OTD 80 years ago, PM King publicly announced in the House that https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇨🇦" title="Flagge von Kanada" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Kanada"> had sent troops to https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇮🇸" title="Flagge von Island" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Island">. Members of Z Force had landed in Reykjavik 2 days earlier - the first CDN deployment beyond the Commonwealth in SWW. @OnthisdayinC @mike_bechthold @ProfessorBroad

After Denmark fell on 9 April, https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇬🇧" title="Flagge des Vereinigten Königreiches" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge des Vereinigten Königreiches">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇨🇦" title="Flagge von Kanada" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Kanada"> and https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇺🇸" title="Flagge der Vereinigten Staaten" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge der Vereinigten Staaten"> worried that https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇮🇸" title="Flagge von Island" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Island"> would be a German “stepping stone” to NAmer. Iceland was in play like never before. Greenland as well. @DrDawnBerry

In announcing the https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇨🇦" title="Flagge von Kanada" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Kanada"> deployment, King said “I need hardly point out the strategic importance not only of the security of the North Atlantic sea lanes but to the defence of this continent of maintaining control of Iceland”.

On garrison duty in https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇮🇸" title="Flagge von Island" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Island"> with their https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇬🇧" title="Flagge des Vereinigten Königreiches" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge des Vereinigten Königreiches"> colleagues, https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇨🇦" title="Flagge von Kanada" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Kanada"> troops built tank traps and aerodromes - helping secure Iceland against any Germany ambitions to take the island. @AnneTamaraLorre @NavalHistWar @CanadianArmy

In the end, 2,653 https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇨🇦" title="Flagge von Kanada" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Kanada"> officers and men served in Iceland between June’40 and April’41, and 6 men died there during this time. @CWGC @AlexFitzBlack @ICCTtweets

A further 42 Canadians were buried in https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇮🇸" title="Flagge von Island" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Island">, casualties from naval and air operations in and around the island until the war’s end. @rvkgrapevine @RCN_MARLANT @RCAF_ARC