On 27 January 1945, Soviet troops, advancing from the East, liberated Auschwitz extermination camp. Around the same time the German Army in Western Europe was in full-scale retreat into Germany, following defeat in the Ardennes region by US, UK, Canadian and Belgian forces, which became known as the Battle of the Bulge.
Germany's defeat was unavoidable but there would be more than three months of fighting before their unconditional surrender on 7 May 1945, and victory celebrations in Britain the following day, VE (Victory in Europe) Day - which took place 80 years ago today.
It is worth reflecting, however, that Allied victory was not always inevitable. In 1940, Britain's position in the war looked perilous, with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) stranded in Europe and surrounded by German forces. An abundance of history books, essays and online webpages provide the chronology of political and military events, at the strategic, operational and tactical levels.
VE Day 80 years on: A lasting victory?
After the battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1815), Arthur Wellesley, the Anglo-Irish 1st Duke of Wellington and the commander-in-chief of …