A battle of attrition is a military engagement in which neither side has any tactical advantage, so that the only result of the fighting is the loss of men and materiel on both sides. Battles of attrition can be very lengthy, and test both sides' ability and willingness to make good their losses. Tactics is the collective name for methods of winning a small-scale conflict, performing an optimization, etc. ... Materiel (from the French for material) is the equipment and supplies in Military and commercial supply chain management. ...

Notable battles of attrition include:

• Trench warfare in the American Civil War, notably the Siege of Petersburg.
• Trench warfare in World War I, including the Battle of the Somme (1916), the Battle of Verdun and many others.
• Static battles in World War II, including the first phases of the Battle of Stalingrad.
• The War of Attrition between Egypt and Israel.

Trench Warfare is a form of war in which both opposing armies have static lines of fortifications dug into the ground, facing each other. ... Combatants Union (remaining U.S. states) Confederate States of America Commanders Abraham Lincoln† Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,200 Casualties KIA: 110,100 Total dead: 359,500 Wounded: 275,200 KIA: 94,000 Total dead: 258,000 Wounded: 137,000+  The... Combatants United States of America Confederate States of America Commanders Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee Strength average of 86,000 average of 52,000 Casualties 7,850 in the trenches (see main battle articles for further casualties) unknown The Siege of Petersburg (June 15, 1864 – April 2, 1865) was... Combatants Allies: Serbia, Russia, France, Romania, Belgium, British Empire, United States, Italy, and others Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead:5 million Civilian dead:3 million Total dead:8 million Military dead:4 million Civilian dead:3 million Total dead:7 million The First World... Combatants United Kingdom France Canada India Newfoundland New Zealand South Africa Australia German Empire Commanders Douglas Haig Ferdinand Foch Max von Gallwitz Fritz von Below Strength 13 British & 6 French divisions (initial) 51 British divisions (final) 10. ... Combatants France Germany Commanders Philippe Pétain Robert Nivelle Erich von Falkenhayn Strength About 30,000 on 21 February 1916 About 150,000 on 21 February 1916 Casualties 378,000; of whom 120,000 dead 337,000; of whom 100,000 dead The Battle of Verdun was a major battle... A battle where both sides suffer heavy casuaties and battlefronts jump so quickly thats its static ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... Combatants Axis Powers Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein Friedrich Paulus Hermann Hoth Georgy Zhukov Vasily Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilevsky Strength German Sixth Army German Fourth Panzer Army Romanian Third Army Romanian Fourth Army Hungarian Second Army Italian Eighth Army 500,000 Germans Unknown number Reinforcements Unknown number Axis-allies Stalingrad... The War of Attrition was a limited war fought between Egypt and Israel from 1968 to 1970. ...

See also

• War of attrition
• Pyrrhic victory