What does the D stand for in D-Day and how is the anniversary being marked?

Essentially, the term D-Day is used by the Armed Forces to refer to the beginning of an operation. The ‘D’ stands for ‘Day’ and there have been many D-Days over time, but it has in itself become a by-word for Operation Overlord, which stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

That is the explanation that seems to have won universal agreement and the one that is given by the Royal British Legion.

For military planners, the days before and after a D-Day were indicated using plus and minus signs. D-4 meant four days before a D-Day, while D+7 meant seven days after a D-Day.

The French maintain the D means “disembarkation”. Others say “debarkation” and the more poetic insist D-Day is short for “day of decision”, according to one assessment.

D-Day was the largest amphibious assault ever mounted by the military and signalled the start of the campaign to liberate Nazi-occupied north-west Europe. It had been in the planning for years, with the prospect of attacking German-held coastal territories first put forward by Winston Churchill in 1940.

Allied troops underwent vigorous training, much of it in Scotland, to handle the new landing crafts that would take tanks, trucks and troops over the water.

Up to 7,000 ships and landing craft were involved, delivering a total of 156,000 men to five beaches. Meanwhile, paratroopers had landed throughout the night to secure assets, such as Pegasus Bridge, to cut off routes open to a German counter attack.

As many as 4,400 allied troops died on June 6 alone, with those surviving pushing on through occupied France to liberate towns and villages and some then into Belgium. Fighting was fierce.

Two days of events are taking place in the UK and France, with King Charles III, Queen Camilla, the Prince of Wales and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Portsmouth for a national commemoration on Wednesday.

About 25 former servicemen have made the crossing from Portsmouth for commemorations in Normandy, some which will be attended by US President Joe Biden.

A vigil and light show will be held at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Bayeux War Cemetery on Wednesday night, with a formal commemoration event at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer, France, on Thursday.