Occupation of Iceland | |||||||
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Part of World War II | |||||||
Occupation of Iceland, July 1941: Seen from the quarterdeck of the U.S. Navy battleship USS New York (BB-34), U.S. Atlantic Fleet Ships steam out of Reykjavik harbour, Iceland at the time of the initial U.S. occupation in early July 1941. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United Kingdom Canada United States |
Kingdom of Iceland (until 1944) Republic of Iceland (from 1944) | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
George Lammie L. F. Page John Marston |
Hermann Jónasson Einar Arnalds | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
22,000 British Army 2,659 Canadian Army 3,908 U.S. Marines 25 U.S. Navy ships 40,000 U.S. Army |
The Occupation of Iceland during World War II began with a British invasion intent on occupying and denying Iceland to Germany. The military operation codenamed Operation Fork was conducted by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. In time, the British forces were replaced by Canadian and later American forces, despite that the United States was not yet in the war.