No. 226 · Strategy · Military and War
War of Attrition
Some contests are won not by the best blow, but by whoever can last the longest.
In the Almanac
“Verdun”, 1916 · “Meituan”, 2015–2020
Both stories in full, three ways to use it and where it misleads.
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Questions
What is War of Attrition?
A War of Attrition is a prolonged conflict where each side tries to wear the other down through sustained losses. The winner is usually whoever has deeper reserves, more patience or lower costs.
How do you use War of Attrition?
Before entering a long fight, count your reserves and your opponent's. Use attrition on your side to wear down bad habits with small, steady wins. And in feuds or disputes, ask whether victory is worth the cost, or whether settling early is wiser.
When does War of Attrition matter?
War of Attrition is one of the 56 mental models for strategy, the situations where you ask: How do I win when others want the same thing? Within that, it belongs to “Competing with rivals”, alongside Arms Race, Asymmetric Warfare and Beachhead Strategy.
What is an example of War of Attrition?
Two stories show it at work: Verdun (1916) and Meituan (2015–2020). Both are told in full in The Mental Models Daily Almanac, which has two stories for each of its 365 models.
Which mental models are related to War of Attrition?
Pyrrhic Victory, Sunk Cost Fallacy and Zero-Sum vs Win-Win. War of Attrition itself comes from military and war.