Total surface sweep

A total surface sweep, also known as a TSS operation, is a military tactic that causes the complete devastation of the surface of a planetary target, eliminating all life, infrastructure, and natural resources.
==Characteristics==
A TSS denotes one of the most severe of various levels of destruction that can be directed against a target world — second only to reducing a planet to an expanding cloud of asteroids. It involves laying waste to an entire planet by orbital bombardment, reducing the upper crust to an ocean of lava, or in extreme cases, going so far as to turn the planet's surface into a raging storm of plasma, making it seem like a small sun until it cools off.
Due to its effects, a TSS is considered a last resort.
==History==
Operations involving surface devastation were recorded from the earliest eras of galactic society. For instance, the Arisracan Mandate laid waste to various planets owned by pirates and terrorists, and numerous worlds were devastated by the Aaltice to eliminate particularly vicious species within their territory; while Boiawan forces obliterated three enemy planets in their history. Many military officers, even those who are seasoned veterans in large campaigns, find the tactic to be at least somewhat unnerving.
TSS operations are mounted primarily against targets that disallow their enemies to gain control by direct attack. Sometimes they are used punitively against particularly stubborn planets where the military in question deems a ground assault too risky for its soldiers, or simply where forces are not available to make a more conventional strike possible.
A number of militaries do not have the TSS as a tactical option due to moral misgivings or political correctness, but many others consider the TSS necessary to succeed in certain scenarios.
==See also==
*Orbital bombardment
Category:Tactics