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In reply to the discussion: Ukrainian city demolishes monument to Russian general who beat Napoleon. [View all]EX500rider
(10,935 posts)..."In 1812 Czar Alexander I was able to render Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Russia useless by utilizing a scorched-earth retreat method, similar to that made by the Portuguese.[19] As Russian forces withdrew from the advancing French army, they burned the countryside (and, allegedly, Moscow[20]) over which they passed, leaving nothing of value for the pursuing French army. Encountering only desolate and useless land Napoleon's Grand Army was prevented from using its accustomed doctrine of living off the lands it conquered. Pushing relentlessly on despite dwindling numbers, the Grand Army met with disaster as the invasion progressed. Napoleon's army arrived in a virtually abandoned Moscow, which was a tattered starving shell of its former self due largely to the use of scorched-earth tactics by retreating Russians. Having essentially conquered nothing, Napoleon's troops diminished. Tragically, the effects of this policy on the civilian population in those areas in which it was applied was equally, if not more, devastating than they were on the Grande Armée."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorched_earth#Napoleonic_Wars