"D" actually marked the secret "date" for any planned military operation, and H stood for the "hour." There was a "D" day and and "H" hour for North Africa, Italy, etc., as well as for the beginning of significant military operations, including invasions, attacks, counterattacks, etc. These were used to mark not only the date and hour, but the planned objectives. For instance, in Operation Overlord, the British were to take a certain bridge at H hour plus 5 (H+5), or a certain town at D day plus 2 (D+2). (Under Montgomery, the British almost NEVER achieved their objectives on time.)
Their use also allowed military planners to set objectives and fill in the actual date and hour later.
Following Operation Overlord, the allied forces never regularly used "D Day" in reference to another significant event or battle. Overlord was so important and iconic that the name "D Day" actually eclipsed "Overlord" in the minds of the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who took part before, during, and after. It stuck with the American public as well.
In France, the term Embarkation Day is used. The destruction in Normandy and Brittany that resulted from the invasion was so significant that there remains a degree of heartbreak over the event.
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