'Operation Napoleon' Brings the Work of Iceland's Clive Cussler to the Big Screen

While snowmobiling across a glacier in Iceland, a group of explorers accidentally stumble upon a downed World War II-era German aircraft, complete with frozen, preserved bodies still entombed inside. But what they discover at one point held a dangerous secret, and almost immediately, a team of CIA operatives are tasked with killing the explorers.

The problem is that one of the explorers, Elias (Atli Oskar Fjalarsson, "Iceland Is Best"), escaped and managed to send evidence of the wreck to his sister, Kristin (Vivian Olafsdottir, "Black Sands"). Once the evidence is in her hands, CIA operative William Carr (Iain Glen, "Game of Thrones") steps in to lead the hunt for her.

It turns out the plane was part of a German spy plan, codenamed Napoleon, that was supposed to take place during World War II. Uncovered as climate change began melting one of Iceland's largest glaciers, American intelligence agencies have been looking for a way to secretly remove the plane almost as soon as it crashed there during the war and buried a trove of Nazi secrets in ice. As the CIA hunts for Kristin and kills everyone who gets in its way, she recruits the help of a British researcher to find out what those secrets are before the CIA can kill her, too. Maybe she can even save her brother.

"Operation Napoleon" is an adaptation of Icelandic author Arnaldur Indriðason's work of the same name. One of the country's most popular and prolific writers, Arnaldur is the equivalent of a Clive Cussler or Robert Ludlum. And there's a reason why their books always seem to be found in every military library or USO around the world: They're highly engrossing.

Indriðason's complex, action-oriented spy novels are the literary equivalent of popcorn films. Nonstop action, combined with an interesting plot that may or may not be real (but sound like it could be real) keeps audiences guessing about what might happen next. It's fun. "Operation Napoleon" is a movie in that same vein (mostly in English, with subtitles for the Icelandic lines). You'll have to watch to find out.

Historically, no, there wasn't really an Operation Napoleon. Until the Nazi invasion of Denmark in 1940, Iceland was a monarchy and part of a union with Denmark. After Germany occupied the Danish kingdom, Britain invaded Iceland as a protectorate, and Iceland declared itself the republic it is today. Iceland declared itself neutral during the war, and the British transferred responsibility for its defense to the United States in 1941, which was also a neutral country at the time. This didn't spare Icelanders from the war, as hundreds died from Nazi U-boats and sea mines.

Nazi Germany did have a plan for invading Iceland, called Operation Ikarus, planned for 1940. Two passenger cruise liners would move troops from Denmark while steamships would move heavy equipment from continental Europe, and 5,000 troops would have been required to take the island in four days.

The plan was abandoned because German war planners determined it would be impossible to undertake because of limited air support. Resupply would have been impossible, given the strength of Britain's Royal Navy, and the invasion force's escort warships had already been torpedoed by the Allies.

"Operation Napoleon" is in theaters and video on demand now.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, or on LinkedIn.

Keep Up With the Best in Military Entertainment

Whether you're looking for news and entertainment, thinking of joining the military or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to the Military.com newsletter to have military news, updates and resources delivered straight to your inbox.