Fury and Ice
Greenland, the United States and Germany in World War II
Peter Harmsen, Casemate, 2024, 256 pages
Book Review published on: August 22, 2025
In the book Fury and Ice: Greenland, the United States and Germany in World War II, the author, Peter Harmsen, tells the fascinating story about the struggle for Greenland in World War II among the Allies, specifically the United States, Great Britain, and Canada, and the Axis power of Germany. While most amateur historians know about Greenland's importance for weather, there are a great deal of intriguing international aspects of Greenland that are unlike any other country. Additionally, Greenland's location was ideal to support the new concept of trans-Atlantic flight. Ideally, it would provide bases for ships and planes between the United States and Europe for civilian and more importantly at the time—military aircraft refueling.
Harmsen starts with a very good history of Greenland until 1900, then shifts to how Greenland came under the control of Denmark and then was an interesting but forgotten place until 1939. Next, he details the swift German occupation of Denmark which left the citizens there in a state of limbo before detailing the international relations aspects.
The international relations aspects among the United States, Canada, Great Britain, occupied Norway, Denmark, and Germany are explained very well from each country's point of view. Some interesting examples include occupied Norway's ancient claim on Greenland and included Japan, which had a keen interest in how Greenland was handled as it could set precedent for its aspirations in the Pacific. Harmsen highlights that Greenland's location in the Western Hemisphere made it subject to the Monroe Doctrine, which impacted Germany's interests and actions. The author addresses many details, such as why certain people were chosen for the first Canadian vessel to Greenland after Denmark was occupied, and why a specific ship by name was chosen. Many interesting facts like these throughout the book give insight into the reality, that what happens publicly often overshadows many of the "whys" and underlying details.
The main World War II portion is written sequentially and covers several topics. For example, Greenland from the time of German occupation of Denmark, undercover operations by the Germans or German sympathizers in Denmark and Norway who wanted to establish weather stations in Greenland, the U.S. decision to prevent Greenland from control by Germany and the United Kingdom, and decisions regarding where to build bases but by Canadian companies in order for the United States to remain neutral and others through the end of World War II.
Many personal stories are woven into the main events to give a sense of the isolation that people endured in Greenland. The most intriguing section were two chapters that covered the first of two small unit engagements in Greenland between German weather station personnel and Danish sled dog team patrols. This section was surreal reading that included the previous friendships of two people on each side, the harsh conditions of walking from hut to hut, detection, engagement, prisoners, defection, eventual bombing of the German station's three small huts by U.S. B-17s, extraction of remaining Germans, and what happened to the people after the war.
The author's research of first-person accounts and his story writing is magnificent. The interweaving of the economics of Greenland, its pledge to keep neutral, all the countries vying for influence, and the fact that Greenland has the world's largest source of cryolite, a key component for making aluminum—a key requirement for bomber planes, makes for very interesting reading. Germany tried eight times to establish a permanent weather station on Greenland with no success and each attempt is covered in great detail.
This is a very fascinating story that is very well organized, supported, and written. Harmsen breaks the book into reasonable length chapters around sequential topics. His style makes this an easy read. The depth of research is very well done and uses many primary sources and others for a total of forty-five pages of notes! This is more than a book about Greenland, as that would be very short. It is international politics, human interest, war, despair, hope, isolation, intrigue, planning, all in the overall context of war and defeating Nazi Germany.
I would recommend the book specifically to those interested in the subtle strategic interests of WWII external to mainland Europe or those in the strategic planning field, with an interest in military-political actions, and broadly to anyone with a general interest in World War II.
Book Review written by: James Lowry Kennedy Jr., Fort Belvoir, Virginia