My native city Kharkov (properly Kharkiv) was taken back and forth between Germans and Russians several times. Neither were friendly to the natives and both were occupiers.
FM Erich von Manstein orchestrated the German counteroffensive which lead to the recapture of Kharkov and much of the surrounding territory the Germans had lost during the Russian winter offensive which culminated with huge German debacle at Stalingrad.
IMHO, Manstein was the most brilliant military stretegist and commander of WWII. He saw the Soviet offensive was over extended, and running low on supplies, fuel, and ammo. He engineered a brilliant counterstroke attacking overextended Soviet flanks and wiping out several Soviet armies in the process. Manstein was constantly butting heads with Hitler. Hitler, inflexible as ever, was determined to hold existing lines at all costs (such as with Stalingrad). Manstein favored a more elastic front, giving up territory when need be, allowing the Soviets to get overextended, than striking back at exposed flanks. Hitler always hated the idea of giving up any ground at all.
Hitler loved to always boast of his secret weapons. But his greatest assets were brilliant generals like Manstein, Rommel, Kesselring, Model, and Guderian. Fortunately, Hitler thought his own military acumen was superior to that of his own generals, and often overruled them and ignored their advice. The Allies soon realized that Hitler’s constant strategic blundering was their greatest secret weapon and eventually abandoned assassination plots against him. At about that same time, the ones most interested in assassinating Hitler were high ranking German military officers, whose efforts culminated in the July 20th 1944 Bomb Plot.
I love to read old newspapers and magazines and wonder if you can recommend on online source where I can just read them similar to how you have posted them?
Front Page: 2% Sales Tax Vital to City’s Services, La Guardia Warns. Museums, Libraries and One College May Have to Close Without It, He Says.