Wittgenstein, as I think is reasonably well known, wrote this during WW1. He apparently served with considerable courage, often volunteering for dangerous assignments like forward observer, and his unit saw considerable combat. He finished the–book, I will call it–in a POW camp.
My comment: I understand VERY well the comforts of abstraction in chaotic situations. If you can find that wavelength, stress actually makes you more effective.
What it also does, though, is split your persona into the emotional part and the logical part. Granting at the outset that no good answer is possible, it is tempting to wonder if Wittgenstein died prematurely due to unprocessed emotions, and the solitude they necessitated.