| |
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 and materiel. The word attrition comes
from the Latin root atterere to rub against, similar to the "grinding
down" of the opponent's forces in attrition warfare.
Strategic considerations:
Attrition warfare represents an attempt to grind down an opponent's ability to
make war by destroying their military resources by any means including
guerrilla warfare, people's war, scorched earth and all kind of battles apart
from a decisive battle Attrition warfare does not include all kinds of
Blitzkrieg or using concentration of force and a decisive battle to win. The
side that reinforces his army at a higher speed will normally win the war.
Clausewitz called it the exhaustion of the adversary.
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.
Sun Tzu has stated, that there is no country that has benefitted from prolonged
warfare, but Russia in 1812 won the war with attrition warfare against
Napoleon. When attritional methods have worn down the enemy sufficiently to
make other methods feasible, attritional methods are often complemented or even
abandoned by other strategies. But in World War I military commanders on both
sides relied on attrition warfare resulting in terrible casualties without a
strategic result.
The difference between war of attrition and other forms of war is somewhat
artificial since even a single battle normally contains an element of
attrition. One can be said to pursue a strategy of attrition if one makes it
the main goal to cause gradual attrition to the opponent eventually amounting
to unacceptable or unsustainable levels for the opponent while limiting one's
own gradual losses to acceptable and sustainable levels. That should be seen as
opposed to other main goals such as the conquest of some resource or territory
or an attempt to cause the enemy great losses in a single stroke (such as by
encirclement and capture). Attrition warfare also tries to increase the
friction in a war for the opponent.
Examples in history:
Animated map of the Russian campaign One of the best visual representations of
a war based on attrition warfare was created by Minard. It shows the steady
decrease of the number of soldiers of the French Grande Armée during the
course of the war. Minard's map of French casualties see also Attrition warfare
against Napoleon Minard's map of French casualties see also Attrition warfare
against Napoleon The French invasion of Russia (1812) is a textbook example how
elements of attrition warfare interfered with Napoleon's military logistics and
won the war without a decisive battle.
Best known:
The best-known example of attrition warfare might be on the Western Front
during World War I. Both military forces found themselves in static defensive
positions in trenches running from Switzerland to the English Channel. For
years, without any opportunity for maneuvers, the only way the commanders
thought that they could defeat the enemy was to repeatedly attack head on and
grind the other down. One of the most enduring examples of attrition warfare on
the Western Front is the Battle of Verdun, which took place throughout most of
1916. 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. Falkenhayn is described as wanting to "bleed France white"
and thus the attrition tactics were employed in the battle. Attritional warfare
in World War I has been shown by historians such as Hew Strachan to have been
used as a post hoc ergo propter hoc excuse for failed offensives. Contemporary
sources disagree with Strachan's view on this. While the Christmas Memorandum
is a post-war invention, the strategy of attritional warfare was the original
strategy for the battle.
Most unusual :
An example in which one side used attrition warfare to neutralize the other
side's advantage in maneuverability and unit tactics occurred during the latter
part of the American Civil War, when Union general Ulysses S. Grant pushed the
Confederate Army continually, in spite of losses; he correctly predicted that
the Union's far superior and more numerous supplies and manpower would
overwhelm the Confederacy to the point of collapse, even if the casualty ratio
was unfavorable.
List of wars :
Scythian tactics during the European Scythian campaign of Darius I of 513 BC,
which was in deep steppes retreat, avoiding a direct confrontation with Darius
I's army, while spoiling the wells and pastures. The Athenians, who were weaker
in land warfare during the Peloponnesian War, employed attrition warfare using
their navy. The "delaying" tactics of Quintus Fabius Maximus
Verrucosus (surnamed "Cunctator", the delayer) against Hannibal
during the Second Punic War. Muhammad Tapar's campaign against the Nizaris of
Alamut in 1109–1118 Second Mongol invasion of Hungary in 1285 and 1286
Fall of Tenochtitlan by Hernán Cortés in 1521 Swedish invasion of
Russia in 1708 The American strategy during the American Revolutionary War The
latter portion of the American Civil War, notably the siege of Vicksburg, the
overland campaign, and the siege of Petersburg The Attrition warfare against
Napoleon in the French invasion of Russia by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1812 The
Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) Tonnage war in the Atlantic and Pacific
during World War II The Air battle for Great Britain in World War II after the
bombing of London Static battles in World War II, including Soviet urban
defense during the Battle of Stalingrad Battle of Tabu-dong, and the final two
years of the Korean War The Vietnam War (Body count) The "Long War"
during the Provisional IRA's armed campaign against the British Army during the
Troubles. The Israeli–Egyptian War of Attrition from 1967–1970. The
Soviet–Afghan War The later phases of the Iran–Iraq War The War in
Afghanistan (2001–2021) The Sri Lankan Civil War after 2005 The 2011
Libyan civil war Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present) The Syrian
Civil War[12](2011–present), in particular the Battle of Aleppo. The fight
of the Polisario Front in Western Sahara against the Moroccan Army
(2020-present).
|
|
