I.

Introduction

D-Day Invasion or Invasion of Normandy, the 1944 Allied assault on Nazi-occupied northern Europe that assembled the largest force in the history of amphibious warfare and represented a major turning point in World War II (1939-1945). The Allied forces consisted of 20 U.S. divisions, 14 British divisions, 3 Canadian divisions, a French division, and a Polish division. On the first day of the invasion, June 6, about 120,000 Allied troops landed at five beach locations along the coast of the French province of Normandy after crossing the English Channel from bases in southern England. The Allies faced a force of about 50,000 Germans and suffered nearly 5,000 casualties on the first day alone but succeeded in securing the beaches from which they launched their offensive. Many historians consider the D-Day invasion the greatest military achievement of the 20th century.

The expression “D-Day” was not coined for the Allied invasion. The same name was given to the attack date of nearly every planned offensive during World War II. It was first coined during World War I (1914-1918), before the massive United States attack at the Battle of Saint-Mihiel in France. The “D” was short for day. The expression literally meant “Day-day.” It signified the day of an attack. By the end of World War II, however, the expression was synonymous with only one date: June 6, 1944.