List of wars involving Iceland

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The following is a list of wars involving Iceland. Although modern Iceland does not maintain a standing army, navy nor air force; it maintains a militarised coast guard which is in charge of defending the country and has deployed a small peacekeeping force internationally on a few occasions. Iceland has never participated in a full-scale war or invasion and the constitution of Iceland has no mechanism to declare war.[1] None of the Cod Wars meet any of the common thresholds for a conventional war, and they may more accurately be described as militarised interstate disputes between Iceland and the United Kingdom.[2][3][4][5]

Before the 15th century[]

Viking battles[]

Conflict Combatant 1 Combatant 2 Result Total
losses
Battle of Vinland (1003) Icelandic Vikings Native warriors Victory
  • Viking victory and withdrawal.
22 vikings dead;9 natives dead
Battle of Vinland (1010) Icelandic Vikings Native warriors Victory
  • Native attack repelled; Viking withdrawal.
2 vikings dead;14 natives dead

Internal strifes[]

Conflict Combatant 1 Combatant 2 Result Icelandic
losses
Age of the Sturlungs
(1220–1264) 		Coat of arms of the Icelandic Commonwealth.svg Coat of arms of the Icelandic Commonwealth.svg Old Covenant
74 dead

15th to 19th century[]

Date Conflict / Event Allies Enemies Result total loses
1538–1550 Icelandic Reformation Iceland stockfish coa.svg Catholics Christian I of Denmark Coat of Arms 1457-1460.svg Denmark
Iceland stockfish coa.svg Protestants 		Danish/Protestant victory 127 dead
1627 Turkish Abductions Denmark-Norway
  • Iceland
 Ottoman Empire Abduction of 400-800 Icelanders 53 dead
1700, 1709–20 Iceland in the Great Northern War Denmark-Norway
  • Iceland
 Swedish Empire Coalition victory
  • Trade obstructed
  • Increase in exports
1797 Action of 16 May 1797 Denmark-Norway
  • Iceland
 Ottoman Empire Victory
1803-1815 Iceland in the Napoleonic Wars France
Denmark-Norway 		Dano-French defeat
  • Dissolution of Denmark-Norway
  • Iceland remains within Denmark as a dependency
1809 Jørgen Jørgensen's Revolution Iceland Denmark-Norway
  • Iceland

20th century[]

Date Conflict / Event Allies Enemies Result
1914-1918 Iceland in World War I Denmark
  • Iceland
 Iceland stays neutral throughout the war
  • Economic regression
1939-1945 Iceland in World War II Kingdom of Iceland (until 1944)

Republic of Iceland (from 1944)

United Kingdom
Canada
United States

 Nazi Germany

Iceland stays neutral throughout the war
  • Invasion of Iceland (1940)
  • Occupation of Iceland (1940-1945)
1940 Invasion of Iceland / Operation Fork Kingdom of Iceland United Kingdom Operation successful
  • Icelandic neutrality violated
  • Beginning of the Occupation of Iceland
1940-1945 Occupation of Iceland Kingdom of Iceland (until 1944)

Republic of Iceland (from 1944)

United Kingdom (from 1940 until 1941)
Canada (from 1940 until 1941)
United States (from 1941) 		Military occupation of Iceland
  • British withdrawal in 1941
  • Keflavík Agreement (1946)
  • US military presence until 2006
1958-1961 First Cod War Republic of Iceland United Kingdom Victory
  • Territorial waters expanded to 12 nautical mile
1972-1973 Second Cod War Republic of Iceland United Kingdom Victory
  • 50 nautical mile exclusive fishery zone created
1975-1976 Third Cod War Republic of Iceland United Kingdom Victory
  • Exclusive fishery zone expanded to 200 nautical miles

21st century[]

Peacekeeping[]

Mission Start date End date Location Troops deployed
Emblem of the Multi-National Force – Iraq.svg MNF-I 2003 2004  Iraq 2
ISAF ISAF 2003 2014  Afghanistan 2–32

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "From Iceland — Ask A Historian: Has Iceland Ever Been Involved In Any Wars Or Conflicts". The Reykjavik Grapevine. 2017-07-14. Retrieved 2020-10-17.
  2. ^ Steinsson, Sverrir (2016-03-22). "The Cod Wars: a re-analysis". European Security. 25 (2): 256–275. doi:10.1080/09662839.2016.1160376. ISSN 0966-2839. S2CID 155242560.
  3. ^ Hellmann, Gunther; Herborth, Benjamin (2008-07-01). "Fishing in the mild West: democratic peace and militarised interstate disputes in the transatlantic community". Review of International Studies. 34 (3): 481–506. doi:10.1017/S0260210508008139. ISSN 1469-9044. S2CID 144997884.
  4. ^ Ireland, Michael J.; Gartner, Scott Sigmund (2001-10-01). "Time to Fight: Government Type and Conflict Initiation in Parliamentary Systems". The Journal of Conflict Resolution. 45 (5): 547–568. doi:10.1177/0022002701045005001. JSTOR 3176313. S2CID 154973439.
  5. ^ Prins, Brandon C.; Sprecher, Christopher (1999-05-01). "Institutional Constraints, Political Opposition, And Interstate Dispute Escalation: Evidence from Parliamentary Systems, 1946–89". Journal of Peace Research. 36 (3): 271–287. doi:10.1177/0022343399036003002. ISSN 0022-3433. S2CID 110394899.
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