"December 4. 1941 "Berlin's reaction to the Japanese move is extremely cautious. Perhaps they will accept because they cannot get out of it, but the idea of facing America's intervention pleases the Germans less and less. MUSSOLINI, on the other hand, is pleased about it. "I receive a message from GAMBARA. Naturally, he is offended by the fact that the command was given to ROMMEL, but aside from this he regards the situation as difficult and full of unknown factors. NISTRI - who is an ardent Fascist and an intelligent officer - is very pessimistic and adds verbally the things which GAMBARA was unwilling to put in writing. He says that the exhaustion of our troops is considerable, that the enemy has infiltrated all parts of Cyrenaica and, finally, that we are not in a position to withstand an early resumption of the British offensive. 'We shall make it a glorious fight to the end,' he concluded, 'However, this will not prevent it from being the end.' "December 1941 "A night interrupted by RIBBENTROP's restlessness. After delaying two days, now he cannot wait a minute to answer the Japanese and at three in the morning he sent MACKENSEN to my house to submit a plan for triple action on Japanese intervention and the pledge not to make a separate peace. He wanted me to awaken the Duce, but I