How did World War II end – and why do Europe and the US mark different dates?
This week marks 80 years since Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allies, bringing the Second World War to an end in Europe.
The war killed an estimated 75 million people, including troops and innocent civilians, across 30 different nations.
And while populations in Europe were able to welcome the end of the fighting in May with joy and relief, it continued for several more months in Asia and the Pacific Ocean.
So how did the war come to an end, and why does the US mark a different date to Europe?
Here is all you need to know.
World War II ended in 1945 after six years of fighting – but the exact date varies depending on what country you are from.
Unlike World War I, which is generally agreed to have ended with the armistice signed on November 11 1918, different 'theatres' of conflict came to an end at different times.
In Europe, the war concluded on May 8, which is annually celebrated as Victory in Europe Day (or VE Day).
That was the date when the German Instrument of Surrender was signed in Berlin by representatives of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, the US, the UK and France.
In Russia, the end of the war is celebrated on May 9, as time zones meant the document was actually signed the following day local time.
Other parts of the world, including the US, place a greater weight on September 2 when the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on board USS Missouri.
Since this brought an end to the final theatre, Victory over Japan Day (or VJ Day) marks the official conclusion of World War II.
In Europe, the war ended following the fall of Berlin to Soviet troops, Adolf Hitler's suicide, and Germany's unconditional surrender on May 8.
The Nazis were defeated around a year after the UK, France, the US, Canada, and other allies launched the largest seaborne invasion in history in Normandy, France – known as D-Day.
Over the following 11 months, two enormous military forces approaching from the east and the west eventually wore the Axis powers down.
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In the rest of the world, World War II ended when U.S. General Douglas MacArthur accepted Japan's formal surrender aboard the US battleship Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay. More Trending
The war between the US and Japan had started with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941.
The Japanese surrender in 1945 occurred after the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, respectively.
It remains the only two times such weapons have been used in an armed conflict: more than 150,000 people were killed, with countless more suffering the effects for years afterwards.
However, the idea of surrender was still fiercely debated by the Japanese government and military top brass, with the decision only being made by Emperor Hirohito on August 15.
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