The British, for their part, wanted to block the flow of iron ore from Swedish mines to Germany because the Swedes supplied up to 40% of Germany's need.
[154] The matter was raised by the British Admiral
Reginald Plunkett on 18 September 1939, and the next day
Winston Churchill brought the subject in the
Cabinet.
[155] On 11 December, Churchill opined that the British should gain a foothold in Scandinavia with the objective of helping the Finns but without a war on the Soviet Union.
[156] Because of the heavy German reliance on Swedish iron, Hitler had made it clear to the Swedish government in December that any Allied troops on Swedish soil would immediately provoke a German invasion.
[157]