1942-1943: The Iceland Crisis

The importance of Iceland has grown since the end of WWII. As a large piece of dry land halfway between Europe and America, Iceland's position made it a strategically critical base of operations for both United States and Reich. Both powers have done their share of intelligence and counter-intelligence work in Iceland in an attempt to gain influence and control over it.

Origins of the conflict
This hidden war had been going on ever since Operation Weserübung in April of 1940, during which Germany invaded both Norway and Denmark. Denmark was subdued within a day and occupied. On the same day, the British government sent a message to the Icelandic government, stating that Britain was willing to assist Iceland in maintaining her independence but would require facilities in Iceland to do so. Iceland was invited to join Britain in the war "as a belligerent and an ally." The Icelandic government rejected the offer.

On the next day, 10 April, the Icelandic parliament, the Alþingi, declared Danish King Christian X unable to perform his constitutional duties and assigned them to the government of Iceland, along with all other responsibilities previously carried out by Denmark on behalf of Iceland. Iceland was now entirely on its own.

On 12 April, in Operation Valentine, the British took over the Faroe Islands.

Following the German invasion of Denmark and Norway, the British government became increasingly concerned that Germany would soon try to establish a military presence in Iceland. They felt that this would constitute an intolerable threat to British control of the North Atlantic. Just as importantly, the British were eager to obtain bases in Iceland for themselves to strengthen their Northern Patrol.

British Operation Fork


On 3 May 1940, the 2nd Royal Marine Battalion in Bisley, Surrey, received orders from London to be ready to move on two hours notice for an unknown destination. The battalion had only been activated the month before. Though there was a nucleus of active service officers, the troops were new recruits and only partially trained. There was a shortage of weapons, consisting only of rifles, pistols and bayonets, while 50 of the marines had only just received their rifles and had not had a chance to fire them. On 4 May, the battalion received some modest additional equipment in the form of Bren light machine guns, anti-tank guns and 2-inch mortars. With no time to spare, zeroing of the weapons and initial familiarization firing would have to be conducted at sea.

Colonel Robert Sturges was assigned to command the force. Aged 49, he was a highly regarded veteran of World War I, having fought in the Battle of Gallipoli and the Battle of Jutland. He was accompanied by a small intelligence detachment under Major Humphrey Quill and a diplomatic mission headed by Charles Howard Smith. Excluding those, the invasion force consisted of 746 troops.

On 6 May, Force Sturges boarded trains for Greenock on the Clyde. In order to avoid drawing attention to itself, the force was divided into two different trains for the journey, but due to delays in rail travel, the troops arrived at the rail station in Greenock around the same time, losing the small degree of anonymity desired.

In the morning of 7 May, the force headed to the harbour in Greenock where they found the cruisers Berwick and Glasgow, intended to take them to Iceland. Boarding commenced, but was fraught with problems and delays. The departure date was moved to 8 May and even then, a large amount of equipment and supplies had to be left on the piers.

At 04:00 on 8 May, the cruisers departed for Iceland. They were accompanied by an anti-submarine escort consisting of the destroyers Fearless and Fortune. The cruisers were not designed to transport a force of the size assigned to them and conditions were cramped.

HMS Berwick used its catapult to launch a Supermarine Walrus reconnaissance plane. The principal aim of the flight was to scout the vicinity of Reykjavík for enemy submarines, which the Naval Intelligence Division had convinced itself were operating out of Icelandic harbours. The Walrus was given orders not to fly over Reykjavík but – either accidentally or as the result of a miscommunication – it flew several circles over the town, making considerable noise. At this time, Iceland possessed no airplanes of its own, so this unusual event woke up and alerted a number of people. Icelandic Prime Minister Hermann Jónasson was alerted to the plane, as were the Icelandic Police. The acting chief of police, Einar Arnalds, surmised that it most likely originated from a British warship bringing the expected new ambassador. This was correct, though it was not the whole story.

Werner Gerlach, the German consul, was also alerted to the plane. Suspecting what was about to happen, he drove down to the harbour with a German associate. With the use of binoculars, he confirmed his fears and then hurried back. At home, he arranged for the burning of his documents and tried unsuccessfully to reach the Icelandic foreign minister by telephone.

Occupation of Iceland
The British forces began their operations in Reykjavík by posting a guard at the post office and attaching a flier to the door. The flier explained in broken Icelandic that British forces were occupying the city and asked for cooperation in dealing with local Germans. The offices of the Síminn (telecommunication service), the RÚV (broadcasting service) and the Meteorological Office were quickly put under British control to prevent news of the invasion from reaching Berlin.

Meanwhile, high priority was assigned to the capture of the German consulate. Arriving at the consulate, the British troops were relieved to find no sign of resistance and simply knocked on the door. Consul Gerlach opened, protested against the invasion and reminded the British that Iceland was a neutral country. He was reminded, in turn, that Denmark had also been a neutral country. The British discovered a fire upstairs in the building and found a pile of documents burning in the consul's bathtub. They extinguished the fire and salvaged a substantial number of records.

The British had also expected resistance from the crew of Bahia Blanca, a German freighter which had hit an iceberg in the Denmark Strait and whose 62-man crew had been rescued by an Icelandic trawler. The Naval Intelligence Division believed the Germans were actually reserve crews for the German submarines they thought were operating out of Iceland. In reality, the unarmed Germans were captured without incident.

Effects of the occupation
While the British attempted to justify their presence on Iceland by pointing to German occupation of Denmark, the Icelanders cared little about the reasons. Already during embanking, the British forces met with rebuttal and a generally hostile approach by the local population. Following a public speech by Prime minister Hermann Jónasson in which he appealed to Icelanders not to give in to their displeasure, the risk of an open conflict was minimized.

The mood over Iceland stayed bitter, however. Icelanders regarded presence of British troops as utter disregard for Iceland's neutrality. This mood was not lost on German Intelligence forces. SS-Brigadeführer Walther von Schellenberg has quickly come up with a plan on using the occupation to the advantage of Germany.

Von Schellenberg's plan had to wait however, as the events of September 1940 changed priorities of the war completely.

Opening of Iceland Crisis
After the fall of Britain, the 2nd Royal Marine Battalion stationed at Iceland was stranded. With no home to return to and the locals still regarding them as invaders, they tried to reach out to their former allies; both United States and Canada however were focused on the upcoming peace negotiations and didn't want to take chances and risk upsetting the fragile balance.

During October 1940 the battalion's position with the Icelanders grew worse in a rapid way. Their invasion of Iceland proved to be without merit as Germany had made no move to annect Iceland. Quite the opposite; German troops stationed abroad had received orders signed by Adolf Hitler, von Schellenberg and von Ribbentrop, which stated that Germany expected them at their best behavior to all locals and all transgressions were to be met with severe punishment to instill the order into troops.

Public image of Germany
Reports of exemplary behavior by German troops reached the ears of Icelanders; von Schellenberg's operatives have seen to that. The contrast between reportedly immaculate and polite Germans and the ragtag arrogant British was obvious.

Prime Minister Jónasson received a personal letter from Adolf Hitler only days later, along with a missive to people of Iceland in which Adolf Hitler addressed the public as a great friend and admirer of the culture of Iceland. In his missive, Hitler acknowledged common roots of Icelanders and Aryans, especially pointing out heritage of the fearless seamen of all northern countries and the lasting impact their ancestors' deeds had on the world. The missive further proclaimed Adolf Hitler's wish of a fruitful and peaceful co-existence of both nations and suggested in subtle ways that Germany's cause of the Aryan was open to those of brave lineage who embrace their ancestors' legacy.

The missive had the desired effect; Icelanders took it as a sign that Germany has never had plans to invade Iceland which further undermined 2nd Royal Marine Battalion's position. Additionally, implying that the Aryan cause was also Iceland's cause was a smart move on Hitler's side, originally suggested by von Schellenberg in his draft plans from May 1940. All this resulted in the British troops' further isolation from Iceland's public.

By beginning of November 1940 the disgruntled locals sent a note to Prime Minister Jónasson, demanding resolution of the situation with British troops. By this time the British have ran out of their ratios and without means of obtaining new ones, were forced to hunt for food, trade what little possessions they had, or steal. Von Schellenberg's new plan seemed to be working, further alienating locals and the British.

Involvment of United States and Canada
The situation didn't go unnoticed by officials of United States and Canada, of whom especially Canadian Prime Minister  William Lyon Mackenzie King tried to press for international intervention - with or without consent by Iceland's government. This pressure prompted Prime Minister Jónasson to publicly declare that any form of unsanctioned action by foreign forces, organizations or individuals would be regarded as an act of aggression against Iceland.

Jónasson's declaration was almost instantly met with approval and full support from Berlin. Adolf Hitler stated in an interview for Völkischer Beobachter which was later quoted in most foreign media, that the aggressive nature of both US and Canada's intents say a lot about these two countries' governments, and that Germany will be ready to assist Iceland in defense against any attempt on their freedom and autonomy. Hitler also added that he believes the descendants of one of the most brave and fearsome nation in history are fully capable of dealing with a "mere thousand men with no country, king or honor".

Revocation of Legitimity
Adolf Hitler's interview for  Völkischer Beobachter  prompted George VI, the exiled king of Great Britain, to defend honor of the men of 2nd Royal Marine Battalion. Germany however had contingency plans in place and this escalation only caused enactment of one of these plans a month before it was originally planned. George VI's brother Edward VIII who had abdicated several years ago had always been quite sympathetic to the idea of pure race, and a large number of his closest friends were linked to European Nazi scene either directly or indirectly.

German operatives have approached George VI already at the end of September 1940, and now preparations have been made to speed things up. George VI has always been liked by people of Great Britain and his abdication in 1936 was perceived as an act of great chivalry. On 7 November 1940, George VI addressed people of Great Britain in his first public speech after more than five years, again.

George VI announced his intent to step up and once again become the leader and protector of his people. He was crowned again as George VI on 12 November 1940 in Westminster Abbey. Usually only a formal ceremony, the crowning was not unusual to take place months after the new king's accession. It was however critical for both Great Britain and Germany to perform the coronation as soon as possible.

On 14 november 1940, king George VI has renounced actions of the 2nd Royal Marine Battalion in Island, and he revoked any legitimacy to the "unforgivable and unprovoked attack on another country's independence" and declared all men of Force Sturges war criminals.

Treaty of Sevilla
The Iceland situation had several effects on peace negotiations in Sevilla. While both United States and Canada have been upset by Germany's approach to using the situation as a leverage, they could not deny that the actions of Force Sturges were, in terms of international law, illegal. Former British government had initiated the occupation of Iceland based on intelligence estimates that have proven wrong. There was nothing that could support its legitimacy.

As soon as the actions of Force Sturges were deemed illegitimate, German negotiators made sure that they used this tool to its maximum efficiency. Germany had offered a humanitarian intervention to help the men of Force Sturges, and a repatriation to Great Britain on Germany's expenses. Both offers had one and the same condition: they would be enacted only after the Treaty of Sevilla was signed and ratified.

Occupation of Iceland had also another important effect on Treaty of Sevilla. Iceland's government, though not one of the parties involved in signing the Treaty, demanded addition of another paragraph which would ensure that none of the world powers could try annexing another country. This demand was met with careful agreement from all sides; while United States and Canada's diplomats saw this paragraph as a way of stopping Germany's expansive tendencies, German negotiators originally attempted to negotiate leaving the paragraph out of the Treaty. Their efforts stopped after a direct intervention from Führer's office, signed Walther von Schellenberg.

These negotiations took only seven days, however these were seven days during which Force Sturges became a worldwide symbol of those days. Finally on 21 November 1940, all parties have signed the final form of Treaty of Sevilla. More than a conclusion of the war it was regarded by public as a document that would allow further negotiations about fate of the one thousand men.