Belgorod occupied Belgorod from 25 October 1941 to 9 February 1943. The Germans re-captured it on 18 March 1943 in the final move of the Third Battle of Kharkov. On 12 July 1943, during the Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle in world history took place near Prokhorovka, and Red Army definitively retook the city on 5/6 August 1943. The Belgorod Diorama is one of the World War II monuments commemorating the event. In 1954 the city became the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast. From this time the rapid development of the city as a regional center began. Belgorod is
The Gambia in World War II 1945. In 1943, Franklin D. Roosevelt visited the Gambia, the first visit by a sitting President of the United States to the African continent. The Colony-class light cruiser HMS Gambia, which saw active service during World War II, took its name from the colony. It maintained a connection with the Gambia throughout its service, and on 28 May 1943, called at Bathurst when it was en route to Cape Town. The Gambia is also home to Fajara War Cemetery, now maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which contains 203 Commonwealth burials from World War II, four of which are