The 12th of July marks the 65th anniversary of the largest tank battle in history. In just one offensive at the village of Prokhorovka near Kursk, 400 Nazi tanks were destroyed by the Red Army. The Battle of Kursk, which lasted 50 days, left the Germans severely weakened.

One of the German soldiers, Guy Sajer, recalled the famous Prokhorovka battle. He said: "A sight which was like Doomsday appeared before us. New Russian troops were going into action. They were now powerful as never before. Hundreds and thousands of arms were at their disposal. Our laugh would fall silent soon, it would be replaced with triumphant Russian cheers."

With all the German resources drawn, the Battle of Kursk took place over an area of 40 square kilometres. For Hitler it was the last attempt after Stalingrad to take the initiative from the Red Army. However that wasn't to happen, as Russian intelligence revealed the strategic plans of the Nazis and worked out the right tactics to combat them.