But, but…that’s not even true!
War by its very definition consists of dominating the enemy by killing more of them than they do of you, or at least more of them than they are prepared to lose.
In any real-world conflict, nobody above a non-com’s pay grade gives a monkey’s about conserving the lives of troops on the ground.
And I can think of about 50 ways that killing people costs LESS than saving lives.
“Military codes of honour” are simply trumped-up propaganda deployed by TPTB to convince gullible middle and lower management that it’s OK to perform stupid and inhuman acts endangering their lives and the lives of others, taking risks and ignoring all reasonable measures of self-preservation, all in the service of some phony ideal.
As I pretty much stated in my very first post here, Finno, I don’t see any difference between these levels of honour you’re referencing.
They’re all equally reprehensible.