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[[File:Bradley Square.jpg|right|300px|thumb|[[NATO war in Ukraine]]: a 21st century war of attrition.]]

[[File:Bradley Square.jpg|right|300px|thumb|[[NATO war in Ukraine]]: a 21st century war of attrition.]]

A '''war of attrition''' is a war in which the competing sides seek to win by exhausting the enemy's resources, rather than by a decisive battlefield victory. Such wars tend to be long-lasting, with relatively static battlefronts. Probably the best modern example of a war of attrition was the conflict on the [[Western Front]] in the [[First World War]] (1914-1918); another is the [[Iran-Iraq War]] (1980-1988). Wars often start out as [[maneuver warfare]], but some turn into wars of attrition.

A '''war of attrition''' is a military strategy "which seeks to gradually erode the combat power of the enemy's armed forces."

<ref>[http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a40096/definitions-of-strategies/ There Are Three (And Only Three) Types of Military Strategy] by Robert Bateman</ref>

No war is by intention a war of attrition; rather, the aggressor almost invariably expects a swift victory ([[Germany]] invading [[Belgium]] and [[France]] in 1914, Germany invading the [[USSR]] in 1941, the Allies invading [[Italy]] in 1943, [[Iraq]] invading [[Iran]] in 1980, [[terrorists]] attacking the [[United States]] in 2001), and it is only once such hopes are disappointed that a war takes on an attritional character.

Attrition warfare is a strategy that is often employed by the side with the greater resources.<ref>[http://www.military-sf.com/typesofwar.htm Types of War], www.military-sf.com, undated (accessed 20 January 2007)</ref>

In a war of attrition, countries ramp up their production of arms. In addition, countries often bomb the opposition's war production facilities in order to stop the enemy from resupplying (Unless it's a nuclear power.). In some cases, such as WWII, key components of a country's war machine capabilities such as oil production are restricted. Furthermore, various means are used to harm an enemy's economy such as economic sanctions.  

One of the better known examples of a war of attrition was the conflict on the [[Western Front]] in the [[First World War]] (1914-1918); another is the [[Iran-Iraq War]] (1980-1988). Another is the [[Operation Prosperity Guardian]] (2023-2025).

==21st century wars of attrition==

==21st century wars of attrition==

Although wars of attrition can be won eventually often it is at great cost to the victors.  A [[pyrrhic victory]] is a victory that comes at such a high cost that it's questionable if it was worth it.

Although wars of attrition can be won eventually often it is at great cost to the victors.  A [[pyrrhic victory]] is a victory that comes at such a high cost that it's questionable if it was worth it.

==See also==

==See also==

[[Category:Wars]]

[[Category:Wars]]