can't that be said for men as well...when a man is killed that could be the end of a bloodline....
It's a pale comparison to a woman (fertile or not. can't really tell on the battlefield). If several men are killed, the remnant can still impregnate several women in a short period of time in order to replenish the population. With women, it's once every 9 months. Like I said before, it's a protection of the species thing.
Furthermore, the stereotypical woman is physically weaker than a man, and any honorable man (such as those in the military) would want to protect them, even if it isn't tactically beneficial.
can't that be said for men as well...when a man is killed that could be the end of a bloodline....True, but a male's (note I didn't say man's) 30 seconds of siring is overwhelmed by a woman's 9 months of pregnacy, and years of breast feeding, and nurturing.
A tribe can lose all but one man and potentialy survive. He can sire scores of children.
Lose all but one woman and the tribe's pretty much doomed...