Hey guys! Since the Denmark thread has been going so well, I’m going to make more like it for some of the other more difficult to place countries. This time, I wanted to talk about Greenland & Iceland. I decided to do both in this because they were each under American occupation before & after Pearl Harbor & I felt the discussion about that aspect shouldn’t be split between two threads. My current stance on them is a bit less concrete than Denmark’s at the beginning of that thread, so I don’t have a draft “sui-generis disclaimer” for ether at the moment.
Although home rule wasn’t a thing until 1979, Greenland had de facto independence because the sheriffs activated an emergency clause giving them temporary self-rule while Denmark was occupied. Fearing an Allied invasion from Canada that might end with Greenland being handed over to the Norwegians(they tried to claim part of Greenland in the early 1930s), the USA was asked to protect the island from outside threats. At first it was US Coast Guard patrols, but on April 9th, 1941 the Greenlandic government agreed to let American troops occupy the island. My thinking at the moment is to have Greenland’s de facto independence stated in Denmark’s disclaimer as their still legally Danish, but Neutral & unoccupied from 1940-1941. April to December of 1941 is a big question mark to me, but after that I think Greenland should be placed on the Allies as a protectorate.
As for Iceland, they were a sovereign kingdom in personal union with Denmark & let the Danes handle foreign relations & defence. After Denmark was invaded, the Althing declared Christian X to be incapable of exercising his duties & Iceland to be neutral. The United Kingdom offered an alliance, but the Icelanders refused. The British invaded the island the same day the Germans invaded the low countries(May 10th, 1940). Since Denmark had been responsible for its defence, Iceland had no military to fight back with, only about 70 police officers. Despite not physically resisting the occupiers, the government issued a formal protest & many people in Iceland to this day have a negative opinion of the occupation. The British left after they convinced the Icelandic government to accept American occupation which did not end until 2006. For 1940 to 1941, I can’t decide between Axis with a sui-generis disclaimer or Allied with both a puppet & a sui-generis disclaimer. This is so difficult because they were invaded by an Allied power against their wishes but did not fight back. After July 1941 when the Americans move in, my thinking is to treat Iceland the same as Greenland, but I need to include Iceland declaring itself a republic in 1944.
I’m also posting “my policy on country placement”(which I have at the end of my weekly posts) to make sure that what ever we decide on is in line with how other countries are treated.
If a country declares war on or attacks another country & at least one of them is already involved in World War II, I’ll list the other as a part of the opposing faction. That is why the events of the Winter War are included in the main World War II list & the events of the War of ‘41(Ecuador vs. Peru) will not be. The countries listed in the factions above are comprised of both official members & co-belligerents. The terms “Allies” & “Axis” are used for both kinds of belligerents as a convenient way to distill the world war & it’s adjoining conflicts, with disclaimers used to elaborate on some of the more complicated situations. If a country or resistance movement is at war with at least one country form both factions, I’ll add them to the 3rd parties list with a disclaimer. At the moment, no one fits this description, so I’ll wait until someone does to create it. I have to consolidate factions along co-belligerency or else the number of factions will balloon out of control. Finally, each post only represents the factions as they were 79 years ago to the day. Many countries will join, leave, or switch sides before the war ends for various reasons & I strongly encourage you to look into the situation of each country for yourself.
As I stated on the Denmark thread, the current plan is for it to be the first country in the 3rd parties list. That list is not meant as a 3rd faction, but as a category for those who fight the Allies, Axis, & maybe each other. So, what do you guys think is the best course of action?
