This is indeed well written and thoughtful - I never used to read battle scenes, ever, if I could help it, but thanks to Ken Lizzi (and Raj!) I've been trying to broaden my horizons. You remind me in a good way of Lizzi's latest, "Boss," which I blogged about here. Warriors tend to hate war as much as I do, but they fight because someone has to, though I keep wishing we could resolve conflicts without bloodshed. As do we all.
Scenes like this just set my teeth on edge: The dust settled, and only then did I notice the absence of sounds. Just moans of the wounded. Soldiers ran out of the complex, and behind them were two horses pulling a wagon for the wounded. Ridiculous!! War is too stupid!!!