Video: 'Germans Surrender to Montgomery (1945)'

(Friday, May 4, 1945, 6:30 p.m. CEST; on the Western Front of World War II) — German forces in northwestern Europe laid down their arms today following the formal surrender to British Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery at his headquarters on Lüneburg Heath.

The surrender, signed by senior officers of the German Wehrmacht, covers all enemy troops in northern Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark. It would take effect at 8:00 a.m. CEST on May 5, 1945.

The capitulation marks a major step toward the complete defeat of Nazi Germany, with only pockets of resistance remaining across the collapsing Reich.

Video: 'The German Surrender to Montgomery | May 1945'

The Allied advance in the region had left German forces surrounded and in disarray. Under growing pressure and without hope of reinforcement, the German command sought terms through British channels late this week.

Field Marshal Montgomery, commander of the 21st Army Group, accepted the surrender on behalf of the Allies, declaring the enemy forces now under Allied control and subject to immediate disarmament.

With this development, the war in Europe appears to be entering its final hours.