Editing Cod Wars (section)

== First Cod War (1958–1961) ==
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = First Cod War
| partof            = the '''Cod Wars'''
| image             = File:CoventryAlbertWestfj.jpg
| caption           = ''Coventry City'' and ICGV ''Albert'' off the [[Westfjords]]
| date              = 1 September 1958&nbsp;– 11 March 1961<br />({{Age in years, months and days|1958|9|1|1961|3|11}})
| place             = Waters surrounding Iceland
| casus             = Icelandic unilateral expansion of territorial waters
| territory         = Iceland expands its territorial waters to {{convert|12|nmi|km|0|abbr=on}}.
| result            = Icelandic victory
*An agreement was reached between the United Kingdom and Iceland in which the UK accepted the Icelandic annexation and Iceland agreed to take further claims before the [[International Court of Justice]], in [[The Hague]].
| combatants_header = States involved
| combatant1        = {{flagu|Iceland}}
| combatant2        = {{ubl|{{flagu|United Kingdom}}|{{flagu|West Germany}}<ref name="Þorskastríðin2006" />}}
| commander1        = {{unbulleted list
  | {{flagicon|Iceland}} [[Hermann Jónasson]]
  | {{flagicon|Iceland}} [[Bjarni Benediktsson (born 1908)|Bjarni Benediktsson]]
  | {{nowrap|{{flagicon|Iceland}} [[Captain (naval)|Capt.]] [[P. Sigurðsson]]}}
  | {{nowrap|{{flagicon|Iceland}} Capt. E.<!--(Eiríkur)--> Kristófersson}}
 }}
| commander2        = {{unbulleted list
  | {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Harold Macmillan]]
  | {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington|Lord Carrington]]
  | {{nowrap|{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Commodore (Royal Navy)|Cdre.]] B. J. Anderson<ref>Associated people and organisations for [http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060023726 "HMS ''Eastbourne'' on fishery protection duties"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006233926/https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060023726 |date=6 October 2022 }} (August 1958). Imperial War Museum. Accessed 20 January 2014.</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |url=http://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/jspui/bitstream/123456789/1834/1/JOHANNESSONTroubledWaters2004.pdf |title=Troubled Waters: Cod War, Fishing Disputes, and Britain's Fight for the Freedom of the High Seas, 1948–1964 |degree=PhD |publisher=Queen Mary, University of London |first=Gudni Thorlacius |last=Jóhannesson |year=2004 |page=161 |quote=...&nbsp;Barry Anderson, Captain of the Fishery Protection Squadron&nbsp;... |access-date=20 January 2014 |archive-date=19 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219080306/https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/jspui/bitstream/123456789/1834/1/JOHANNESSONTroubledWaters2004.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/17649889/ ''Tyrone Daily Herald''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007003432/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/17649889/ |date=7 October 2022 }}, 2 September 1958, p.&nbsp;1 ([[Optical character recognition|OCR]] text; accessed 20 January 2014).</ref>}}
 }}
| strength1         = {{unbulleted list |2 large patrol vessels{{sup|a}} |4 small patrol vessels}}<ref name="Magnússon 1959 157">{{Cite book|title = Landhelgisbókin|last = Magnússon|first = Gunnar|publisher = Bókaútgáfan Setberg SF |year = 1959|page = 157}}</ref>
| strength2         = {{unbulleted list |17 [[destroyer]]s |19 [[frigate]]s |1 fast [[minelayer]]<ref name="Magnússon 1959 157"/> |1 [[minesweeper]] |10 [[Royal Fleet Auxiliary|RFA]] supply vessels}}{{Contradictory inline|reason=This is inconsistent with the article text in this section.|date=February 2016}}
| casualties1       = 
| casualties2       = 
| casualties3       = None
| notes             = {{sup|a}} 3 by February 1960.
}}
The First Cod War lasted from 1 September 1958 to 11 March 1961.<ref name="Þorskastríðin2006">{{Cite book|title = Þorskastríðin þrjú|last = Jóhannesson|publisher = Hafréttarstofnun Íslands|year = 2006|pages = 61–62}}</ref><ref name="auto"/> It began as soon as a new [[Icelandic law]] came into force and expanded the Icelandic fishery zone from {{convert|4|to|12|nmi|km}} at midnight on 1 September 1958.

All members of NATO opposed the unilateral Icelandic extension.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Í eldlínu kalda stríðsins|last = Ingimundarson|year = 1996|page = 377}}</ref> The British declared that their trawlers would fish under protection from their [[warship]]s in three areas: out of the [[Westfjords]], north of Horn and southeast of Iceland. In all, twenty British trawlers, four warships and a supply vessel were inside the newly declared zones. The deployment was expensive; in February 1960, [[Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington|Lord Carrington]], the [[First Lord of the Admiralty]], responsible for the [[Royal Navy]], stated that the ships near Iceland had expended half a million pounds sterling worth of oil since the new year and that a total of 53 British warships had taken part in the operations.<ref>Sveinn Sæmundsson, ''Guðmundur skipherra Kjærnested'', Örn og Örlygur. [[Reykjavík]]. 1984. p. 151.</ref> Against that, Iceland could deploy seven patrol vessels<ref>Jón Björnsson, ''Íslensk skip''. vol. III. Reykjavik. 1990 p. 8-142 {{ISBN|9979-1-0375-2}}</ref> and a single [[PBY Catalina|PBY-6A Catalina]] flying boat.<ref>''Svipmyndir úr 70 ára sögu''. Landhelgisgæsla Íslands. Reykjavík. 1996. pp. 30–31, 37–38. {{ISBN|9979-60-277-5}}</ref>

The deployment of the Royal Navy to contested waters led to protests in Iceland. Demonstrations against the British embassy were met with taunts by the British ambassador, [[Andrew Gilchrist]], as he played bagpipe music and military marches on his [[Phonograph|gramophone]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title = How 'cod war' came: the origins of the Anglo-Icelandic fisheries dispute, 1958–61|journal = Historical Research|date = 1 November 2004|issn = 1468-2281|pages = 567–568|volume = 77|issue = 198|doi = 10.1111/j.1468-2281.2004.00222.x|first = Gudni Thorlacius|last = Jóhannesson}}</ref> Many incidents followed. The Icelanders were, however, at a disadvantage in patrolling the contested waters because of the size of the area and the limited number of patrol ships. According to one historian, "only the flagship ''Þór'' ({{transliteration|is|[[Thor]]}}) could effectively arrest and, if necessary, tow a trawler to harbour".<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{cite web|last1=Jóhannesson|first1=Guðni Th.|title=Did He Matter? The Colourful Andrew Gilchrist and the First Cod War|url=http://www.gudnith.is/efni/did_he_matter_colourful_andrew_gilchrist_and_first_cod_war_2003|access-date=28 February 2016|date=2003|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110218/http://www.gudnith.is/efni/did_he_matter_colourful_andrew_gilchrist_and_first_cod_war_2003|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 4 September, ICGV ''Ægir'', an Icelandic patrol vessel built in 1929,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Háskólabókasafn|first=Landsbókasafn Íslands-|title=Tímarit.is|url=https://timarit.is/page/4855736|access-date=13 August 2020|website=timarit.is|language=is|archive-date=4 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404060858/https://timarit.is/page/4855736|url-status=live}}</ref> attempted to take a British trawler off the Westfjords, but was thwarted when [[HMS Russell (F97)|HMS ''Russell'']] intervened, and the two vessels collided. On 6 October, V/s ''María Júlía'' fired three shots at the trawler ''Kingston Emerald'', forcing the trawler to escape to sea. On 12 November, V/s ''Þór'' encountered the trawler ''Hackness'', which had not stowed its nets legally. ''Hackness'' did not stop until ''Þór'' had fired two blanks and one live shell off its bow. Once again, HMS ''Russell'' came to the rescue, and its [[captain (nautical)|shipmaster]] ordered the Icelandic [[captain (naval)|captain]] to leave the trawler alone, as it was not within the {{convert|4|nmi|km|abbr=on}} limit recognised by the British government. The captain of ''Þór'', Eiríkur Kristófersson, said that he would not do so and ordered his men to approach the trawler with the gun manned. In response, the ''Russell'' threatened to sink the Icelandic boat if it fired a shot at the ''Hackness''. More British ships then arrived, and the ''Þór'' retreated.

Icelandic officials threatened to withdraw Iceland's membership of NATO and to expel US forces from Iceland unless a satisfactory conclusion could be reached to the dispute.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Í eldlínu kalda stríðsins|last = Ingimundarson|year = 1996|pages = 33–34}}</ref> Even the cabinet members who were pro-Western (proponents of NATO and the US Defence Agreement) were forced to resort to the threats, as that was Iceland's chief leverage, and it would have been political suicide not to use it.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Uppgjör við umheiminn|last = Ingimundarson|first = Valur|year = 2002|pages = 33, 36}}</ref> Thus, NATO engaged in formal and informal mediations to bring an end to the dispute.<ref name="Bakaki 63–78">{{Cite journal|last=Bakaki|first=Zorzeta|date=1 January 2016|title=Deconstructing Mediation: A Case Study of the Cod Wars|journal=Negotiation Journal|language=en|volume=32|issue=1|pages=63–78|doi=10.1111/nejo.12147|issn=1571-9979}}</ref>

Following the [[United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea#UNCLOS II|United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea between 1960 and 1961]],<ref name=NationalArchives /><ref name=UN1998 /><ref>{{cite web|title=Second United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, 1960|url=http://legal.un.org/diplomaticconferences/lawofthesea-1960/lawofthesea-1960.html|publisher=United Nations|access-date=4 November 2015|archive-date=25 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025233613/http://legal.un.org/diplomaticconferences/lawofthesea-1960/lawofthesea-1960.html|url-status=live}}</ref> the UK and Iceland came to a settlement in late February 1961, which stipulated {{convert|12|nmi|km|0|abbr=on}} Icelandic fishery limits but that Britain would have fishing rights in allocated zones and under certain seasons in the outer {{convert|6|nmi|km|0|abbr=on}} for three years.<ref name="auto" /> The Icelandic [[Althing]] approved the agreement on 11 March 1961.<ref name="Þorskastríðin2006" />

The deal was very similar to one that Iceland had offered in the weeks and days leading up to its unilateral extension in 1958.<ref name="auto" /> As part of the agreement, it was stipulated that any future disagreement between Iceland and Britain in the matter of fishery zones would be sent to the [[International Court of Justice]], in [[the Hague]].