Attrition warfare

"War of attrition" redirects here. For other uses, see War of attrition (disambiguation).

Attrition warfare is a form of military strategy in which one side attempts to gradually wear down its opponent to the point of collapse by inflicting continuous losses in personnel, materiel, and morale. The term attrition is derived from the Latin word atterere, meaning "to wear down" or "to rub against", reflecting the grinding nature of the strategy.

Strategic considerations

Attrition warfare seeks to erode an opponent’s capacity to wage war by systematically destroying their military resources, morale, and logistics over time. This may involve guerrilla warfare, people's war, scorched earth tactics, or prolonged engagements short of a decisive battle. It contrasts with strategies such as blitzkrieg or force concentration, which aim to achieve rapid victory through overwhelming power in a single decisive engagement. As Clausewitz described, it is a strategy of exhausting the adversary’s will and capability to fight.

A combatant facing a significant disadvantage may deliberately adopt an attritional approach to offset the enemy’s superior firepower, mobility, or resources. Sun Tzu warned that “no nation has ever benefited from prolonged warfare,” yet historical cases such as Russia’s successful attritional campaign against Napoleon in 1812 demonstrate how deliberate resource depletion can lead to strategic victory under the right conditions.

Attritional methods are sometimes employed to degrade the enemy to the point where alternative strategies—such as maneuver warfare or concentrated offensives—become viable. At this stage, attrition may be abandoned or supplemented. In World War I, however, commanders on both sides relied excessively and ineffectively on attritional tactics, resulting in enormous casualties with minimal strategic gains.

The boundaries between attrition and other forms of warfare are often blurred, as most battles involve elements of attrition. Nonetheless, a formal attrition strategy is distinct in its focus on inflicting sustained, cumulative losses—through encirclement, prolonged operations, or disruption of supply and morale—rather than seeking a swift, decisive victory.

While attrition warfare may seem favorable for nations with greater resources or asymmetric strategic depth, it carries significant risks. Chief among them is the time required to achieve results. Prolonged conflicts can lead to changing geopolitical conditions, shifts in public support, or opportunities for the adversary to adapt tactically and strategically.J. Boone Bartholomees Jr. (Spring 2010). "The Issue of Attrition". armywarcollege.edu. Retrieved 26 June 2023.

Some campaigns are mistakenly characterized as textbook cases of attrition when they may be better understood as reactive or improvised strategies. For example, during the Battle of Britain, Germany’s shift from targeting RAF infrastructure to bombing British cities (the Blitz) adopted elements of attritional thinking—particularly in targeting morale. However, this shift was not part of a deliberate, long-term attritional strategy. Rather, it was a reactive decision born from the Luftwaffe's failure to destroy British air power and the expectation of quick political collapse. Germany lacked the industrial depth and logistical endurance typically required for a true attrition campaign, and the strategy ultimately failed to achieve its objectives.

While attrition warfare can succeed under certain conditions, it can also lead to strategic overextension or collapse if misapplied—such as in the case of Athens during the Peloponnesian War or Germany’s air campaign in 1940.

Examples in history

Most typical

Animated map of the Russian campaign

The French invasion of Russia in 1812 is often cited as a textbook example of attrition warfare. The Russian army avoided direct, decisive engagements and instead disrupted Napoleon’s military logistics, drew his forces deeper into hostile territory, and used the environment to erode the strength of the Grande Armée. Ultimately, Russia secured victory not through a single conclusive battle, but by systematically degrading the invading force over time.

One of the most compelling visual representations of this strategy is the famous chart by Charles Joseph Minard, which graphically depicts the catastrophic decline in French troop numbers during the campaign.

Minard's map of French casualties; see also Attrition warfare against Napoleon

Best known

The Battle of Verdun resulted in over 700,000 casualties.

Perhaps the most well-known example of attrition warfare is the fighting on the Western Front during World War I. The war devolved into trench warfare, with defensive positions stretching from Switzerland to the English Channel. In the absence of maneuver warfare, commanders on both sides resorted to repeated frontal assaults in an attempt to grind down the opposing forces.

A notable case is the Battle of Verdun in 1916. German Chief of Staff Erich von Falkenhayn is often associated with a strategy of deliberate attrition, later claiming that his objective was not to capture the city but to destroy the French Army in its defense. He reportedly aimed to “bleed France white,” making Verdun a prime example of attritional warfare tactics.

Attritional dynamics also characterized the Italian Front, particularly in the Battles of the Isonzo. Between June 1915 and November 1917, both sides engaged in a series of offensives along the Isonzo River that yielded high casualties but limited strategic gain.

Ukrainian soldier in a trench during the Battle of Bakhmut.

Contemporary conflicts have also demonstrated characteristics of attrition warfare. The Russo-Ukrainian War, particularly battles such as the protracted engagement over Bakhmut, has involved prolonged combat, high casualties, and resource depletion on both sides.Hussain, Murtaza (9 March 2023). "The War in Ukraine Is Just Getting Started". The Intercept.

Some historians, including Hew Strachan, have argued that the label of “attrition warfare” in World War I has been over-applied—used post hoc to justify failed offensives. According to this interpretation, the strategy of attrition was often not a deliberate choice, but rather a rationalization after the fact. However, other sources suggest that in some cases—such as Falkenhayn’s planning at Verdun—attrition *was* the intended strategy from the outset.

List of wars

Approximately 750,000 soldiers were killed over four years during the American Civil War.

Clear examples of attrition warfare

These conflicts or campaigns were explicitly guided by attritional strategies aimed at wearing down the enemy's resources, manpower, or morale.

• The Peloponnesian War, particularly Athens' naval strategy to avoid land battles and stretch Spartan resources.
• The \"Fabian strategy\" of Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus against Hannibal during the Second Punic War.
• The French invasion of Russia in 1812, where Russian forces avoided large battles and used scorched earth tactics to degrade Napoleon’s army.
• The latter phase of the American Civil War, notably the Overland Campaign, Siege of Vicksburg, and Siege of Petersburg.
• The World War I Western Front, including trench warfare, the Battle of Verdun, and the Battles of the Isonzo.
• The Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), a prolonged war of mutual depletion with no decisive breakthrough.
• The Vietnam War, with both American body-count-focused strategy and the North Vietnamese protracted people's war model.
• The War of Attrition between Israel and Egypt (1967–1970).
• The urban siege of the Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016) during the Syrian civil war.
• The Tigray War (2020–2022), characterized by scorched earth tactics and siege warfare.
• The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, particularly battles such as Bakhmut, where Russian forces shifted toward an attritional strategy."Ukraine war in maps: Tracking the Russian invasion". BBC News. 20 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.

Partial or phase-based examples

These conflicts featured significant phases of attrition, though it was not the dominant or exclusive strategy across the entire war.

• The American Revolutionary War, where Continental forces pursued a long-term survival strategy to exhaust British resolve.
• The Spanish Civil War (1938–1939), during its later phase.
• The Second Sino-Japanese War, particularly Chinese strategic withdrawals and war of endurance tactics.
• Stalingrad in World War II: Soviet urban defense and strategic bleeding of German forces.
• The Yugoslav Wars, especially the Siege of Sarajevo and prolonged combat in Bosnia.
• The Sri Lankan Civil War (post-2005), with drawn-out sieges and depletion campaigns against the LTTE.
• The Soviet–Afghan War, where Mujahideen inflicted slow, grinding losses on Soviet forces.
• The War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), particularly in its middle and late phases, involving protracted insurgency and gradual depletion of NATO resolve.
• The Gaza War (2023–present), marked by extended urban combat, siege tactics, and asymmetric attrition on both sides.

Contested or questionable examples

These conflicts are frequently cited in attrition contexts but may not meet the threshold due to a lack of strategic intent, unclear goals, or other dominant warfare modes.

• Scythian tactics during the European Scythian campaign of Darius I (513 BC) — avoidance and scorched earth tactics, but not clearly framed as long-term attrition.
• The Fall of Tenochtitlan (1521) — more of a siege and shock campaign than sustained attritional warfare.
• The Swedish invasion of Russia (1708) — needs stronger sourcing to qualify.
• Philippine–American War (late phase) — underdocumented.
• The Battle of Britain — reactive bombing campaign rather than true attrition strategy.
• The Libyan Civil War (2011) — fast-paced and politically driven, not guided by attritional doctrine.
• The Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present) — prolonged but lacking clear attritional framing.
• The Polisario Front conflict in Western Sahara — limited documentation of a sustained attritional model.

Conflicts in this category may warrant deeper historical review or can be moved to a footnote section for further discussion.

See also

• Fabian strategy
• Demoralization (warfare)
• Guerrilla warfare
• Asymmetric warfare
• Human wave attack
• Pyrrhic victory
• Loss Exchange Ratio
• Maneuver warfare
• New generation warfare
• Flypaper theory (strategy)
• Mexican standoff
• No-win situation
• Winner's curse
• Win-win game

References

• Clausewitz, Carl von (1873). On War. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
• DiGiovanni, Janine (2012). "Bleary-Eyed Troops Fight a Building at a Time in Syria". New York Times. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
• firstworldwar (1916). "Erich von Falkenhayn on the Battle of Verdun". Retrieved 3 April 2021.
• Foley, Robert (1916). "A New Form of Warfare? Erich von Falkenhayn's Plan for Victory, 1916". Retrieved 16 March 2018.
• Handel, Michael I. (2003). Strategic Logic and Political Rationality: Essays in Honor of Michael I. Handel. Psychology Press. p. 80. ISBN 9780714654843. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
• idlocgov (2022). "Attrition (Military science)". Retrieved 27 August 2022.
• Kaye, C.A. (1957). "Military Geology in the United States Sector of the European Theater of Operations during World War II". Geological Society of America Bulletin. 68 (1): 47. Bibcode:1957GSAB...68...47K. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1957)68[47:MGITUS]2.0.CO;2. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
• McPherson, James (1988). Battle Cry of Freedom. Oxford University Press. p. 734. ISBN 1442097515. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
• Merriam Webster Dictionary (2021). "attrition". Retrieved 3 April 2021.
• Murray, Nicholas (2021). "Attrition Warfare". Retrieved 3 April 2021.
• nctimes (2012). "Airstrikes turn Libya conflict into battle of attrition". Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
• Sun Tzu (2004). The Art of War. Retrieved 3 April 2021.