Schrecklichkeit (German "terror" or "frightfulness") is a word used by English speakers to describe an assumed military policy of the German Army towards civilians in World War I. It was the basis of German actions during their march through Belgium in 1914. Similar policies were followed later in France, the Russian-held area of Poland, and in Russia. Occupying armies sometimes responded to such attacks by reprisals against the local population: execution of local inhabitants, whether known to be guerrilas or not, or destruction (usually by burning) of homes and other structures.