Battle of Kursk of Sicily had begun, Adolf Hitler was forced to have troops training in France diverted to meet the Allied threat in the Mediterranean, rather than use them as a strategic reserve for the Eastern Front. Hitler canceled the offensive at Kursk after only a week, in part to divert forces to Italy. Germany's extensive losses of men and tanks ensured that the victorious Soviet Red Army enjoyed the strategic initiative for the remainder of the war. The Germans hoped to weaken the Soviet offensive potential for the summer of 1943 by cutting off the forces that they anticipated would be
Kursk municipal division, the city of oblast significance of Kursk is incorporated as Kursk Urban Okrug. In addition to its importance as an administrative hub, Kursk is important as an industrial centre. Activity focuses on iron based industry, the chemical sector and a large food processing industry, reflecting the richness of agriculture in the surrounding "Black Earth" region. Particularly noteworthy is the so-called Kursk Magnetic Anomaly "(Russian: Курская магнитная аномалия)", the world's largest known iron-ore reserve, where the iron content of the ore ranges from 35% up to 60%. In Kurchatov, some to the south-west, is the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant,