INVASION TERM

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25562, 15 June 1944, Page 4

INVASION TERM

EXPLANATION OF ” D-DAY ”

Much public curiosity has been aroused by the use of the term “ DDay ” to fix the date of the initial operations of the invasion of Europe. The origins cf the terpi are to be found in the military alphabet adopted by the Americans in the last war. Then the British invariably described the hour of assault as zero hour, while the Americans called it “ H hour,” this being obviously derived from “ H for hour.” Similarly, the day chosen for the attack was “D-Day,” derived from “D for day.” Military alphabets of which these two words and their abbreviations are an example are clearly of use in preserving secrecy when using communications which might be subject to enemy interference. In this war the American fashion of the last war has been adopted by all the Allies. The invasion of Europe’ is by no means the first time that the expression “D-Day” has been used. It was used in the Pacific, in North Africa, for the attack on Sicily and again for the attack on Italy. The term is capable of useful adaptation to fix the time for other operations which both precede and follow the invasion day. Thus, the supreme commander’s orders concerning the whole operation might refer to “D----day minus two,” or “ D-Day plus one.” The former might refer to a preparational activity, such as the assembly of trocps at a given point; and the latter might refer to a development of the landing, as, for instance, an attack to be launched against a specific objective.