Attrition warfare

Attrition warfare is a military strategy consisting of belligerent attempts to win a war by wearing down the enemy to the point of collapse through continuous losses in personnel, materiel and morale.

[5] A side that perceives itself to be at a marked disadvantage may deliberately seek out attrition warfare to neutralize its opponent's advantages over time.

[7] While attrition warfare might appear to be a strategic option for combatants possessing greater resources or asymmetric advantages over their adversaries, it also carries considerable drawbacks.

Perhaps the most common reason for failure of attrition warfare is related to the time required to fulfill one's war goals.

The geopolitical and strategic situation may shift dramatically over long periods of time, potentially giving the opponent an edge if victory is not achieved soon enough.

Erich von Falkenhayn later claimed that his tactics at Verdun were designed not to take the city but rather to destroy the French Army in its defense.

Animated map of the Russian campaign
The Battle of Verdun resulted in over 700,000 casualties.
Ukrainian soldier in a trench during the Battle of Bakhmut . Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the Russo-Ukrainian War since February 2022. [ 12 ]
Approximately 750,000 soldiers were killed over four years during the American Civil War .
The Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988) killed more than 500,000 people before a UN-brokered ceasefire ended it.