I would congratulate you, Herr General, but now is not the time for such pleasantries. In spite of your lightning successes, our… allies have proven to be our undoing. At Stalingrad, the Third Romanian Army and Italian 8th Army have crumbled like dry leaves against Soviet counter-attack. The ensuing loss of our Sixth Army is without equal. Our foothold in the region has been completely annihilated and all that could be salvaged from this debacle were your core forces.
Equally troubling, we have learned that Rommel is being routed from Africa by the British and their new leader Montgomery. Perhaps we should have allowed you to undertake that campaign after all! Now is not the time for second guessing. We must strike back against our enemies harder than ever!
The situations in Africa and the East are dire. We predict that once the British and their American allies have secured Northern Africa, an invasion of Italy is inevitable. Here in the East we suspect the Russian counter-offensive at Kharkov will be smashed by von Manstein’s Army Group South. This will stabilize the situation, but ultimately resolve nothing.
So now you have a choice, Herr General. Will you stay in the East, to continue the offensive against the Bolshevik menace, or do you believe your abilities will be better spent defending our, ha, ally in Italy?
Italy