Help Please With Translation From German On A Pow Card

I hope no one minds if I ask for help if anyone could translate the German message on this POW card from a U-boat officer (Rolf Pinger) from U-571 held in POW Camp 44.

I have attached two scans one from the front and a cleaned up (photoshop) black and white one of the message side.




One of the problems I have with my collection of German POW materialis that I do not speak or read German !!!. Hence my request for help. The reason I am intersted in this particular card is that it is from one naval officer to another not to a family member as is more usual.

There is quite a lot of info on the web about these two officers which is quite interesting. This includes the British intelligence report on the sinking and survivors of U-571. Sometimes these read like a story from the Boys Own World with dastardly Germans and heroic British. An example is this quote re Pinger see
https://www.uboatarchive.net/Int/U-517INT.htm

(iv) Second Lieutenant
The Second Lieutenant, Leutnant zur See Rolf Pingel, aged 21, had joined the German Navy direct from school. He refused to give any details of his career, but it is not thought that it was of any interest. He was a typical Hitler Youth movement product, entirely lacking in manners and making a very poor impression.

The recipient is also interesting as he served in U-boats but never commanded one but then he fought in a tank destroyer battalion at the end of the war and then apparently in Dönitz's personal protection unit. He survived the war.

AQ

That was truly a jolly surprise, your letter of 2 June. (I) had never expected to hear from you ever again, as you, according to the last, here received messages were missing (in action), say "lost" stood. Special thanks for the picture. With a "slight shimmer of melancholy" I remember our post "Battle days" in M (could be München). (It) would have been nice, not? K (male; could be a 'H', i.e., Hartwig who is mentioned in the next sentence) and Brandi, also, are sitting here. Hartwig, probably, will write you in the coming days. Do you know anything about the faith of Reinhold Merkle? Good luck (in German: break a neck and leg) for future sailings … warm-hearted greeting also to … your dear (honoured) wife (lady in matrimony), always your Rolf.

I am not sure what battle days are referred to. These could be training exercises but also games. M is a common abbreviation for Munich, but does not tie in with the 'Kriegsmarine' background. I cannot think of a naval base at a place that has a name starting with 'M.'

Very interesting to see the sender's fanatism in sending the card to Gross-Deutschland at a time Germany was in retreat.

Thank you NSK for that very quick reply.

Re your comment about the Gross-Deutschland address. It is not unusal to see that on POW mail from Canada. A quick glance through what I have suggests that it was used may be 50% of the time.

I guess Hartwig is Kapitänleutnant Paul Hartwig the commander of the U-517. The British intelligence report re U-517 was also not at all complimentary about him to say the least.

AQ

Ironic isn't it.
Even the stamps beginning with the Koch issued on January 25,1944
until the end had GROSSDEUTSCHES REICH written on them.


Germany
Scott B251