I have this story on a forum, The Tolkien Forum. Just to avoid being accused of stealing.

     An empty stillness, filled only with the sound of blowing snow, pervaded the camp. The pale grey-blue of twilight was fading into darkness as a solitary sentry gazed up at the city of Valash, which crowned the top of a grey plateau that rose like a wave above the white plains. The sentry blinked and used his hands as a shield to ward snow from his eyes.
      " How long will I stand here?" He muttered " I bet they're huddled up in their tents, cozy and all, while I stand here half-frozen, to keep watch so that those ungrateful men can sleep safe from a surprise raid tonight! I bet Nevsky forgot all about getting my soup!"
      His stomach growled, and he stomped his feet, from both frustration and as a futile attempt to warm his sluggish body. A soft crunching of snow behind him and the smell of something savoury wafting towards him aroused the sentry from lethargy.
      "Why are you so late, Nevsky?" He growled.
      Shivering with more than cold, Nevsky replied: "I-I'm sorry, Hideoshi, but Galen heard a rumour-"        
     "Camp rumour," scoffed Hideoshi,"and by Galen, too! Hah! Wasn't he the one that told everybody that we'd be home before autumn?"
      "Yes, but-," continued Nevsky, nonplussed,"- There's going to be another attack on the city tomorrow, and they're going to send some soldiers the climb up the sides of the plateau, while the rest of us storm the main gate. You'll be with the mountain climbers for sure."
      " Not another scheme! None of 'em have worked so far! Those generals need a reality check!"
      "What are we in the war for, anyway?" Asked Nevsky.
      "Well, the city of Valash, although it's a human city, is a smuggling point for the evil Fairies or Mazovians to raid our country. So, supposedly, taking out the city will stop the raids."
      "Do you think it will work, Hideoshi?"
      "I can't say."
      Suddenly. A loud whoosh flew over their heads, a great thud landed in the camp behind them,and an enormous explosion filled the stillness about them. Great clouds of snow, clods of dirt, tents, men, and other items were hurtled into the air. A great orange ball of flames, seething, billowed, then fizzled and died in the snow.
      "Blasted cannons!" Fumed Hideoshi.
      A loud cry sounded: " Pack the tents, then move forward! We attack Valash tonight!"
      "Now your supper is wasted!" Groaned Nevsky.
      Hideoshi laughed. "No, it isn't!"-and gulped down the soup.
      Another cannonball crashed into the camp. Soldiers scurried about in panic, dashing here and there, packing up camp. More cannonballs fell into their midst. Hideoshi and Nevsky dashed frantically to the kitchen tent, but Nevsky tripped while they ran.
      "Ahh! What's this?" He cried. He glanced at the obstacle in the snow that tripped him, and he blanched.    "Someone's asleep in the snow!"
      Hideoshi groaned. "Boy, you're really green! He's dead, probably killed by one of those cannonballs."   He looked back at Nevsky, and saw him standing dumbly, staring wildly at the corpse.
      "Yes, people are killed out here, silly!" Hideoshi shouted. "Now snap out of it and run,unless you want to keep him company!"
      He looked back again. Nevsky finally began to walk towards him, but he trembled violently, his face contorting with emotion.
      "He's one of the types that either goes mad, kills themselves, or gets killed, if they don't man up," mused Hideoshi.
      "Be glad it wasn't summer," was all Hideoshi said outwardly.
      At last they reached the kitchen tent, which they broke down rapidly and bundled up into a coarse sack. Other soldiers had already borne away the kitchen ware. Hideoshi and Nevsky hoisted the sack onto their shoulders, and trudged off, following the haphazard column of men that was heading to the nearby forest.   Snow whipped round then, confounding their sight in the dark grey light that grew ever darker. The wind penetrated them, sapping what little warmth they still had within them.
      They entered the pine forest, scarce noting the tall trees whose trunks stood straight as arrow shafts, except to avoid running into them. About them, they heard the trudging of other soldiers, heavy breathing, and the eerie moan of the wind in the trees.
      "Hideoshi?" Asked Nevsky, partly to reassure himself that his companion was truly there.
      "Yes?"
      " Well," Nevsky mumbled, "how come you're not afraid-of the war, that is?"
      Hideoshi trudged on, bewildered. What should he tell to this novice of warfare?
      Memories began to flash in his mind. The screams of wounded, dying men in their last agony. The panic that seized him before each battle. The wild frenzy of killing so that he would not be killed.
      "I'm not really brave," he replied. "I just got used to it all. People can get used to about anything."