Operation Ikarus: The Invasion of Iceland, June 1940

Following the French surrender, an invasion of Great Britain was increasingly likely. However, the severe losses sustained by Germany’s Kreigsmarine with the invasion of Norway, and Hitler’s desire to compel Great Britain to come to terms with Nazi Germany, were significant factors that made such an invasion unlikely. Seeing the increasingly vulnerability of the British to blockade, Hitler ordered Admiral Erich Raeder to develop a plan to invade Iceland, dubbed Fall Icarus (Plan Ikarus). If successful, the island could serve as a base from which German submarines and aircraft could threaten any convoy approaching the British Isles. It could also serve as an advanced base for German surface warships and commerce raiders, further strengthening the German naval strangle hold. The capture of Iceland, on the heels of Dunkirk, could also bring about the fall of Winston Churchill as Prime Minister, and the rise of someone more amenable to a negotiated end to the war between Great Britain and Nazi Germany (Lord Halifax, the King’s preference for Prime Minister perhaps?). This designer has made some assumptions in crafting this game: German intelligence efforts, which at this point in the war were actually superior to those currently available to the British, were able to accurately estimate the British defense works and capabilities at Iceland (which were weak in many key areas). Operation Icarus is given much higher priority over the preparations for Operation Sealion, the invasion of Great Britain (the latter becomes a diversion and feint intended to keep the Royal Navy and Air Force full attention). Unfinished warships such as the battleship Bismarck and aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin are used in support of Operation Ikarus and to help deceive/mislead the British. Each turn represents six hours of time. A hex is about 6 kilometers across on the Akureyri map, about 10 kilometers on the Reykjavik map. Infantry units are battalions and tank units represent companies. —description from the designer