Graf Spee and the Battle of the River Plate



Graf Spee in its heyday



In August of 1939, two warships and their resupply vessels sail away from Germany to their designated war stations. These two warships are Germany's 'pocket battleships': battlecruisers built to conform with the restrictions of the Versailles Treaty, but also able to outgun any weaker vessels and outrun any stronger ones. The Deutscheland sets sail for northern waters, while the Admiral Graf Spee, commanded by Hans Langsdorff,  heads south. These two ships prepare for a mission that came close to succeeding in World War I and to be attempted again in World War II: merchant hunting.

Over the course of four months the Graf Spee sank approximately nine ships. Soon, when official hostilities broke out in Europe, the British ships in the South Atlantic, designated Force G and commanded by Commodore Henry Harwood, determined via the distress call sent by merchant ships that the Graf Spee was headed towards the trade routes around Rio de Janeiro-a very rich hunting ground.

Harwood dispatched three warships to intercept Langsdorff, on December 13, 1939. The strongest ship of the three was the Exeter, accompanied by the Ajax and the Achilles. They found the Graf Spee, though accidentally. It turned out that Langsdorff was waiting for a convoy to pass by when the three cruisers found him, and thinking the first ship he saw, the Ajax, was the convoy, he rushed towards them and brought his guns to bear.

Over the next hour, the four ships engaged in a gruelling battle. Only the Exeter had heavy-enough guns to do any serious damage to the Graf Spee, and she was Langsdorff's main target. Unfortunately for the British, the Graf Spee had a huge advantage over them: she was one of only two German ships equipped with a radar system used for the guns. Langsdorff was pounding at the Exeter within minutes, scoring direct hits on her bridge and knocking her forward turrets out, leaving Exeter with only her aft turret working.

Soon, all three ships had taken heavy damage and had exhausted their ammunition, and had taken up a shadowing course of the Graf Spee. The Graf Spee had taken very little serious damage, but Langsdorff's morale was hit hard. He set course for the neutral port of Montevideo, Uruguay. There, according to international law, he would have 24 hours before he was forced to leave. While Langsdorff pleaded with the Uruguayan government for more time to enact repairs, the British ships were waiting for him outside the harbor.

Also, the British set about a misinformation campaign to make Langsdorff believe that there were more powerful ships waiting for him than there actually were. When light came on December 17, Langsdorff believed the aircraft carrier Ark Royal and another battlecruiser were waiting for him. In reality, Exeter had left for the Falkland Islands, while Ajax and the Achilles, along with the cruiser Cumberland, were the only ships around.



Graf Spee scuttled

 With false information in his mind, Langsdorff sailed the Graf Spee into international waters and scuttled the ship. three days later, Langsdorff shot himself.In the end, it was proven that the Germans had powerful ships, but the British could use information to win almost any battle. until next time, take care, and thank you.