Faroe Islands with the foundation of political parties of the Faroe Islands. In the first year of World War II, on 12 April 1940, British troops occupied the Faroe Islands, shortly after the Operation Weserübung with the Nazi German invasion of Denmark on 9 April 1940. In 1942–1943 the British Royal Engineers, under the leadership of Lt. Col. William Law MC, built the only airport in the Faroe Islands, Vágar Airport. Control of the islands reverted to Denmark following the war, but Danish rule had been undermined, and Iceland's independence served as a precedent for many Faroese. The Faroese independence referendum, 1946
Faroe Islands and Alaska thrive on the islands. The bird fauna of the Faroe Islands is dominated by seabirds and birds attracted to open land like heather, probably because of the lack of woodland and other suitable habitats. Many species have developed special Faroese sub-species: common eider, Common starling, Eurasian wren, common murre, and black guillemot. The pied raven was endemic to the Faroe Islands, but has now become extinct. Only a few species of wild land mammals are found in the Faroe Islands today, all introduced by humans. Three species are thriving on the islands today: mountain hare ("Lepus timidus"), brown