India, July 7 -- The response of the US and its allies to China's latest missile test may be reminiscent of the reaction of the Allies to Germany's mobilisation against the Soviets in the Battle of Smolensk exactly 85 years ago. The significance of this battle during World War II went beyond any military gains made by the Axis powers. Germany ended up laying its hands upon the Smolensk archives: the civil archives of Smolensk and those of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD), enabling the Nazis to amplify their propaganda on Communist repression.

The Chinese navy tested a long-range ballistic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine in the Pacific Ocean on July 6. While the US seems to be leading the pack of protestors, ...