What is the plot of "An Episode of War"?

This is an excellent short story, and it will not take you
much time to read it, so please don't use this summary as a substitute for reading it
yourself.

The story opens with the sight of an army
lieutenant rationing out the coffee supply his company has. A sudden shot sounds and the
soldiers see blood covering the sleeve of their lieutenant. The lieutenant tries to
sheathe the sword he had been using to count the coffee packets as his mind is
overwhelmed by the mysteries of life and existence. His soldiers try to assist him and
he leaves the field overwhelmed by sadness to seek medical
assistance.

As the lieutenant moves towards his goal, we
are shown a series of wartime vignettes: horsemen in the midst of motors, wheels and
levers, an aide galloping to a general and delivering a message, and batteries moving
forward intent on destruction. The drama of war is shown through these sights, as is the
adventure of war demonstrated through the roadside brigade that is making coffee and
chatting "like girls at a boarding school."

As he arrives
at the hospital, a surgeon greets him initially with kindness, but then when he sees the
wound of the lieutenant, he treats him with contempt, ordering the lieutenant to
accomapny him. He then tries to encourage the lieutenant to come with him by lying to
him and saying that he will not amputate the arm. The lieutenant finally goes with him
towards the entrance to the tent, which to him looks like "the portal of death." We are
told that this is how the lieutenant had his arm
amputated.

The last section of the story describes the
sadness of the lieutenant's family at the sight of his sleeve that is empty. However, we
are told that in reality this event is nothing, just something that many soldiers
experienced and just another "episode of war."