Between death and offence what is the choice?

One day here on this SE i had an comment to one of my answers suggesting that it is rather discomforting or hard to accept that Buddhists have chosen death as their choice in difficult situations like Genocides,War,Racial conflicts and etc against killing for survival. But there are some war stories too. As i did not had a chance to learn all sides of this interesting question i thought to ask a question and openly invite the community to share their version of teaching on this matter. Feel free to add your ow personal experience too. --- so the questions are... - What does different schools and traditions of Buddhism teach about reacting to an offensive or a war? *This offensive can be a one against Buddhism,race,country or any other social aspect.* - Is there a Buddhist offense?