by Jack Dukes On the night of 10 August 1939, the British steamer City of Exeter docked in Leningrad harbor and disembarked several high-ranking British and French officers. After a brief rest the group, now accompanied by two Russian staff officers, took the night train to Moscow. The next day, they were enthusiastically greeted by Soviet Deputy Army Chief of Staff Smorodinov, Deputy Naval Chief of Staff Alafuzov, and a large diplomatic retinue. At a reception shortly thereafter, Commissar of Defense Voroshilov and Chief of the General Staff Shaposhnikov cordially received the Westerners. [1] These visitors constituted the Anglo-French military mission which had come to Moscow reputedly to negotiate an agreement with the Soviets to deter any further aggression on the part of Nazi Germany. At this particular moment a casual observer might have anticipated the inception of Hitler’s demise: the Western powers and the Soviets were finally subordinating their respective differences ...