In World War II, the "scorched earth" policy in retreat was first applied by the .....?

Operation Barbarossa, original name Operation Fritz, during World War II, was the code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union. It was launched on June 22, 1941. The failure of German troops to defeat Soviet forces in this campaign signaled a crucial turning point in World War II. A key reason for this failure resulted from the Russians using their scorched-earth policy.

The Russians' policy in this case was a military warfare prevention strategy where it involved removing or destroying everything that might be useful to an invading enemy, the Germans. This policy was especially enhanced by using fire.

By mid-July 1941, the Germans began to be hampered by the scorched-earth policy adopted by the retreating Russians. The Soviet troops burned crops, destroyed bridges, and evacuated factories in the face of the German advance. Entire steel and munitions plants in the westernmost portions of the U.S.S.R. were dismantled and shipped by rail to the east, where they were put back into production. The Soviets also destroyed or evacuated most of their rolling stock (railroad cars), thus depriving the Germans of the use of the Soviet rail system.

By denying or destroyed anything that the Germans might use to aid them in beating Russia, the war ended with the Russians winning in 1945 when they took Berlin.