About D-Day — Normandy Landings
D-Day — 6 June 1944 — was the largest seaborne invasion in history. Under the codename Operation Overlord, Allied forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast: Utah and Omaha (American), Gold and Sword (British), and Juno (Canadian). By midnight, around 156,000 Allied troops were ashore, supported by nearly 7,000 vessels and over 11,000 aircraft.
Why "D-Day"?
The "D" simply stands for "Day" — military planning used D-Day and H-Hour as placeholders for the day and hour an operation would begin, so dates could shift without rewriting every order. The invasion was in fact postponed 24 hours from 5 June because of storms in the Channel; meteorologist Group Captain James Stagg identified a narrow window of workable weather for the 6th, and Eisenhower gave the order: "OK, let's go."
The cost and the deception
Allied casualties on the first day are estimated at around 10,000, including approximately 4,400 dead — with Omaha Beach the bloodiest sector by far. The landings succeeded partly because of Operation Fortitude, an elaborate deception campaign that convinced German command the main invasion would come at the Pas-de-Calais, 150 miles away. German reinforcements were held back for weeks awaiting an attack that never came.
What followed
The Normandy campaign lasted until late August 1944, when Paris was liberated. Within eleven months of D-Day, Germany surrendered. The landings remain the pivotal moment of the war in Western Europe, commemorated each June at the beaches and cemeteries of Normandy, where more than 20,000 Allied servicemen are buried.
Frequently Asked Questions
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