D
DAY 6 JUNE 1944
At
fairly regular intervals arguments erupt about the naming
of 6 June 1944 as 'D' day and why 'D' was used. The answer
is quite simple. 'D' stands for 'day'. The French used 'J'
for 'jour'. Similarly 'H' was used for 'hour'.
By
using letters in instructions it was possible to maintain
secrecy as to the exact day that the operation would be
launched. A further advantage was that orders could be produced
using expressions such as 'D plus 3' without naming a specific
date - most useful when operations were delayed.
And
of course D Day was delayed
The
original date for D Day was 5 June and the sea borne forces
set sail in anticipation of that date. Bad weather however
made conditions too poor for the landings to be made and
at 0415 on 5 June General Eisenhower delayed things by 24
hours.
At
0415 on 6 June Eisenhower had to make the final decision.
It was now a matter of cancelling the invasion or going
ahead. The troops at sea could not be left there any longer.
After talking to his commanders Eisenhower said -
'OK
we'll go'
The
full story with maps, pictures and over 300 pages is in
our book 'Major and Mrs Holt's Battlefield
Guide Normandy D-Day Landing Beaches'
