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They never made it clear that they always use attrition. It is clear though that they use it MOST of the time.

I wouldn't say always, aren't the Elysians more of an drop in, kill things and get out kind of Regiment? I remember from the 1st Word Bearers book that they commented on it being a waste to use their skills in a slugging match.

The imperial Guard covers every type of army one can imagine.
Attrition is the IG's "home turf", but all these tracked vehicles and skimmers
allow also a more mobile warfare.
May depend on the HQ of a IG force if the war
is executed as meatgrinder or if strategy and tactics were used.

Attrition is used by most "generic" IG regiments, but some of the named regiments have a specialty.

Catachan specialize in guerrilla/jungle warfare (think Vietnam)

Elysian Drop-troops specialize in airborne raids. On Lexicanum it actually says that they don't have efficient enough supply lines for protracted campaigns.

Cadians use attrition sometimes, but they have stormtroopers and karskin that can perform special forces type roles.

Steel Legion, Valhaalan Ice Warrios, the Death Korps of Krieg, and many others mainly use attrition style warfare.

I think it means "overall" the Imperial Guard as a whole uses its near endless size to crush its foes. When on a battle field level, it's more like pounding down the hard elements with a torrent of firepower and mopping up the rest.

The imperial guard can in most cases afford attrition warfare. I would imagine that if they wanted a planet to capitulate quckly and quietly they would send in the space marines to cut the head off.

The Tallarn use hit-and-run tactics... emerging out of the desert to do devastating damage and then retreating to where the enemy can't hit them.

Lexicanum.com says the following about Ursarkar E. Creed:

"His greatest strength however, is his knowledge of how a Cadian army should fight, not expending life to get the job done, but using each life as effectively as possible. He mixed resolute defence with extreme counter-attacks, proving himself as capable of leading an army as a platoon. "

Attrition would be a bad strategy against Orks or Tyranids, who are seeding the planet with spores all the time.

It wouldn't work against Eldar, Dark Eldar or Tau. They can't engage in attrition because they have low numbers so they will use their mobility to avoid it.

It doesn't work against Chaos because they can constantly be renewed from with the Warp and the Eye of Terror.

It would work against Necrons, since they can only renew themselves from within their tomb complexes and suffer degradation with every cycle of renewal.