THE American Civil War And The Strategy Of Attrition, 1861-65

The American Civil War is a leading example of attritional war. The Union's material superiority and control of public opinion, as well as tactical and organisational dominance, led to the surrender of the Confederacy, and its complete physical, moral, economic and financial collapse. It is imp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inRUSI Journal Vol. 156; no. 3; pp. 88 - 95
Main Author Reid, Brian Holden
Format Journal Article Trade Publication Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Taylor & Francis Group 01.06.2011
Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies
Subjects
American Civil War
Military history
Military strategy
Public opinion
United Kingdom > UK
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Summary:The American Civil War is a leading example of attritional war. The Union's material superiority and control of public opinion, as well as tactical and organisational dominance, led to the surrender of the Confederacy, and its complete physical, moral, economic and financial collapse. It is important to remember, however, that the American Civil War was in many important respects quite different from the World Wars - and hence when we evaluate the use of attrition, we must do so through the historical lens of the nineteenth century.
ISSN:0307-1847
1744-0378
DOI:10.1080/03071847.2011.591103