This happened in Belarus on the sixth day of the war. The 263rd Wehrmacht Infantry Division was rapidly advancing to the east when, near the village of Lesnyaki, its path was blocked by a lone Soviet tank with a huge turret, a powerful 152-mm gun and impenetrable armor. For several hours there was an unequal battle - six tankers against an entire division; for several hours the Germans unsuccessfully tried to knock out the Russian colossus with anti-tank guns, but the shells bounced off the armor. Only by calling in assault guns for help, the Nazis managed to destroy the tank and its heroic crew, who fired back to the last and died the death of the brave. This invulnerable “monster” was the KV-2 heavy tank, created at the height of the Soviet-Finnish war specifically to overcome the enemy’s defense in depth , and a year and a half later, which became a shocking “surprise” for the Nazis, who were so amazed by its power and the courage of its crews that they buried them with military honors more than once. The best-selling book by a leading armored historian pays tribute to one of the most famous and recognizable Soviet tanks, which was destined to reach Berlin, but in the bloody summer of 1941 these colossi fulfilled their duty in full, dying with glory and bringing our Victory closer.