Iceland during World War II
Encyclopedia
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
during World War II was that of a sovereign
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
kingdom
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
in personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
with Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, with King Christian X as head of state.
German interest in Iceland in the 1930s grew from nothing at all to proportions found by the British government to be alarming.
The Reich's favours began with friendly competition between German and Icelandic soccer teams.
When war began, Denmark and Iceland declared neutrality and limited visits to the island by military vessels and aircraft of the belligerents.
During the Nazi German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
occupation of Denmark
Occupation of Denmark
Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark began with Operation Weserübung on 9 April 1940, and lasted until German forces withdrew at the end of World War II following their surrender to the Allies on 5 May 1945. Contrary to the situation in other countries under German occupation, most Danish...
, contact between the countries was disrupted. Initially, Iceland
Kingdom of Iceland
The Kingdom of Iceland was a constitutional monarchy lasting from 1 December 1918 until 17 June 1944, when the republic was proclaimed.- Origins in Danish rule :...
declared itself to be neutral
Neutral country
A neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
, and limited visits of belligerent
Belligerent
A belligerent is an individual, group, country or other entity which acts in a hostile manner, such as engaging in combat. Belligerent comes from Latin, literally meaning "to wage war"...
warships and imposed a ban on belligerent aircraft within Icelandic territory.
Following the invasion of Denmark in 9 April 1940 Iceland opened a legation in New York City. Iceland, however unlike Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, did not closely enforce these limitations within the territorial waters and even slashed funding for the Icelandic Coast Guard
Icelandic Coast Guard
The Icelandic Coast Guard is the service responsible for Iceland's coastal defense and maritime and aeronautical search and rescue. Origins of the Icelandic Coast Guard can be traced to 1859, when the corvette Ørnen started patrolling Icelandic waters...
. Many Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
merchant vessels seeking shelter within the neutral waters around Iceland were sunk by Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
warships. However, the Chief of the Capital Police Forces, Agnar Kofoed-Hansen, started to train National Defence forces in early 1940.
London imposed strict export controls on Icelandic goods, preventing profitable shipments to Germany, as part of its naval blockade. London offered assistance to Iceland, seeking cooperation "as a belligerent and an ally", but Reykjavik declined and reaffirmed its neutrality. German presence in Iceland, along with the island's strategic importance, alarmed the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. After a few failed attempts of persuading the Icelandic government by diplomatic means to join the Allies and becoming a co-belligerent in the War against the Axis-forces
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
invaded Iceland
Invasion of Iceland
The invasion of Iceland, codenamed Operation Fork, was a British military operation conducted by the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines and a small Canadian task force during World War II....
on 10 May 1940. The initial force of 746 British Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
commanded by Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Robert Sturges
Robert Sturges
Lieutenant General Sir Robert Grice Sturges KBE, CB, DSO was an officer in the Royal Marines.In World War I, Sturges fought in the Gallipoli Campaign and the Battle of Jutland....
was replaced on 17 May by a larger Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
force, and eventually 25,000 British troops were stationed in Iceland.
On 7 July 1941, the defence of Iceland was transferred from Britain to the (still officially neutral) United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, by agreement with Iceland, and American troops replaced the British. Iceland's strategic position along the North Atlantic sea-lanes, perfect for air and naval bases, could bring new importance to the island. The 40,000 American soldiers stationed in Iceland outnumbered all adult men in Iceland at the time. (At the time, Iceland had a population of around 120,000).
During the war, drifting mines
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
became a serious problem for Icelanders as well as the Allied forces. The first Icelandic Explosive Ordnance Disposal
Bomb disposal
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
(EOD) personnel were trained in 1942 by the British Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
to help deal with the problem. The British forces also supplied the Icelandic Coast Guard with weapons and ammunition, such as depth-charges against Axis U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s. During the war, German U-boats damaged and sank a number of Icelandic vessels. Iceland's reliance on the sea, to provide nourishment and for trade resulted in significant loss of life. In 1944 British Naval Intelligence built a group of five Marconi wireless direction finding stations on the coast west of Reykjavík. The stations were part of a ring of similar groups located around the north Atlantic to locate wireless transmissions from U-boats.
On 10 February 1944, German Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor
Focke-Wulf Fw 200
The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, also known as Kurier to the Allies was a German all-metal four-engine monoplane originally developed by Focke-Wulf as a long-range airliner...
from the I./KG 40, stationed in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, sunk the British tanker SS El Grillo
SS El Grillo
The SS El Grillo was a British oil tanker sunk without casualties by a German air attack at Seyðisfjörður, Iceland on 10 February 1944.Iceland, which remained neutral during World War II, had been occupied by Britain in May 1940 and, in April 1941, by the United States."El Grillo" is Spanish for...
at Seyðisfjörður
Seyðisfjörður
Seyðisfjörður is a town and municipality in the Eastfjords of Iceland at the innermost point of the fjord of the same name.As of January 2011, the town has 668 inhabitants....
.
On 17 June 1944, Iceland dissolved its union with Denmark and the Danish monarchy and declared itself a republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
.
Iceland cooperated with the British and then the Americans, but officially remained neutral throughout World War II.
See also
- History of Greenland during World War IIHistory of Greenland during World War IIThe History of Greenland during World War II reflected the fate of the Danish motherland. After the Invasion of Denmark in 9 April 1940, its colony Greenland was left on its own. Britain and Canada had plans to occupy the island, but the United States, even though still neutral, disagreed...
- Military operations in Scandinavia and Iceland during World War II
- History of the Jews in Iceland
- Battle of the Atlantic