burn the boat

In the late years of the Qin Dynasty (秦朝,221 - 206BC), Xiang Yu (项羽) launched a rebellion. 

After crossing the Zhang River (漳河), Xiang Yu ordered his soldiers to sink all the boats and break their cooking pots.

He distributed each soldier three days' rations and warned them that there was no way return; the only thing they could do to survive was to fight against the enemy.

After nine furious war, the Qin army was finally defeated.

This idiom is used to reveal one's strong determination to achieve one's goal at any cost.