bayonet/knife fight to the death woulda been just as disturbing — & not a pretty picture at all.
But to leave that kinda hand-to-hand killing scene out — woulda been to neglect a major aspect of the horror of that war for our American troops, I think. There were plenty of our men who lived-or-died in moments just like that.
Spielberg intended to cover his bases on the dark side of that war, obviously.