1943.08.06 "In reverse" by Paul R Carmack

1943.08.06 “In reverse”
by Paul R Carmack (1895-1977)
11.3 x 15 in., crayon and ink on board
Coppola Collection

Paul Carmack was a staff cartoonist for the Christian Science Monitor.

On August 5, 1943, the Red Army liberated Orel, a key German-held city south of Moscow that had been occupied since 1941.

Orel was part of the German defensive bulge after Kursk and marks the beginning of a sustained Soviet westward advance. Stalin ordered the first wartime victory salute in Moscow that night—artillery fired in celebration. Western newspapers immediately treated Orel as a turning point, not just a tactical win. Its loss suggested that the Wehrmacht was now retreating under pressure, not maneuvering voluntarily.

 “I refuse to associate with his foot any longer!” Classic… “you should see the other guy, not a scratch on him.”