Ukraine and The Duchess of Malfi
No.35
I do not think Guderian was misleading the readers of Erinnerungen eines Soldaten, which is known as Panzer Leader in English, when he told of the warning he gave Hitler against undertaking Operation Citadel in 1943. To paraphrase - no one knows where Kursk is on a map. No one in the world cares whether we hold it or not. Hitler confessed he felt sick to the bottom of his stomach at the thought of it. So why do it ? - asked Guderian.
I am going to develop the theme of John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi for this newsletter. For now let Hitler be the Cardinal in that play, and Guderian his Bosola. At the present stage of the Ukrainian War, yes cities in the Donbas are targets. The Russian Army is trying to kettle in Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, though the thing to watch out for is the phlebotomy of rivers. This is a battle for the Donetsk River. Meanwhile an impressive Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kherson Oblast to threaten a major highway across the Inhulets River, threatens the Russian referendum proposed to detach that region from Ukraine. Just as Lavrov announces the Donbas as the Russian war aim, the Ukrainians get at the political settlement Putin wishes to bring about in Kherson.
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