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
Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, Kursk Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, Kursk The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption () It is a Latin Rite Catholic Church located in the city of Kursk, in the Archdiocese of European Russia, headquartered in Moscow (and whose archbishop is Monsignor Paolo Pezzi). In 1859 the Catholic community of Kursk, most Polish or German origin, with more than a thousand faithful, asked permission to build a church. They previously met in a chapel. Once the funds were raised, it was granted permission and the church was begun in 1892 in neo-Gothic style. The church was under the