I felt like I was playing well - or at least as well as the game seemed to be allowing me to play, and I think it would be possible to halve the time it took to get to the end without sacrificing the sense of a long trudge toward excessive escalation. If I were making this game and working on emphasising how that builds up over time, I think I'd be looking at showing escalation on the enemy side over making the experience longer. Of course, this is your game, not mine!
I'm not sure if you caught my stream, but I was definitely talking about that aspect of not accomplishing anything/doing more harm than good. I don't think asking war enthusiasts to be critical about the stuff they fetishise is anything to apologise for! :D
Super glad to hear it's been a rewarding project to work on!