THE INEVITABLE PEACE

As a new year dawned in 1945, victory in Europe seemed close at hand. The Allies had made incredible strides into the continent from the west since D Day and the Soviet Union was rallying in the east. But was victory already inevitable? And how convinced were the people of the time that VE Day would soon be at hand? We asked military expert Peter Caddick-Adams to talk us through these questions and more.

As the war reached March and April, how clear was it that the Allies would win in Europe?

Allied victory had been inevitable for some time. On being appointed Supreme Commander in December 1943 Eisenhower predicted there would be two major battles to defeat Germany. The first would be to land on the French coast; the second