southwestern militant group, said that the rebels were again ready for negotiations. He also complained, saying it’s not fair, Russia is pursuing a “scorched earth” tactic. Negotiations took place again on Friday 6 July. As a result of the meeting, it was agreed that Syrian troops and Russian military police would occupy a number of settlements in the east of Daraa province.
In addition, the most important settlement of Nasib, where the checkpoint of the same name is located on the border with Jordan, came under the control of government troops. In order to achieve local success, the strategically important city of Saida had previously come under the control of the Syrian army in this area. Thus, at the moment, the Syrian-Jordanian border is almost completely controlled by soldiers of the Syrian army and military personnel of the Russian Guard. As for the southern part, where clashes continue, 30 settlements there, on the Russian side’s terms, agreed to join the ceasefire. At the moment, the militants are firmly holding their positions in the west of Daraa - the city of Tafas is under their control. In general, the southwestern front of the militants is doomed to defeat, now it’s only a matter of time. At the moment, more than 60% of the territory of southwest Syria is already under the control of the Syrian army. I would like all this to end as soon as possible. It’s also time to think about people - 320 thousand people have already left their homes. In about three weeks. Of these, approximately 60 thousand are languishing near the Jordanian border.
It's 45 degrees outside. So it's very difficult for people. For our guys, accordingly, the service is not all sugar either.
Scorched earth tactics
Scorched earth tactics- 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 Sun Tzu’s book “The Art of War”. The use of such tactics has been known since antiquity. The 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.
Use of scorched earth tactics before World War II
- Scythian campaign of Darius I
Use of scorched earth tactics in the Great Patriotic War
The use of scorched earth tactics by Wehrmacht troops
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 the entire rolling stock, not leave a single locomotive or a single carriage to the enemy, not leave a single kilogram of bread or a liter of fuel to the enemy. 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 unconditionally 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 partisan warfare everywhere, to blow up bridges, roads, damage telephone and telegraph communications, set fire to forests, warehouses, and carts. In occupied areas, create unbearable conditions for the enemy and all his accomplices, pursue and destroy them at every step, 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 spoken of 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 could demoralize the population, cause discontent with the Soviet regime, upset the rear of the Red Army and create both in the army and among the population a mood of mandatory withdrawal instead of a determination to repel the enemy» .
On November 17, 1941, an Order of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command was issued, obliging “ 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. First of all, for this purpose, use teams of hunters allocated in the regiments» .
Unlike the Wehrmacht troops, the Red Army troops subsequently did not use scorched earth tactics on enemy territory.
Use of scorched earth tactics after World War II
- US Vietnam War. In the 1960s, Americans used herbicides and defoliants, and napalm was also actively used
- Arson of Kuwaiti oil rigs by Iraqi soldiers during the Gulf War
see also
Notes
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
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- (scorched earth policy) An extreme form of the poison pill. A company that finds itself the subject of a takeover bid tries to hide its real balance sheet and profitability and make it look as good as possible... ... Financial Dictionary
scorched earth tactics- An extreme form of the “poison pill”. A company that finds itself the subject of a takeover bid tries to hide its real balance sheet and profitability and make them look as small as possible... ... Technical Translator's Guide
scorched earth policy- Policy (tactics) you/scorched earth Destruction of all living things on the conquered territory... Dictionary of many expressions
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A just, liberation war of the Soviet people for the freedom and independence of the socialist Motherland against fascist Germany and its allies (Italy, Hungary, Romania, Finland, and in 1945 Japan). The war against the USSR was launched... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
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- Scorched earth tactics, Lev Puchkov, The experienced officers of Colonel Ivanov’s group have not yet encountered such a situation. In the quiet Cherny Yar, where they were thrown by the next operational development, a real war is going on. Local chef... Series: Special Forces. Officers Publisher:
ON THE QUESTION OF "SCORCHED EARTH TACTICS"
During the period of intense defensive battles near Moscow, the directive of the command of the Western Front of October 30, 1941 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 the Russian and Soviet armies, other methods of destruction tactics were 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 4,100 railway stations, 36 thousand postal and telegraph institutions, telephone exchanges and other communications enterprises. ; they 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 destroyed 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 the front-line zone up to the border determined by the following settlements: Bely, Komary , railway [oga] 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 a specified radius, immediately deploy 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 means.
<...>
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. | LYAHOHO | --"-- |
| 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. | MAXIKHA | 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