You misapprehend me, sir.
I‘m very sorry, but I am with BenLurkin on this issue.
No doubt about it, sometimes it’s forced upon you, and as a last resort, it’s sometimes unavoidable.
Still, I think that was not really the point of this discussion.
Instead, it was the fact that war is always dreadful - I believe even the bravest soldier would never say that war is not terrible.
Especially, since most war dead bear no guilt personally; if they did, why would war (almost always) claim the lives of so many small children and infants?
I think SaveFerris said it well. Satan laughs, meaning: in the course of a war, there is normally, as hostilities keep continuing, an escalation of brutality which sweeps along most people, who under normal circumstances would not even have hurt a fly.
Thus, more sins are committed, even by otherwise good people, and Satan uses his chance, eventually „catching“ the sinners by their sins…😔
That’s also what Gryphius implied at the end of the poem which I have quoted…
Really? Which wars have you served in?