Victory '45: The End of the War in Eight Surrenders

by James Holland, Al Murray

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

A deep dive into the eight surrenders that put an end to an endless world war, told in exacting detail by one dynamic duo. Holland and Murray leave no stone unturned in this sweeping account of our world's greatest conflict.

On the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, two acclaimed historians chronicle the remarkable stories behind the surrenders that ended the world’s most catastrophic global conflict

In May 1945 and then again in August and early September, the seemingly endless World War II finally came to a close in eight dramatic surrender ceremonies, six in Europe and the last two in Japan. On the 80th anniversary of those historic events, celebrated historians James Holland and Al Murray chronicle them in turn, focusing especially on the human dramas behind each surrender and relating stories and perspectives on the end of the war that have not previously been told.

Germany’s armies submitted to the Allies in four ceremonies between May 2 and May 9, the latter after considerable delays by the Germans and threats from General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander. Japan then finally conceded only after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, initially on August 15th and then in a formal ceremony aboard the USS Missouri on September 2. Holland and Murray focus on specific characters participating in each of these world-changing events—from ordinary servicemen and women and civilians to generals and political leaders. The saga of the first German surrender, in Italy, revolves around senior SS general Karl Wolff’s personal battle to save his own neck and involves VIP prisoners locked up in a resort in South Tyrol, art theft, money laundering, and the resistance of other German commanders to give up. The German surrender to the Americans on May 5 follows the fortunes of private Alan Moskin from New Jersey, whose 6th Infantry Regiment found themselves liberating Gunskirchen, one of Mauthausen’s sub-concentration camps, the terrible reality of which affected the rest of his life.

The stories surrounding the war’s end are in their own way as dramatic as the strategy and battles themselves. As Holland and Murray make clear, they add greatly to our understanding and appreciation of World War II and its legacy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802166418
Publisher:	Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Publication date:	07/29/2025
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

One of WWII’s finest historians, JAMES HOLLAND is the author of Cassino ’44, The Savage Storm, Brothers in Arms, Sicily ’43, Normandy ’44, Big Week, The Rise of Germany and The Allies Strike Back in the War in the West trilogy, Burma ’44, and Dam Busters. He has written and presented the BAFTA shortlisted documentaries Battle of Britain and Dam Busters for the BBC.

AL MURRAY is the author of Arnhem: Black Tuesday and Command: How the Allies Learned to Win the Second World War. He is the co-host, with James Holland, of the popular World War II history podcast, We Have Ways of Making You Talk.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Victory '45:

An Esquire Best Summer Book
A Barnes & Noble Best Book of July

“A deep dive into the eight surrenders that put an end to an endless world war, told in exacting detail by one dynamic duo. Holland and Murray leave no stone unturned in this sweeping account of our world’s greatest conflict.”—Barnes & Noble, B&N Reads

“This brilliant book is what you get when you marry two first-class historians (and communicators) of the Second World War . . . A fast-paced human-filled drama of the road to the end of the war across the globe.”—Robert Lyman, Aspects of History

“Original, seminal, unique, ground-breaking, and deftly crafted . . . a welcome, informative, exceptional, and unreservedly recommended.”—James Cox, Midwest Book Review

“Finely detailed . . . Not simply targeted to WWII enthusiasts, Victory ’45 illustrates for those with a broader historical interest the myriad challenges in bringing to heel the dogs of war.”—Douglass K. Daniel, Associated Press

“Just in time for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II is this detailed look at the various surrenders that led to the conflict’s end.”—Bob Sassone, Saturday Evening Post

“A hugely engaging account of the rather tortured circumstances of the end of World War Two. If you thought it was all a rather simple process, think again.”—Roger Moorhouse, Aspects of History

“[An] exciting recounting of the war’s end . . . Readers interested in World War II history will enjoy this recounting of the final surrenders.”—Library Journal

“Historians James Holland and Al Murray, having already produced highly regarded accounts of World War II . . . have produced an exceptional book that successfully goes beyond the surrender events to a broader understanding of World War II and its ending, a social history that is highly recommended.”—D. Colt Denfeld, Journal of America’s Military Past

“A gripping, eye-opening and satisfying new account.”―Daily Express

“James Holland has written about nearly every major battle of World War II, from Burma to Berlin. So it makes sense that in Victory ’45: The End of the War in Eight Surrenders he and his co-author, Al Murray, focus on the conclusion of the greatest global conflagration in history . . . The biggest, most well-known capitulations are here . . . But the authors find much to tell in the lesser surrenders.”—Mark Yost, Wall Street Journal

Praise for James Holland:

“Detail and scope are the twin strengths of Normandy ’44 . . . Mr. Holland effectively balances human drama with the science of war as the Allies knew it.”—Jonathan W. Jordan, Wall Street Journal

“Academic histories are all very well, but at times it is a pleasure to sit back and wallow in an old-school military tale of flinty-eyed men doing battle. That is what James Holland, a seasoned craftsman, offers in Sicily ’43.”—Thomas E. Ricks, New York Times Book Review

“This hefty, scrupulously balanced history of the Allied invasion of northern France goes beyond some of the well-known events of D-Day, thanks to Holland’s meticulous research and clear-eyed view of the big picture . . . An excellent and engrossing new look at the Normandy invasion.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review), on Normandy ’44

“Holland’s great skill lies in bringing these warriors back to life with vivid prose. He’s an enormously prolific historian of the war, but each book he produces is constructed with great care and emotional commitment . . . Holland is obsessed with war, but fortunately does not seem to love it. He recognizes its beauty, but also its vileness.”—Gerard DeGroot, Times (UK) on Sicily ’43

“Highly detailed . . . The interplay of personal stories with the broader strategic picture makes this book especially illuminating . . . A fascinating must-read for World War II aficionados.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review), on Big Week

“James Holland’s The War in the West is set fair to become one of the truly great multivolume histories of the Second World War.”—Andrew Roberts, New York Times-bestselling author of The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War and Napoleon: A Life

“A fascinating story of how the fortunes of war changed in obvious—and particularly not so obvious—ways.”—Col. Eric M. Walters, Military Review on The Allies Strike Back

“Holland puts the case for Allied technological and military skills as a vital factor in turning the war’s tide . . . Ranks as a towering work of historical research and writing.”—BBC History Magazine on The Allies Strike Back

“This is narrative history as intimate, intricate tapestry . . . Mr. Holland’s success is built in part on an engaging writing style and in part on a genuinely fresh approach to events that have been so often—and apparently definitively—recounted . . . Exceptional . . . Epic.”—Wall Street Journal on The Rise of Germany

“Impeccably researched and superbly written . . . Holland’s fascinating saga offers a mixture of captivating new research and well-considered revisionism.”—Guardian on The Rise of Germany

From the Publisher

2025-04-17
How the Allies finally won.

Prolific World War II historians Holland and Murray remind readers that Hitler himself never surrendered, but by the spring of 1945 huddled in his Berlin bunker directing imaginary armies and planning his suicide. A few aides stuck by, but most were planning to save themselves. The most successful was SS General Karl Wolff, in Italy, who managed to impress OSS chief Allen Dulles; fend off rival (and perhaps nastier) competitors, Heinrich Himmler and Ernst Kaltenbrunner; persuade leading Wermacht generals to surrender with absolutely no conditions; and protect himself against prosecution for his crimes. Wolff took enormous risks (visiting a deeply suspicious Hitler during his final weeks) but succeeded eventually in testifying for the prosecution at Nuremburg. British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery handled the surrender of German forces in north Germany on his own with a nod to his superior, Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower, who preoccupied himself with the iconic May 7, 1945, official German government surrender. The authors precede that with accounts reminding readers of Nazi awfulness: a teenage Jewish boy’s years in concentration camps, a young American soldier’s experience encountering his first camp, and the chaos that engulfed Germany during and after the war. On the Pacific front, Japanese leaders, aware by 1943 that they were losing, worked to convince America that every Japanese man, woman, and child would fight to the death before surrendering. They assumed that the U.S., faced with this threat and lacking Japanese fortitude, would negotiate a compromise peace. By cruel irony, American leaders were indeed convinced of Japan’s resolve, but they did not negotiate; they proceeded by unleashing an almost genocidal firebombing and two atomic bombs that, aided by the massive Soviet invasion, produced the desired surrender.

A complicated war on many fronts.

Kirkus Reviews