When people think of World War II invasions, they picture beach landings, gunfire, and chaos. Few remember that one of the war's first Allied invasions targeted a small neutral island nation. Even fewer know how oddly polite it was.
On May 10, 1940, Britain landed Royal Navy and Royal Marines forces at Reykjavík and took over Iceland without a fight. Britain feared Germany would grab the island first, after Germany had conquered Denmark, which was then linked to Iceland through a shared king. Iceland protested loudly, but no shots were fired.
Why Britain Wanted Iceland
Iceland sits in a commanding spot in the North Atlantic. In April 1940, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway. Britain worried that German bases on Iceland could threaten its control of the ocean and its shipping routes.
Britain first asked Iceland to join the war as an ally. Iceland, which had declared itself neutral with no army of its own, said no. So Winston Churchill, then running the Admiralty, argued for landing troops without warning. More talks, he worried, might tip off the Germans.
A Very Rushed Invasion
The operation, code-named Operation Fork, was thrown together fast. The invasion force had 746 troops, many of them new recruits who were only partly trained. Some of the marines had just received their rifles and had never fired them. The force had few maps, mostly poor ones, and one had been drawn from memory. No one in the group spoke fluent Icelandic.
Secrecy wasn't great either. By the time the troops reached their port in Scotland, many people already knew they were headed to Iceland. On the rough voyage north, many of the marines became badly seasick.
Before dawn, a British scout plane was told not to fly over Reykjavík. It circled the town anyway, making a lot of noise. Since Iceland only had passenger planes that didn't fly at night, people woke up and took notice, including the German consul, who hurried home to burn his papers.
The Politest Landing in History
When a British destroyer pulled into the harbor with about 400 marines, a small crowd had gathered to watch. The British consul, uneasy about the onlookers, turned to the Icelandic police and asked if they'd mind getting the crowd to stand back a bit so the soldiers could get off. "Certainly," came the reply.
Not everyone was so cooperative. One Icelander grabbed a rifle from a marine, stuffed a cigarette into it, and handed it back, telling him to be careful with it. Meanwhile, troops simply knocked on the door of the German consulate. Inside, they found documents burning in the bathtub, put out the fire, and saved many of the records.
How It Changed Iceland
Iceland's government protested that its neutrality had been "flagrantly violated." Britain promised compensation, no meddling in Icelandic affairs, and a full withdrawal after the war. British forces were soon joined by Canadians, and in 1941, American troops took over most of the job. At times, as many as 30,000 U.S. personnel were on the island.
Iceland became a fully independent republic in 1944. The last wartime U.S. troops left in 1947, but a 1951 treaty brought them back, and an American presence lasted until 2006. It all began with a seasick, half-trained force and a remarkably courteous welcome at the dock.
