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Chapter 204 Iceland

Iceland, apart from New Zealand, is the last uninhabited large island in the world. Around the late 8th century, Irish monks were the first to settle in Iceland. In the latter half of the 9th century, Norway began to send immigrants to Iceland. Later, Iceland remained under the control of Norway, Denmark, and other countries for a long time.

In 1918, Denmark recognized the Kingdom of Iceland (with the Danish king as the monarch) as a sovereign state affiliated with the Kingdom of Denmark. Iceland gained a form of independence and sovereignty similar to that of a protected state in internal affairs, but its foreign affairs were still controlled by Denmark.

When news of Denmark's collapse reached Iceland, the Icelanders rejoiced and quickly declared independence, breaking free from Danish control and maintaining a neutral stance.

However, Iceland's independence only lasted for a few days. These fools didn't consider that Denmark had declared neutrality before and still got taken by Germany?

But it wasn't Germany that brought down Iceland; it was England.

Why?

Iceland is strategically located between Greenland, Norway, and the UK in the great triangle of Northern Europe. Its geopolitical value is priceless. Additionally, if Germany occupied Iceland, it could protect Norway, which Germany had already taken, from the flank, creating better conditions for attacking the British mainland.

Recognizing this, England actively approached Iceland. British diplomats suggested a mutual alliance treaty between England and Iceland, allowing England to station troops in Iceland. However, all these proposals were rejected by the Icelandic government, emphasizing their commitment to neutrality without leaning towards any side.

This displeased the British government. Churchill believed that written agreements were useless, let alone relying on the untrustworthy words spoken with two-faced mouths. Iceland should be taken over as quickly as possible; otherwise, Germany might seize the opportunity.

Therefore, England decided to implement the so-called "Fork Operation" against Iceland.

Why was it called the Fork Operation? It was simple – spot a fat fish on the water's surface, thrust a fork down, and cleanly grab the fish.

At this time, Iceland's population was only a few tens of thousands, without a proper army, and the national police force comprised only 70 people.

Yet, the English didn't dare to be careless and sent a large expeditionary force to Iceland.

How "large" was it?

746 soldiers, with the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Marines serving as the British expeditionary force. The overall commander was Colonel Sturges. Two destroyers, the HMS Fearless and HMS Escort, escorted two cruisers, the HMS Glasgow and HMS Berwick, "majestically" sailed towards Iceland.

Upon hearing this news, the Icelanders were furious. They had just gained independence a few days ago, and now their country was about to be lost?

The Icelandic government questioned the British diplomatic representative in Iceland, asking, "What do you want?" The British representative explained the British concerns to Iceland, expressing a hope for Iceland to cooperate for the sake of British interests. The Icelandic government accused Britain of bullying a small nation, asserting their neutrality. Britain repeated, "For the sake of British interests, you must accept reality."

Objectively speaking, Britain had no intention of harming Iceland. They only sought to prevent Germany from seizing Iceland and threatening Britain. In other words, Britain wanted Iceland to play the role of a "vassal state". They made it clear: once the war was over, British forces would immediately leave Iceland.

In June 1940, after France was defeated by Germany, British Prime Minister Churchill became more concerned about Iceland, fearing that Germany might quickly attack Iceland and then launch a full-scale attack on Britain. Therefore, Britain continued to send troops to Iceland and successively dispatched nearly 25,000 troops. In 1941, the United States also sent over 40,000 troops to garrison Iceland. According to statistics, the combined British and American troops in Iceland exceeded the total number of Icelandic males!

After the war ended, the British did withdraw from Iceland. However, while the British left, the American troops stayed until 2006.

Yet, Iceland's independence also depended on the United States. In 1944, after the Allies landed in Normandy and the overall situation of World War II was determined, it was time to divide the spoils among the victorious nations. According to the pre-war situation, Iceland should have reverted to being a protected state of Denmark, with internal affairs self-regulated while Denmark controlled foreign affairs.

However, the United States had a massive military base in Iceland. Handing it over to Denmark was out of the question for the Americans. From the American perspective, "I won the war, so I won't make a wedding dress for you, Denmark." Therefore, the United States let Iceland become completely independent. Still, they left Greenland and the Faroe Islands to Denmark, which, although unhappy, had no choice.

In reality, Wilhelm wasn't overly concerned about the British and American occupation of Iceland. After all, Iceland was formed from solidified magma that erupted from the fissures created by tectonic plate drift. The country's glaciers covered approximately 8,000 square kilometers, and almost the entire nation was built on volcanic rock. Most of the land was unsuitable for cultivation, earning Iceland the nickname "Land of Ice and Fire". Iceland had over 200 volcanoes, with about 30 of them active and erupting quite frequently, approximately once every five years.

What would happen when the large British and American forces settled in, and he dispatched bombers to bomb Iceland's active volcanoes or, better yet, dropped a blockbuster right into the heart of Iceland?

The scene was almost too beautiful to imagine!

However, Wilhelm didn't want the British to succeed so easily. Just as the British "expeditionary force" approached Iceland, the leading destroyer, the HMS Fearless, suddenly experienced a massive explosion. The intense blast even created a mushroom cloud, clearly indicating an ammunition depot detonation (a large explosion of explosives could form a mushroom cloud, not exclusive to nuclear explosions). The entire warship vanished from the sea in an instant.

The remaining HMS Escort destroyer and the cruisers HMS Glasgow and HMS Berwick hadn't reacted yet when the sailors on the lookout towers of the three warships frantically sounded the alarm.

"Oh my God!! It's torpedoes, torpedoes!"

"Torpedoes! Torpedoes! They're on the port side!"

"Torpedoes discovered on the starboard side!"

Colonel Sturges, the overall commander of the "expeditionary force", stood in the cockpit of the HMS Berwick, watching torpedoes approaching from all directions. He could only despairingly shout, "Oh God."

Of course, God didn't have time for him. Amidst successive explosions, the HMS Escort, HMS Glasgow, and HMS Berwick submerged into the sea. Surviving British sailors floating on the sea were only a few.

Later, the Icelandic government received a joint declaration from Denmark and Germany, refusing to acknowledge Iceland's independence. If Iceland insisted on going its own way, it would mean declaring war.

The Icelandic government, frustrated almost to the point of vomiting blood, deeply understood the truth that without strength, they were nothing. They simply declared that Iceland would not be defended, and they could do whatever they pleased.

Germany sent a convoy of transport ships to Iceland, while upon receiving the news, Britain dispatched a fleet that was painstakingly put together, determined to take Iceland. However, the British were unaware that the transport fleet and Iceland were just bait for the Germans.

In the dead of night, Germany's high seas fleet quietly left the harbor, entering the Norwegian Sea.

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