Iceland Invaded: The Allied Occupation in World War II

by Páll Baldvin Baldvinsson

At the start of the Second World War, Iceland was an impoverished, backward colony of Denmark. As the European powers were falling one after the other into
the hands of the Germans and their allies, Churchill presented the case for invading Iceland to his war cabinet. He became Prime Minister the very day the British Army landed in Reykjavík.

The following night the German Army invaded Holland and Belgium. Iceland was occupied by British, Canadian and Norwegian troops from May 1940 and the US Army took over the defence of the country approximately one year later. During that time, this northern isle played a crucial role in the battle for the Atlantic, and was an important link in the western democracies’ defensive war, serving as a base for naval, air and land forces.

For a while, the number of foreign soldiers came close to equaling half of the native population, and the occupation would radically change the face of Icelandic society.

Translated by Lorenza Garcia.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick and enjoyable read. The writing can be a bit disjointed, with one paragraph after another mentioning events that are similar but not directly related, making it read more like a sequence of occurrences then an organized narrative. Still, the information is interesting, and I enjoyed stopping to look over the various locations on the map to get a clearer picture of all the locations mentioned in the book.

[Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great historic photographs. In certain parts the text was interesting, but for the most part had the flavor of an outline that could have been expanded upon to make a richer narrative. Still, there was enough there to keep me going and I finished the book feeling a bit more well informed than I had been before.

[Laura Watt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very short book, mostly just a catalogue of events pertaining to the British and U.S. occupations in Iceland during WWII. No references, and no real academic argument, but interesting details and some great photo reproductions.

[Anneli · Rating 2 out of 5]

A weird book. It's a kind of chronology of WWII in Iceland. Part story, part random facts thrown after one another without much comment or elaboration. Many interesting photos though.

[SpruceAlmighty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Focused and well-organized.