Operation Fork and Iceland in WWII

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More

Gary Arndt

Education, History

4.7 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 27 June 2023

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Most people probably don’t think of Iceland when they think of the Second World War. They wouldn’t be wrong for doing so because Iceland wasn’t a belligerent country. However, that doesn’t mean Iceland didn’t have a role to play. The location of the island gave it a strategic importance that made both sides of the conflict pay attention to it. Learn more about Operation Fork, Operation Ikarus, and the role of Iceland in the Second World War on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Expedition Unknown Find out the truth behind popular, bizarre legends. Expedition Unknown, a podcast from Discovery, chronicles the adventures of Josh Gates as he investigates unsolved iconic stories across the globe. With direct audio from the hit TV show, you’ll hear Gates explore stories like the disappearance of Amelia Earhart in the South Pacific and the location of Captain Morgan's treasure in Panama. These authentic, roughshod journeys help Gates separate fact from fiction and learn the truth behind these compelling stories. InsideTracker provides a personal health analysis and data-driven wellness guide to help you add years to your life—and life to your years. Choose a plan that best fits your needs to get your comprehensive biomarker analysis, customized Action Plan, and customer-exclusive healthspan resources. For a limited time, Everything Everywhere Daily listeners can get 20% off InsideTracker’s new Ultimate Plan. Visit InsideTracker.com/eed. Subscribe to the podcast! https://link.chtbl.com/EverythingEverywhere?sid=ShowNotes -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Charles Daniel Associate Producers: Peter Bennett & Thor Thomsen Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Most people probably don't think of Iceland when they think of the Second World War.
0:04.0	And they wouldn't be wrong for doing so because Iceland wasn't an active participant.
0:08.0	However, that doesn't mean Iceland didn't have a role to play.
0:12.0	The location of the island gave its strategic
0:13.8	importance that made it important to both sides of the conflict. Learn more
0:17.6	about Operation Fork, Operation Icarus, and the role of Iceland in the Second
0:21.7	World War on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Before we get into exactly how Iceland factored into the Second World War, it's
0:44.9	necessary to understand exactly what Iceland's political status was prior to the
0:48.6	start of the war and why any of the parties in the war would have cared about
0:52.1	Iceland at all?
0:53.7	Iceland entered the 20th century as a possession of the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Greenland
0:58.4	and the Faroe Islands.
1:00.3	After remaining neutral in the First World War, as a result of Denmark's neutrality,
1:04.1	they were granted semi-independence in 1918. They were given autonomy regarding all domestic matters,
1:09.6	but the King of Denmark was still the Icelandic head of state and Denmark was responsible for all foreign affairs.
1:15.9	The agreement with Denmark allowed for it to be revisited in the future, but by 1928 all the political parties in Iceland
1:22.2	concurred that they should seek full independence.
1:25.0	One of the first things the newly independent Iceland did after 1918 was to declare itself a neutral country,
1:31.0	which made sense as Iceland had a very small population and no real army to speak of.
1:36.0	Unfortunately as Belgium figured out the hard way twice neutrality didn't really mean anything if another country really wanted your territory.
1:46.0	As the Second World War began, Britain found itself heavily dependent on shipping from North America.
1:51.0	The Germans, aware of British reliance on this shipping, began a
	...

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