I'm not sure the Pacific War was really a "war of attrition," at least on the American side.
That usually implies a conflict in which both sides are up against their manpower and resource limitations and victory goes to whoever can hold out the longest anyway.
In actual fact, of course, American strength did not degrade during the course of the war but instead increased steadily throughout. The Japanese were remarkably ineffective at even inflicting heavy casualties on US forces, after their initial six months of running wild.
Japan lost 3.5% to 4.5% of its population during the war, the US only .32%, and it was also fighting in Europe.
see post 24...