p.

about it. Rex went out to some party, for which I was
not unthankful. And Jack had had to move down to
the other mess & was doing Orderly officer. He left
me at about 11-0, & the people in the mess were
behaving very foolishly & so I slipped off to bed. I
undressed, & cleaned my teeth & so on, & got into
bed, & mixed myself an enormous whiskey & soda.
And when my watch showed midnight, I passed your
photo round my back & to the front again, gave it
some very large & loving kisses & drank your health. I
then lay back & slowly drank my drink, & gazed at
you & thought about you - & then put out the light. Rex
came in shortly after, & asked me if I was awake,
but I played possum. It made me feel very
sad, but somehow happy - & I should have much
preferred to have done the same this year, but
it seemed to be too unsociable.
I [must underlined] be home by this time next year. I find
it impossible to imagine having to wait even as
long as that. Private manoeuvres apart - I feel
now that Germany will be finished inside 6 months.
That is not a 100% conviction, but I feel it
quite strongly. Russia, I am sure, will not now
let go, & allow Germany a chance to recover
& reform. Therefore Germany's only chance is to
counter attack successfully & I do not believe
she can do it. Surely then, within 2-3 months
we must attack too - & when we do, it will be
with overwhelming force & will be very quick