Shoot first, ask questions later: Denmark’s oldest military order and its newest warning
Born out of the silence during Nazi occupation, a 1952 Danish military order removes hesitation from defence. Denmark built it to ensure that no soldier would ever again lose the country while waiting for permission to defend it
For more than seven decades, Denmark has had a simple directive to protect its territorial sovereignty: if foreign soldiers land on Danish soil, its soldiers are to open fire.
This principle, popularly reduced to "shoot first, ask questions later," returned to the headlines in recent weeks after Denmark confirmed that the 1952 military directive remains fully in force. The order obliges Danish troops to immediately resist any armed invasion of Danish territory, including Greenland, even without political clearance or official confirmation of war.
The warning was not theoretical. It came after the White House reiterated that the US could use military force to take control of Greenland, reviving President Donald Trump's long-standing ambition to acquire the world's largest island.
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Denmark's response was blunt by design — the rules apply to everyone, allies included.
A law born out of silence
To understand why Denmark clings to such an uncompromising order, one must return to 9 April 1940: Nazi Germany invaded Denmark at dawn. Within hours, the country surrendered.
Later, the defeat was understood less as a failure of courage than of communication. Danish units were scattered, telephone lines were cut, and many soldiers hesitated because they had received no formal instruction to open fire. The war lasted six hours. The lesson has lasted decades.
That national trauma shaped Danish military doctrine for generations. In 1952, at the height of the Cold War, Copenhagen introduced what it formally termed the Order on Precautionary Measures for Military Defence.
Its language was precise and unforgiving. In the event of an invasion, "The attacked forces must immediately take up the fight without waiting for or seeking orders, even if the commanders in question are not aware of the declaration of war or state of war."
If the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops. That is, including our NATO and thus the security that has been provided since the end of the Second World War.
The directive went further. Any order to cease fire not transmitted through verified, secure channels must be treated as enemy misinformation or evidence that the government is acting under duress. In effect, Denmark legislated against paralysis.
Why Greenland matters
For decades, the directive remained a legal safeguard rather than a political message. That changed as Greenland's strategic value rose.
Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark and therefore covered by NATO's collective defence clause. Under Article 5 of the NATO treaty, an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all.
The island sits astride key Arctic shipping routes, hosts US military infrastructure, and contains vast, largely untapped mineral reserves, increasingly accessible as ice retreats. Trump has repeatedly argued that Greenland is essential for US national security, claiming it is "covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place".
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said acquiring Greenland is a "national security priority", adding that "utilising the US military is always an option at the Commander in Chief's disposal".
US Vice President JD Vance went further, suggesting Denmark had "obviously" failed to secure the island and that Trump was willing to "go as far as he has to" to defend American interests.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been tasked with meeting Danish and Greenlandic officials, reportedly to revive discussions about purchasing the island. Denmark has welcomed the talks, but insists Greenland is not for sale.
When asked by Berlingske, a leading Danish newspaper, how Danish forces would respond to a forced US landing in Greenland, the Defence Ministry's answer was unequivocal. The 1952 directive "remains in force". Danish soldiers are legally required to engage immediately.
The responsibility for assessing what constitutes an attack lies with the Joint Arctic Command, Denmark's military authority in Greenland. On the ground, the order would fall on a small number of specialised units.
Among them is the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, just 12 soldiers and their dogs, tasked with patrolling thousands of miles of uninhabited northeast coastline. Often the only human presence for weeks at a time, Sirius patrols are authorised, under the directive, to open fire if they encounter unauthorised foreign military troops.
They would be backed by the Jaeger Corps, Denmark's elite special forces trained for Arctic warfare, and the Frogman Corps, its naval commandos responsible for coastal defence.
A warning to NATO
The political implications are explosive precisely because the US and Denmark are allies.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has framed the issue as existential for NATO itself. Speaking to broadcaster TV2, she warned that a US military move on Greenland would "strike at the foundation of NATO".
"If the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops," she said. "That is, including our NATO and thus the security that has been provided since the end of the Second World War."
The 1952 order is often described as brutal. In reality, it is a legal expression of memory. Denmark built it to ensure that no soldier would ever again lose a country while waiting for permission to defend it.
