THE BACKGROUND TO THE OCCUPATION OF ICELAND. Iceland during World War II The war and its impact on the country. [38] A small crowd had assembled, including several policemen still waiting for the customs boat. This week in the War, 7–13 July 1941: US marines land in Iceland On 8 July 1941, United States marines arrived in Iceland to relieve the British forces that had been occupying the island since May. • Overlord During the occupation, on 17 June 1944, Iceland declared itself a republic. • Indonesian National Revolution. The stations were part of a ring of similar groups located around the north Atlantic to locate wireless transmissions from U-boats. Though there was a nucleus of active service officers, the troops were new recruits and only partially trained. ", "Decision to Land United States Forces in Iceland, 1941", "Franklin D. Roosevelt's message to Congress on the US occupation of Iceland", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Invasion_of_Iceland&oldid=996573204, Iceland–United Kingdom military relations, Military history of Iceland during World War II, World War II operations of the Western European Theatre, Military history of Canada during World War II, Battles and operations of World War II involving the United Kingdom, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2019, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from May 2018, Articles needing additional references from May 2017, All articles needing additional references, Articles containing Icelandic-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 27 December 2020, at 12:10. Many had distinguished careers, military intelligence, paras, navy, air force. A new book in English on Iceland in World War II has just hit the shelves in Iceland. No one of the expedition was fully fluent with the Icelandic language. [17][18] They lacked searchlights, communication equipment, and gun directors. Arriving at the consulate, the British troops were relieved to find no sign of resistance and simply knocked on the door. Having invaded the Faroe Islands in April 1940, which were of similar status as Iceland, the British continued convincing Iceland to abandon neutrality and join the Allies. The cruisers were not designed to transport a force of the size assigned to them, and conditions were cramped. • First Indochina War Departure was delayed until 8 May, and even then a large amount of equipment and supplies had to be left on the piers. • Normandy Consul Gerlach opened, protested against the invasion, and reminded the British that Iceland was a neutral country. • Soviet occupations Apparently the reason Britain moved so quickly to occupy Iceland was that some information had come out of... To Iceland: One Man's Experiences in 1940. After failing to persuade the Icelandic government to join the Allies, the UK invaded on the morning of 10 May 1940. [42] The flyer explained in broken Icelandic that British forces were occupying the city and asked for co-operation in dealing with local Germans. Footage of Iceland in November 1941 to early spring 1942. The initial force of 746 Royal Marines commanded by Colonel Robert Sturges disembarked at the capital Reykjavík. [3] The British forces also supplied the Icelandic Coast Guard with weapons and ammunition, such as depth-charges against Axis U-boats. The Norwegian government rejected the German ultimatum regarding immediate capitulation. British Invasion and Political Aftermath On April 9, 1940, when Nazi-Germany began the occupation of Denmark and invasion of Norway, Iceland was still under the rule of the Danish crown. 135 Views. 6-inch naval gun overlooking Reykjavik Bay in Iceland, August 1940. See more ideas about wwii, iceland, world war ii. On 9 … The local news site visir.is reports that the mine was quickly identified as probably being of British origin, and believed to contain explosives equivalent to 225 kg (500 pounds) of TNT.. The British were joined by the Canadians, and they were relieved by US forces in 1941. knew that the destination was Iceland. [18] He was accompanied by a small intelligence detachment commanded by Major Humphrey Quill and a diplomatic mission managed by Charles Howard Smith. number 34, The United States Marines in Iceland, 1941—1942, published and last reviewed in 1962, by the Historical Branch, G-3 Division, Headquarters, U. S. Marine Corps. Icelanders were and remain divided about the war and occupation – what is sometimes referred to as "blessað stríðið" or "the Blessed War". [31] This was correct, though it was not the whole story. [45] The British discovered a fire upstairs in the building and found a pile of documents burning in the consul's bathtub. , as part of its naval blockade people on Pinterest success in their Norwegian Campaign,. Both closed within a Year, after investigations determined that most liaisons were consensual then threw it back to capture! Fearless and Fortune effects on the Firth of Clyde the weapons and ammunition, such as depth-charges Axis... 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