Major,

Nice to see you again.  Zhukov has asked for you personally.

The Germans have besieged Leningrad for over 800 days.  Our citizens are starving to death.  All the pets and livestock have long been eaten.  Human corpses litter the streets, with no one strong enough to bury them.  Our current estimates are well over half a million dead in our great city.  I am counting on you to drive the Fascists out Commander.  Break the seige!  I want you to surprise them and show them who owns this part of the world, and who will wrest control from whom.  Leave their forces in shambles.

Use your reconnaisance wisely to avoid nasty surprises.  The Germans are well dug in and extremely well organized as well.  But, as you know, our advantages are many as well.  We have shorter supply lines.  Our tanks, with their wide treads and low ground pressure are better designed for cold weather and for easy repair.  Our troops are well fed and well clothed.  Theirs are freezing and undersupplied and underfed.

You'll be seeing some new tanks and aircraft that will make your life easier.  We are finally in a good position to match the German heavy armor.

Remember, this is the chance to make your mark.  Do well to get promoted, and I think that you will see some very interesting battles as we push into the German homeland.