D-day

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June 6, 1944. In the early morning hours Allied forces landed in Normandy on the north coast of France. In an operation that took months of planning, a fleet of 2,727 ships of every description converged from British ports from Wales to the North Sea. Operation Overlord involved 2,000,000 tons of war materials, including more than 50,000 tanks, armored cars, jeeps, trucks and half-tracks. The US alone sent 1,700,000 fighting men. The Germans believed the invasion would not take place under the adverse weather conditions of this early June day. But as the sun came up, the village of Saint Mère Eglise was liberated by American parachutists, and by nightfall the landing of 155,000 Allies attested to the success of D-Day. The long-awaited second front had at last materialized.

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For more information on D-Day, visit Britannica.com.

Origin: 1918

The Yanks were coming! In April 1917, after three years of the Great War that was consuming Europe, we abandoned our neutrality and declared war on Germany, the country we saw as the aggressor. By June of that year, the first units of the American Expeditionary Force reached the battlefields of France. The A.E.F. provided much assistance to the French and British, and victory was achieved and an armistice declared the next year, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918.

Because we were last on the battlefield, most of the military vocabulary added to our language during World War I came from the British, like the name of the new military vehicle the tank. But apparently it was the Americans who contributed a technical term that would become famous a quarter of a century later, during World War II. Field Order No. 8 from the First Army of the A.E.F., of September 7, 1918, begins, "the First Army will attack at H-Hour on D-Day with the object of forcing the evacuation of the St. Mihiel salient."

The British used zero hour in discussion of an operation whose time was not yet determined or to be kept secret, but Americans preferred H-Hour and D-Day. In the next World War, with American general Dwight Eisenhower in supreme command, the term for the first day of the Allied invasion of France, June 6, 1944, was the American D-Day. That D-Day was and is so famous that it successfully invaded our general vocabulary to become a term that can refer to any day of action or decision. Other letters were combined with Day to give similar emphasis to a particular day, such as V-E Day and V-J Day for the 1945 endings of the war in Europe and Japan, respectively, and E Day for "Education Day" (also attested as early as 1945).

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(1944)

Operation Overlord was the greatest amphibious attack in history. Nearly 175,000 American, Canadian, and British troops landed in Normandy on D‐Day, 6 June 1944, supported by 6,000 aircraft and 6,000 naval vessels ranging in size from battleships to 32‐foot landing craft. The object of the attack was to win a beachhead in France in order to open a second front against Hitler's armies and to use the beachhead as a springboard for the liberation of France and Belgium, and the eventual conquest of Nazi Germany.

Planning began in earnest early in 1943. The critical need for the Allies was to gain surprise, because they would be taking the offensive with nine divisions, none armored, against an enemy with fifty‐five divisions in France, nine of them armored. Gen. Gerd von Rundstedt, commanding the German forces in the west, and Gen. Erwin Rommel, commanding the forces in France, assumed that the Allies would have to gain a major port in the initial assault, so they strengthened the “Atlantic Wall” around the French ports, especially Calais, which was on the direct line London‐Dover‐Calais‐Belgium‐Cologne‐Berlin. The Allied supreme commander, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, achieved surprise by attacking straight south rather than east, and by going ashore in Normandy, where there were no significant ports. An elaborate and highly successful deception plan (Operation Fortitude) kept the German attention centered on Calais.

D‐Day was set for 5 June, but a storm that day precluded amphibious operations. At the height of the storm, at 0430 on 5 June, Eisenhower's weather expert predicted that it would soon ease off and that conditions would be acceptable. Eisenhower decided to go for it.

The attack consisted of division‐strength assaults on five beaches, two British (code‐named “Gold” and “Sword”), two American (“Omaha” and “Utah”), one Canadian (“Juno”), preceded by a night assault of three airborne divisions to protect the flanks (one British on the left and two American on the right).

The night operation on 5/6 June caused great confusion among both attackers and defenders. The American paratroopers were scattered over the countryside and very few managed to hook up with their units before daylight. But the Germans were confused by reports of paratroopers and gliders landing here, there, everywhere. Meanwhile, small groups of airborne troops destroyed bridges and gun emplacements, and captured crossroads and routes inland from Utah Beach.

At dawn, before the 0630 first‐wave attack, there was a tremendous air and sea bombardment, which was highly effective at all the beaches except Omaha, where most of the shells and bombs landed far inland. At Omaha, the first wave was decimated, the follow‐up waves badly pounded. Those troops still alive huddled against the seawall, pinned down by fierce German fire. They had expected support from amphibious tanks (Shermans supported by rubber skirts and equipped with a propeller), but at Omaha the tanks were launched too far out in too‐rough seas and thirty‐two of thirty‐four sank. At midmorning, Gen. Omar Bradley, commanding the U.S. First Army, contemplated withdrawing from the beach. But thanks to heroic action by individual soldiers, who led the way up the bluff, the crisis was overcome.

By nightfall, the Allies were ashore on a beachhead that stretched fifty‐five miles. The cost was some 4,900 casualties, half of them at Omaha. German losses were not calculated, but they must have been considerably higher. Hitler's Atlantic Wall, built at enormous expense, had not held up the Allied landings for even one day.

[See also France, Liberation of; Normandy, Invasion of.]

Bibliography

• Dwight D. Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe, 1948.
• Forrest Pogue, The Supreme Command, 1954.
• S. L. A. Marshall, Night Drop: The American Airborne Invasion of Normandy, 1962.
• S. E. Ambrose, D‐Day: The Climactic Battle of World War II, 1994.
• Ronald J. Drez, ed., Voices of D‐Day, 1994

1. see D-Day Landing.

2. the day on which an important operation is to begin or a change to take effect.

Etymology: from D for 'day' + day.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

D-Day, 6 June 1944, was decisive in the war on Germany. D-Day, though cloudy and windy, justified Eisenhower's decision to accept a comparatively hopeful weather forecast. Montgomery, in command of ground forces, dispatched five infantry divisions, to five separate Normandy beaches, plus three airborne divisions, landing over 150, 000 men on the first day. On one American beach, Omaha, against a good German division, casualties were high. The British and American air forces virtually stopped German movement of troops by day and made impossible a co-ordinated German counter-attack.

The term "D Day" indicates the beginning of an attack or other military operation when the specific date has yet to be selected or secrecy is required. "H Hour" is similarly used to designate the time of the attack.

The "D" and "H" are derived from the first letters of "day" and "hour." There is one D Day and H Hour for all units participating in an operation. Plus and minus signs are used to indicate the number of days or hours that precede or follow the specific operation. Thus, 舑5 means five days before D Day and H + 2 means two hours after H Hour.

Planning for operations can begin months before the anticipated time of the operation. The use of D Day minus "X number of days" signifies the date by which certain actions, such as planning or the training of units, must be complete. At the appropriate time an order is published giving a specific date for D Day.

The U.S. Army first used the term on 7 September 1918, when it issued First Army Field Order Number 9: "The First Army will attack at H Hour on D Day with the object of forcing the evacuation of the St. Mihiel Salient." The term is most commonly associated with the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944.

—Frank R. Shirer

American Troops Land on Omaha Beach

Where did the author of the book 'Band of Brothers' get the name?

In William Shakespeare's play Henry V, Henry V gives a motivational speech before his men go in to battle. It is called the St. Crispin's Day Speech and includes the lines, "But we in it shall be remembered — We few, we happy few, we band of brothers." Stephen Ambrose borrowed the phrase for his book (which became a miniseries) about the men of Easy Company, who were among the heroes who landed on and near the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. First Lieutenant Richard Winters was the acting commander of the airborne company that landed near Sainte Marie-du-Mont, overwhelming a force three to four times its size.

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From our Archives: Today's Highlights, June 6, 2011

June 6

The day is also known as Allied Landing Observances Day . It marks the start of the Allied invasion of occupied France in 1944, which led to the final defeat of Hitler's Germany the following May. The assault, led by U.S. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, was carried out by airborne forces and the greatest armada the world had ever known. About 3,000 ships transported 130,000 British, Canadian, and American troops across the English Channel to land on the beaches of Normandy, which are known historically by their invasion code names: Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, Gold Beach, Juno Beach, Sword Beach.

Airborne troops began parachuting into Normandy at 15 minutes past midnight on June 6, and Landing Craft Transports plowed through the surf to spill troops onto the beaches starting at 6:30 a.m. About 10,000 troops were killed or wounded that day. Each year, simple ceremonies at the Normandy cemeteries commemorate the men who fell.



CONTACTS
Normandy Tourist Board
14, rue Charles Corbeau
Evreux, 27000 France
33-2-3233-7900; fax: 33-2-3231-1904
www.normandie-tourisme.fr/normandy-tourism-109-2.html

National World War II Museum
945 Magazine St.
New Orleans, LA 70130
504-527-6012; fax: 504-527-6088
www.ddaymuseum.org

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The code name for the first day of a military attack, especially the American and British invasion of German-occupied France during World War II on June 6, 1944 (see invasion of Normandy). This marked the beginning of the victory of the Allies in Europe. Germany surrendered less than a year later.

See times.

The unnamed day on which hostilities, an operation, or an exercise commences or will commence. All other days are then in reference to the Dday, as D + 2, D − 3, and so on. The related term for the time is the H-hour.

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For a list of words related to D-day, see:

• War Machinery and War Zones - D-day: day of planned military operation; June 6, 1944, day of Allied invasion of western Europe in World War II

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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - D-dag

Nederlands (Dutch)
geallieerde invasie in Normandië in 1944, kritische begindag van een operatie

Français (French)
n. - Jour du débarquement allié en Normandie

Deutsch (German)
n. - Tag der Landung der Alliierten in d. Normandie, der Tag X

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (στρατ.) ημερομηνία έναρξης επιχείρησης, (ιστ.) η 6η Ιουνίου 1944

Italiano (Italian)
Giorno dello Sbarco in Normandia

Português (Portuguese)
n. - dia (m) D

Русский (Russian)
важная дата, 6 июня 1944 года, начало освобождения Европы

Español (Spanish)
n. - día D (desembarco aliado en Normandía), el día señalado, día de iniciación de una acción importante

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - Dagen D

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
军事攻击开始日, 英国十进币制实施日

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 軍事攻擊開始日, 英國十進幣制實施日

한국어 (Korean)
n. - (~이 바뀌거나 새로 운용되는) 중요한 날

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 作戦開始予定日, 計画開始予定日

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) اليوم ( ي), اليوم المحدد لشن الهجوم أو القيام بعمليه عسكريه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮היום בו צריך להתחיל או להתקיים מבצע חשוב, שעת האפס, שעת הש'‬

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