Iceland had few roads in 1941, the most important of them Route One which circled the island. The Austrian gebirgsjäger immediately named it the Ringstrasse after Vienna's famed thoroughfare, and set off along Route One from their landing at the tiny shrimping port of Hvammstangi for the capital at Reykjavik. The Marines came up the Ring to greet them.

Neither side expected to meet opposition so early in their march, and a confused meeting engagement developed. German experience in the open, rocky ground so similar to that of the Arctic tundra in front of Murmansk helped them maneuver, but the Marines adapted quickly and fought with their usual determination. The Germans managed to hold part of the pass, but could not eject the Marines from the western end.