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“I’m not about to let four billion dollars of tax payer money go to waste because some Greenlanders think they like cod and snowballs more than apple pie and baseballs.”— President James Hunter

The American Invasion of Greenland, also known as the American-Greenlandic War, was a war fought between the United States of America and Greenland, later represented by the Greenlander Resistance Army. The war started on August 28, 2029 and ended on July 13th, 2031. It was fought for Greenlandic independence from a ”foreign invader” which the Greenlanders considered the US. The United States wanted to keep her newly acquired territory and responded with a military invasion. The invasion was swift, but it resulted in a guerrilla war that lasted from 2029-2031. The war ultimately ended with an American victory and Greenland becoming a U. S. territory.

History[]

Background[]

Since 1946, the United States had taken interest in purchasing Greenland from Denmark with the Danish always refusing to sell their territory. The Danish had previously sold their Caribbean territories to the United States in the 1910’s, which gave the idea some precedent.

In 2019 another offer was made by the President of the United States to buy Greenland, but again the Danish refused to sell their territory. However, with the Nordic countries entering a recession and the Danish government planning on cutting costs, President James Hunter saw a chance to finally acquire Greenland from Denmark.

With approval from Congress, President Hunter offered to purchase Greenland from the Danish, suggesting that the Danish could use an infusion of American currency into their economy. Prime Minister Daniel Sørensen reluctantly agreed, and the Americans paid Denmark a sum of four billion American dollars.

The news of Greenland’s acquisition was announced on August 16, 2029. President Hunter’s already high approval rating rose even further, as Americans gave him credit for something that no other President had been able to do.

Declaration of independence and war[]

On August 17, 2029, a day after President Hunter officially announced the purchase of Greenland, Premier Bo Enoksen announced that Greenland would not recognize the United States as her new rulers.

“For more than a hundred years, the people of Greenland have had an outside force prevent them from living free as a nation among nations. But not only are Greenland’s legitimate grievances ignored, to some the entire island is nothing more than an item of trade, to be sold to the highest bidder. This is an unacceptable action, more fit for empire-builders of the 19th century than a country that calls itself the leader of the free world.”— excerpt from Enoksen’s radio speech to the people of Greenland

A few hours after the announcement, Greenlandic militia on snowmobiles attacked the Thule Air Base, which was the only American military installation in that region. They only wielded rifles, shotguns, Molotov cocktails and a lone machine gun, but still successfully crippled the base. Many of the American airmen and officers were taken prisoners, and some of the American P-80 fighter aircraft were captured in working condition.

The American public’s reaction to the attack was fierce outrage, they called for Greenland to answer for it’s crimes and vengeance for those who lost their lives in the attacks. On August 19 President Hunter sent a diplomatic message to Greenland saying “The United States does not recognize you as sovereign country and we will do what we must in order to reclaim our lost territory.” Hunter then asked Congress to declare war on Greenland. Congress complied, and the conflict thus officially began.

The War (2029-2031)[]

The Invasion[]

On August 20 the chiefs of the Army, the Air Force and the Navy convened in the Pentagon to plan for the invasion of Greenland. They planned to start the attack by having the navy shell the defenses of the capital city Nuuk. They’d then have the Air Force escort the planes which would drop paratroopers on outskirts of Nuuk. They’d start the invasion on September 1 and have Nuuk under control by September 5, to coincide with the President’s birthday. The plan was called Operation Blitz.

File:7C8A5420-46EF-4DE4-8905-3D5CC033071B.jpeg

U. S. Army Paratroopers land in the outskirts of Nuuk

On the day of the invasion, everything went according to plan until the paratroopers reached the city. There they met heavier resistance than expected and what thought to be a relatively quick victory turned into fierce urban combat. The Army had to drop in more paratroopers to supplement losses, as they were greater then what had been expected. The marines were then called in once the Army had taken the docks, but the Greenlanders put up an even fiercer fight. Nuuk was eventually taken, but at a very heavy cost. Overall, the Army and the Marines sustained heaver losses then anticipated, and instead of five days, it took nearly a month to secure total control of the city.

Although the Greenlander government had surrendered, Generals Søren Filemonsen and Magnus Samøssen[2] fled with some citizens and military members into the wilderness and formed the Greenlander Resistance Army (Grønlandsk modbevægelsesh*ær*, GMH) that would turn the conflict into a guerrilla war against the United States.

The guerrilla war[]

The GMH briefly used the captured Thule Air Base as a base when performing airstrikes against the advancing U.S. forces, but soon abandoned it after the Americans could establish proper air superiority using carrier-based aircraft. The GMH then flew its captured planes out of the base into makeshift hangars that had been created in ice cliffs. Thule and its remaining aircraft were then laden with a multitude of explosive traps, which caused significant casualties to the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers when they recaptured it in October 2029.

Throughout the course of the Greenland guerrilla war, most American casualties never even came face to face with the enemy. Instead they became victims of the harsh weather conditions of the Arctic region, which most of them were ill-prepared and ill-equipped to. Some only lost their appendages instead of outright freezing to death.

“A pretty cold welcome, eh?”— General Morgan upon arriving at Thule Air Base and seeing a U. S. Air Force soldier frozen to death at the outer perimeter (early 2030)

A particularly gruesome defeat for the Americans occurred in late 2030, when a local informant for the U. S. military intelligence claimed that a significant yet lightly defended GMH base existed in the ice fields east of Ilulissat.[3] A convoy was dispatched to take over the base, but the roads to its direction were full of traps and improvised explosive devices. In addition, a massive snowstorm blinded the American forces for several hours, and many more men perished. Upon finally arriving at the base, it was discovered that it had in fact been abandoned more than a month previously.

However, there was no denying that the United States had the upper hand in the conflict, as their material and manpower superiority was massive. It was only a matter of which side had the better resolve.

Søren Filemonsen was killed in August 2030 after his escape from a minor Greenlander outpost that came under attack was foiled by poor weather, and he was shot to death by Marine Corps Corporal Jones. Some documents were recovered from Filemonsen’s person, but Jones was reprimanded for not having attempted to take him alive, as that might have uncovered even more information, including Samøssen’s location. Nevertheless, the information led to the destruction and capture of several GMH units.

End of the conflict[]

The American military intelligence finally discovered Samøssen after the GMH had run short on sled dogs and had to rely on radio transmissions instead of physical couriers. The radio transmissions were triangulated to originate from no place else but Nuuk. An Army Special Forces team under Lieutenant Colonel Asher Hoffmann was tasked with destroying the GMH hideout once its location was pinned down.

On June 29, 2031, Hoffman’s men blasted through the doors and windows of the Blå Måge ("Blue Gull") bar in Nuuk. The local "patrons" were mostly members of the GMH and responded with small arms fire, but the better armed Americans had the upper hand. Tear gas was deployed to flush out any stragglers in the building, and soon enough almost everyone had left. However, there was still no sign of Samøssen. Hoffman led his team into the basement, where Samøssen, wearing a gas mask, attempted to get the jump on him with a knife. Hoffman shot him to death with his sidearm before he or anyone in his team had time to consider subduing him by other means.

Searching the Blå Måge and the material there gave the American forces the location and leadership of the rest of the GMH, who were wiped out or arrested in a short time. On July 13, 2031, President Hunter and General Grant Koch of the U. S. Army announced the conflict to be over. Some minor attacks from militants not affiliated with the GMH continued for a while afterwards.

Results[]

The government of Daniel Sørensen did not survive Enoksen’s proclamation and the outbreak of the war in Greenland. However, the four billion dollar payment was used to the last cent over time.

Over the course of the war, American military were subject to ridicule in many countries all over the world, and many questioned whether the massive amounts of funding it received were in fact being used for anything sensible at all. The situation was of course soon rectified, and by the Alaskan Campaign against China in the 2060’s the United States Armed Forces were much more proficient in fighting in sub-zero temperatures.

Notes[]

1. ↑ Not all U. S. infantry was deployed at the same time. The figure given here is the total number of men that served into Greenland during the duration of the conflict.
2. ↑ Both proclaimed themselves to be Generals after the fall of the legitimate government. At the start of the conflict, Filemonsen had been a Colonel, whereas Samøssen had been a Major.
3. ↑ Jakobshavn in Danish.