Stalingrad Just War

There have been many wars come this day and age. They included much bloodshed and death. One of the bloodiest wars in the history of the world was the Battle of Stalingrad. This war was the turning point for the Allies in their fight against Germany, but with nearly 2 Million Civilian/Military Casualties, was this battle justified? The Just War theory provides a basis as to whether a war was just or evil and this will be applied to the Battle of Stalingrad to perceive whether or not this battle meets with the 3 different Jus in Bello / Jus Ad Bellum criteria necessary to be a just war.
The Battle of Stalingrad can be deemed as unfulfilling of the conditions of the Jus Ad Bellum – Just Cause/Right Intention as the war must be fought not to pursue
An attack or action must be intended to help in the military defeat of the enemy. Both sides were desperate for a win and it was all or nothing. Germany and Russia were running out of supplies and ammunition and the battle was steadily turning into a War of Attrition. Even though the attack was one of the bloodiest battles with the most casualties ever recorded, it was of Military Necessity that the battle of Stalingrad take place as Stalingrad was Russia’s centre of communications in the South and also a centre for manufacturing and a key location to hold for both sides of the battle. This battle was the turning point in the war for Soviets, as the past year they had had many defeats and were tired and demoralised. The Soviets employed the new tactic of the fighting retreat, showing use of minimal force to ensure a close quarter’s combat battle would take place. On the other hand, the Soviets kept with them the mentality “Do or Die”, especially when there leader Joseph Stalin made the famous order 227 “Not a step Backwards” proving the importance of the city Stalingrad not only in its Military and Production value, but in its value as their last line of defence and last stand against the German forces. It can therefore be shown as a Necessity for Germany to wage war on Stalingrad to not only break the strong Soviet Morale shown in their ranks by taking out their leader’s city, but also to bring a speedy end to the slow, bloody war of attrition they had been fighting for so