Total Destruction

Total Destruction is to completely obliterate something, so much as to that it no longer exists.

In warfare this often takes the form of razing cities and killing, enslaving, or driving off the populace. Classic examples include the Greek destruction of Troy and the Roman destruction of Carthage. In the latter case, the Romans were said to have salted the earth to prevent crops from growing in the future.

More recently, nuclear weapons have been developed. One defensive strategy is "Mutual Assured Destruction" (MAD), in which the adversaries know that total destruction of both sides will occur if these weapons are used.