War is not an intellectual activity but a brutally physical one War always tends towards attrition

“War is not an intellectual activity but a brutally physical one. War always tends towards attrition, which is a competition in inflicting and bearing bloodshed, and the nearer attrition approaches to the extreme, the less thought counts. Nevertheless, few who make war at any level, from commander to soldier in the line of battle, seek to win by attrition. All hope for success at lesser cost. Thought offers a means of reducing the price.”

Keegan, John. Intelligence in War. Hutchinson, 2002, p. 303.