Do you actually know what D-Day stands for? Apparently it's the most frequently asked question at the National World War II Museum, but the answer isn't overly simple. Many experts have varying opinions, including that the D simply stood for "day," a code used for any important military operation. Others have said it's just alliteration, like "H-Hour," when a military assault begins.
While the true meaning remains up for debate, we'll go with what U.S. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower said about it through his executive assistant, Brig. Gen. Robert Schultz: "Be advised that any amphibious operation has a ‘departed date;' therefore the shortened term ‘D-Day’ is used.” He said there were actually several other D-Days during the war — Normandy was just the biggest and most well-known.
A lot of weather-related requirements were necessary to pull D-Day off. The days needed to be long for maximum air power usage; a near-full moon was needed to help guide ships and airborne troops; and the tides had to be strong enough to expose beach obstacles at low tide and float supply-filled landing vehicles far onto the beach during high tide. H-Hour was also crucial in that it relied on those tides to be rising at that time. There also had to be an hour of daylight just beforehand for bombardment accuracy.
Only nine days in May and June seemed to fit those requirements, so commanders eventually settled on June 5; however, thanks to forecasts that showed a short window of good weather that day, Gen. Eisenhower decided last-minute to switch D-Day to the early hours of June 6.
Stories of how U.S. troops stormed the beaches of Normandy have been legendary for years, with the names Omaha Beach and Utah beach standing out in people's minds. But the invasion stretched out over 50 miles of land, so we couldn't do it alone. Three other beach invasions by Allied troops happened simultaneously: Great Britain and some smaller forces stormed Gold and Sword beaches, while the Canadians took Juno Beach.
While the ultimate goal of liberating France and ousting the Germans did happen, a lot went wrong on D-Day — especially for the Americans, who were the first to launch the invasion.
Thousands of U.S. paratroopers died during their drop behind enemy lines at Utah Beach, having been shot out of the sky by enemy fire or weighed down and drowned in flooded marshlands. Many also missed their landing spots, as did the seaborne forces, which landed more than a mile from their intended destination, thanks to strong currents.
The Omaha offensive turned out to be the bloodiest of the day, largely in part because Army intelligence underestimated the German stronghold there. Rough surf caused huge problems for the amphibious tanks launched at sea; only two of 29 made it to shore, while many of the infantrymen who stormed off the boats were gunned down by Germans. Gen. Omar Bradley, who led the Omaha forces, nearly considered abandoning the operation.
Somehow, though, both sectors of U.S. troops managed to advance their positions for overall success.