Battle of River Plate
The Graf Spee has sunk 9 merchant ships, not a single life had been lost
Role range: 1939-1945
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
Hans Langsdorf Biography and Timeline
Follow Hans Langsdorf through 9 dated historical records for Germany.
Hans Langsdorf, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
9Distinct records
1 of 1Page
1939–1939Years on this page
1939
Graf Spee
The Graf Spee has sunk 9 merchant ships, not a single life had been lost
Role range: 1939-1945
Battle of River Plate
The Graf Spee enters the neutral port of Montevideo. Allowed to stay for 24 hours under the terms of the Hague convention of 1907
Role range: 1939-1945
Graf Spee
The Graf Spee enters the neutral port of Montevideo
Role range: 1939-1945
Neutrality
The Graf Spee enters the neutral port of Montevideo
Role range: 1939-1945
Battle of River Plate
Buries the casualties of the battle
Role range: 1939-1945
Battle of River Plate
The crew are evacuated & the Graf Speee is scuttled, Langsdorf then shoots himself. Decides to scuttle his ship in the Plate Estuary to avoid unnecessary loss of life for no military advantage, against Hitler's will
Role range: 1939-1945
Sinking of Admiral Graf Spee - Scuttling Charges
Langsdorff evacuated most of his crew before scuttling Admiral Graf Spee with demolition charges outside Montevideo on 17 December 1939.
Role range: 1939-1945
Sinking of Admiral Graf Spee
Decides to scuttle his ship in the Plate Estuary to avoid unnecessary loss of life for no military advantage, against Hitler's will
Role range: 1939-1945
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.