Military history of Iceland
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This is a brief overview of historical warfare and recent developments in Iceland. Iceland has never participated in a full-scale war or invasion and the constitution of Iceland has no mechanism to declare war. [1]
Settlement and commonwealth
In the period from the settlement of Iceland, in the 870s, until it became part of the realm of the Norwegian King, military defences of Iceland consisted of multiple chieftains (Goðar) and their free followers (þingmenn, bændur or liðsmenn) organised as per standard Nordic military doctrine of the time in expeditionary armies such as the
The battle consisted of little less than 1000 men with the average casualty rate of 15%. This low casualty rate has been attributed to the blood-feud mentality that permeated Icelandic society, which meant that the defeated army could not be slaughtered honourably to a man. As well as the requirements of Christianity to get a pardon from a cleric for each fiend smitten, which resulted in only people of low class taking care of executions. While executions after battle were uncommon, they were extensive when they happened. See, for instance the battle of Haugsnes with about 110 fatalities, Flóabardagi with about 80 fatalities on one side and unknown on the other and the battle of Örlygsstaðir with up to 60 fatalities including executions. These three battles, or skirmishes as they would be called in a European context add up to 250 fatalities, so these three encounters alone add up to almost 6 of the average killings of 7 per year in the period 1220–1262. Years could pass without killings.
At first the chieftains relied primarily on peasant levies but as the war progressed and Norwegian military influences became more pronounced, their personal retinues expanded and became more professional. At the end most of the chieftains had been slain and only one of the original chieftains who started the war remained. It had nonetheless become evident that no one chieftain was powerful enough to vanquish all the others and ensure peace. This led the Icelandic betri bændur (better farmers or farmer leaders) of the South, North and Western Iceland to submit to the Norwegian crown and the
Union with Norway
Peace barely ensued as the Norwegian King had little capacity to enforce his will over the Atlantic Ocean, his navy, although the most powerful Atlantic navy at the time was too small to carry big enough invasion force all the way to Iceland. The native Nobles continued to maintain their elite troops, which were called sveinalið while the sýslumenn (sheriffs), most of which were noble descendants of the chieftains, maintained soldiers or sveinar for the defence duties that had been delegated to them by law. All inhabitants of a sýslumaður´s fief were obligated to follow them in battle against invaders.
The king rarely asked for expeditionary forces to help defend Norway, although Icelanders in Norway had been obligated to help Norwegian defences since the early 12th century. There are however a few documented occasions of Icelandic expeditionary armies coming to the king's aid.
As the church became more powerful its bishops and priests became more militant: at the peak of their power the two bishops could command armies consisting of over 6% of Iceland's total population. The Bishops' own sveinar could expect to become priests after their military service. The two bishops became de facto Ecclesiastical Counts or Kirkjugreifar, responsible for law enforcement and overall command of military defences. Icelandic noblemen became wary of the Bishops' powers in the late 15th century and protested. During the 15th century, when English traders and fishermen started to come to Iceland, it became a common practice among chieftains to buy cannons for defence against foreign ships and for internal conflicts. Other firearms, such as the hand gonne, known as haki or hakbyssa in Iceland, became popular as well.
Lutheranism
Since the king of Denmark had embraced
In a bid to isolate Skálholt, Iceland's last Catholic bishop,
Pirate raids
The lack of weaponry among Icelanders made them more vulnerable to
In 1627 Icelanders were shocked at the inability of the Danish forces to protect them against
18th and 19th centuries
In the decades before the
In 1855, the Icelandic Army was reestablished by Andreas August von Kohl the sheriff in Vestmannaeyjar. In 1856, the king provided 180 rixdollars to buy guns, and a further 200 rixdollars the following year. The sheriff became the Captain of the new army, which become known as Herfylkingin, "The Battalion." In 1860, von Kohl died, and Pétur Bjarnasen took over the command. Nine years later Pétur Bjarnasen died before appointing a successor, and the army fell into disarray.
Many have campaigned for an Icelandic standing army since the late 19th century, including Iceland's Independence hero Jón Sigurðsson,[4] but except for the attempt in 1940 it has amounted to little.
Independence
In 1918 Iceland regained sovereignty as a separate Kingdom ruled by the Danish king. Iceland established a Coast Guard shortly after, but financial difficulties made establishing a standing army impossible. The government hoped that permanent neutrality would shield the country from invasions. But at the onset of the
Second World War
Cod Wars
The Cod Wars, also called the Icelandic Cod Wars (Icelandic: Þorskastríðin, "the cod war", or Landhelgisstríðin, "the war for the territorial waters"), were a series of three confrontations from the 1950s to the 1970s between the United Kingdom and Iceland over fishing rights in the North Atlantic. 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.[5][6][7][8]
The First Cod War lasted from 1 September until 12 November 1958. It began as soon as a new Icelandic law that expanded the Icelandic fishery zone from 4 to 12 nautical miles (7.4 to 22.2 km; 4.6 to 13.8 mi), came into force at midnight of 1 September. After a number of rammings and a few shots fired between the Royal Navy and Icelandic patrol boats, Britain and Iceland came to a settlement, which stipulated that any future disagreement between Iceland and Britain in the matter of fishery zones would be sent to the International Court of Justice in the Hague. The First Cod War saw a total of 37 Royal Navy ships and 7,000 sailors protecting the fishing fleet from six Icelandic gunboats and their 100 coast guards.[9]
The Second Cod War between the United Kingdom and Iceland lasted from September 1972 until the signing of a temporary agreement in November 1973. In 1972, Iceland unilaterally declared an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) extending beyond its territorial waters, before announcing plans to reduce overfishing. It policed its quota system with the Icelandic Coast Guard, leading to a series of net-cutting incidents with British trawlers that fished the areas. As a result, the Royal Navy deployed warships and tugboats to act as a deterrent against any future harassment of British fishing crews by the Icelandic craft, resulting in direct confrontations between Icelandic patrol vessels and British warships, which again included ramming incidents. After a series of talks within NATO, British warships were recalled on 3 October 1973. An agreement was signed on 8 November which limited British fishing activities to certain areas inside the 50 nmi (93 km; 58 mi) limit, resolving the dispute that time. The resolution was based on the premise that British trawlers would limit their annual catch to no more than 130,000 tons. This agreement expired in November 1975, and the third "Cod War" began.
The Third Cod War lasted from November 1975 to June 1976. Iceland had declared that the ocean up to 200 nmi (370 km; 230 mi) from its coast fell under Icelandic authority. The British government did not recognise this large increase to the exclusion zone, and as a result, there were again almost daily rammings between Icelandic patrol vessels and British trawlers, frigates and tugboats. The dispute eventually ended in 1976 after Iceland threatened to close a major NATO base in retaliation for Britain's deployment of naval vessels within the disputed 200 nmi (370 km; 230 mi) limit. The British government conceded, and agreed that after 1 December 1976 British trawlers would not fish within the previously disputed area.[10]
NATO and the Cold War
Iceland's main contribution to the
Iceland and the United States regarded the U.S. military presence since World War II as a cornerstone to bilateral foreign/security policy. The presence of the troops was negotiated under a treaty known as the Agreed Minute.
Talks about the American presence were restarted as of 2005, since the U.S. government was keen on deploying its troops and equipment to parts of the world with more pressing need for them. Proposals by the Icelandic government included a complete Icelandic takeover of the Airbase, as well as replacing the Pavehawk rescue helicopter unit with a detachment from the aeronautical half of the
On March 15, 2006 the U.S. government announced that the Iceland Defense Force would be withdrawn by the end of September 2006. The last American troops left on September 30, handing control of the Keflavík base over to the Sheriff of Keflavík airport, who was to be in charge of it on behalf of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
American withdrawal
On September 26, 2006 the Government of Iceland released a document containing Iceland's response to the withdrawal of American forces.
The Icelandic Defence Agency (Varnarmálastofnun Íslands) was founded in 2008 under the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The Agency was to consolidate functions previously served by NATO forces at Naval Air Station Keflavik, such as maintaining defense installations, intelligence gathering and military exercises.[15] An initial budget of $20 million fell to $13 million in 2009 as the Icelandic economy suffered a crisis.[16] On 30 March 2010, the Icelandic government announced it would legislate to disband the Agency and put its services under the command of the Coast Guard or National Police.[17] To save money and to restore the primary role of the Icelandic Coast Guard in defense, the Defence Agency was shut down on January 1, 2011.
Iceland Air Meet 2014 hosted NATO and other Nordic countries for the first time.[18]
See also
- Battle of Haugsnes
- Battle of Sauðafell
- Battle of Víðines
- Battle of the Gulf
- Battle of Örlygsstaðir
- Borgarvirki
- Defence of Iceland
- History of Iceland
- List of countries without armed forces
- List of wars involving Iceland
References
- ^ "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.
- ^ Birgir Loftsson, Hernaðarsaga Ísland : 1170–1581, Pjaxi. Reykjavík. 2006. pp.14–17
- ^ Birgir Loftsson, Hernaðarsaga Íslands: 1170–1581, Pjaxi. Reykjavík. 2006. p.76
- ^ Jón Sigurðsson, "Um verzlun á Ísland", Ný félagsrit 3. pp. 116–117.
- S2CID 155242560.
- S2CID 144997884.
- S2CID 154973439.
- S2CID 110394899.
- ^ "History of the Cod Wars (BBC Programme)". Youtube.com. 2010-12-05. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
- ^ "Útfærsla efnahagslögsögunnar" (in Icelandic). Lhg.is. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2013-08-21.
- ^ http://forsaetisraduneyti.is/media/frettir/Nyverkefni.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Alþingi ræða". Althingi.is. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
- ^ "Alþingi ræða". Althingi.is. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
- ^ "Dagbókin | Björn Bjarnason" (in Icelandic). bjorn.is. 2006-10-15. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
- ^ "Varnarmálastofnun". Archived from the original on 2009-02-03. Retrieved 2014-10-21.
- ^ Pike, John. "Iceland". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
- ^ "Iceland Defence Agency to close doors? - IceNews - Daily News". www.icenews.is. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
- ^ ""NATO flies with partners over Iceland for first time"". nato.int. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
Further reading
- Þór Whitehead, The Ally who came in from the cold: a survey of Icelandic Foreign Policy 1946–1956, Centre for International Studies. University of Iceland Press. Reykjavík. 1998.