But it is an unfortunate fact of warfare that this decision is only rarely in the hands of the soldier and instead belongs to the officers above him.
The ones who fight the war are not the ones who start it. The ones who benefit most never see battle. Those who lose the most are those that couldn't fight back. Luckily, civilians seem to be non-existant in this world, so that's one less horror of war to deal with.

"It is good that war is so horrible...."
The worse it is, the fewer want it. I enjoy Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics. I hate Advanced Wars and Chess. The first two reward you for guarding every unit as much as posible. The last two treats them as throw aways. I don't like having units die, even if it is good strategy. I know that sunds wimpy, but I don't want to sacrifice soemthing, even if it's not real (as far as I know), just to further my own goals. It's way to selfish for me.