Germany would have accepted surrender in the war as early as 1943 if it were not for Hitler's fanaticism, suggests the new definitive research, 'The German Reich and the Second World War', which took academics from the military history centre of the German armed forces 30 years to complete.

It says Hitler was advised as early as 1942 in Berlin that the war was lost. However, the Fuhrer's "suicidal urge" to enforce a final confrontation helped prolong the conflict.

"It will be impossible to write a history of the Second World War without reference to this work," Col Winfried Heinemann, the head of research at the centre, was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph of Britain.

The research underlines that Hitler "waged his personal war for six years, supported by sentiment in Germany that remained broadly favourable even after a series of defeats".