D-Day“D” in D-DayThe D in D-Day stands for day. It marks the commencement of an important military event. When there are certain days before an event -For example: five days before the event- the days will be written like : D-5. The same goes for the days after the event. D+5 stands for 5 days after the event takes place. What was D-Day?

● D-Day was the most amphibious military operation in history.● It was Military operation that was constructed in Britain and formed an invasion

force in secret that consisted of American, British, and Canadian soldiers. ● The operation was named “Overlord”● It aimed to split Germany on 2 fronts, ally invasion forces on the west and Soviet

Union on the right.● Liberating European countries under German control was essential for winning

the war.June 5th,1944:

● General Dwight Eisenhower gave the go ahead for operation “Overlord” on the night of June 5, 1944.

● 6,000 ships, aircraft, and other vessels crossed the English Channel and headed towards france.

● 11,000 aircraft were mobilized to provide cover for the invasion forces.

June 6th, 1944: Invasion Day● Ground invasion began at 6:30 a.m● Allies stormed the beaches of Normandy● Canadian and British troops were assigned the beaches of: Sword, Juno, and

Gold(all were captured with light opposition)● American troops were assigned: Utah(captured with light opposition),

Omaha(troops faced heavy resistance due to Omaha’s hilly terrain, troops suffered 2,000 casualties)

● A foothold was established at the end of the day.● 156,000 Allies stormed the beaches

End of the battle of Normandy● In less than a week the allies secured the beaches● Over 326,000 troops, 50,000 vehicles, and over 100,000 tons of equipment came

ashore in Normandy.● Allies fought their way through Normandy’s countryside.● By the end of August of 1944, Paris and Northwestern France were liberated

from the Germans ending the battle of Normandy.

Significance● Helped shorten the length of the war. The invasion allowed the allies

to move in directly into France.● Prevented Adolf Hitler from developing his modern “weapon of terror”

called the “V2”