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[edit]
Viking battles[edit]
| Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result | Total losses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battle of Vinland (1003) | Icelandic Vikings | Native warriors | Victory
|
22 vikings dead
8+ natives dead |
| Battle of Vinland (1010) | Icelandic Vikings | Native warriors | Victory
|
2 vikings dead
14 natives dead |
Internal strifes[edit]
| Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result | Icelandic losses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age of the Sturlungs (1220–1264) |
 Icelandic Gothis
|
Commonwealth Gothis
|
Old Covenant
|
74 dead
|
15th to 20th century[edit]
| Date | Conflict / Event | Allies | Enemies | Result | total loses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1538–1550 | Icelandic Reformation |  Catholics
|
 Denmark Protestants
|
Icelandic/Catholic victory
|
127 dead |
| 1627 | Turkish Abductions |  Denmark-Norway
|
 Ottoman Empire
|
Abduction of 400-800 Icelanders | 53 dead |
| 1700, 1709–20 | Iceland in the Great Northern War | Denmark-Norway
|
 Swedish Empire
|
Coalition victory
| |
| 1797 | Action of 16 May 1797 | Denmark-Norway
|
Ottoman Empire
|
Victory | |
| 1803-1815 | Iceland in the Napoleonic Wars |  France Denmark-Norway
|
 Netherlands
|
Coalition Forces | Dano-French defeat
|
| 1809 | Jørgen Jørgensen's Revolution |  Iceland
|
Denmark-Norway
| ||
| 1958- 1961 | 1. Cod War | •Iceland | •United Kingdom | Victory
• Iceland was allowed to expand their EEZ by 12 nautical miles | |
| 1972-1973 | 2. Cod War | •Iceland | •United Kingdom | Victory
• Iceland was allowed to expand their EEZ by 50 nautical miles |
1 Dead |
| 1974-1976 | 3. Cod War | •Iceland | •United Kingdom | Victory
• Iceland was allowed to expand their EEZ by 200 nautical miles |
21st century[edit]
Peacekeeping[edit]
| Mission | Start date | End date | Location | Troops deployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 MNF-I
|
2004 | 2007 |  Iraq
|
2 |
 ISAF
|
2002 | 2014 |  Afghanistan
|
2–32 |
See also[edit]
- Defence of Iceland
- Iceland in World War II (invasion)
- List of countries without armed forces
- Military history of Iceland
- Turkish Abductions
References[edit]
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.