D-Day was the name given to the day it was executed the biggest naval air operation in history, in June 6, 1944, and responsible for initiating the process that would give end to WWII.
On this date, approximately 155,000 soldiers from the United States, Canada and Great Britain gathered and landed in the Normandy, Atlantic coast northwest of France, to free Europe from the Nazis.
The expression "D-Day" has been used since the First World War, in the military context, to refer to the day when a major attack or operation will be performed.
During World War II (1939 – 1945), however, the main objective of the military operation was immortalized as “D-Day” (officially called “Operation Overlord” or “Operation Dominating” in Portuguese) was to free the French capital, Paris, from Nazi control. Next, the target would be Germany itself, the nucleus of Nazism on the European continent.
According to historical records, around 14,200 boats, 600 ships and thousands of planes accompanied Allied soldiers in the attack against Nazi forces.
Finally, on August 25, 1944, French resistance forces and Allied troops managed to drive the Nazis out of Paris and reconquer the city.
In May 1945, less than a year after D-Day and the start of the Allied assault on Nazism, Nazi Germany signs its term of surrender. World War II officially comes to an end.
See also: the meaning of Nazism It's from Holocaust.
Popularly, the expression “D-day” is also used to refer to a special and long-awaited date, which is planned and prepared well in advance, like a wedding or anniversary, for example.
See the Highlights of World War II.