The military tactic of destroying everything that might be used by an enemy.
Scorched earth
Fact of the Day
In 1794, women in a village on the Loire responded to a revolutionary talk on divinity by giving the speaker a mass moonie.
Quote of the Day
"Democracy means government by discussion, but it is only effective if you can stop people talking.
"
~ Clement Attlee
On This Day
62 The Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum suffered an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of between 5 and 6. It caused severe damage and was probably a precursor to the Vesuvius eruption of 79CE.
1811 The Regency Act was passed, allowing Prince George of Wales to rule instead of his mad father, George III.
1924 The Greenwich Time Signal, more commonly known as the pips which broadcast at one-second intervals, was first broadcast.
1945 Second World War Special Operations Executive agents Lilian Rolfe, Denise Bloch and Violette Szabo were executed at Ravensbrück concentration camp after being repeatedly interrogated and tortured.
1953 Sweets were taken 'off ration' in Britain, eight years after the end of World War Two.
1971 Apollo 14 landed on the Moon.