At the core of Hitler’s push through Russia was Army Group Centre, charged with the capture of Moscow by way of Minsk.The most formidable concentration of force on the eastern front, Army Group Centre was the dagger-thrust at the heart of the soviet state; its success would be inextricably linked to the outcome of the whole campaign. Indecision, the unforgiving Russian winter and the defences around Moscow would force the retreat and ultimately the defeat of Army Group Centre.The Battle of Kursk signalled the beginning of the end for the Third Reich.