Hans Langsdorff Biography

Langsdorff takes Admiral Graf Spee to sea before the outbreak of war, heading for a waiting area in the South Atlantic.

Graf Spee begins an extended wait roughly 900 miles east of Bahia while Berlin withholds permission to attack Allied merchant shipping.

Langsdorff receives orders authorising attacks on Allied merchant shipping and begins active commerce raiding.

Graf Spee captures the British merchant Newton Beech and temporarily uses the vessel to hold prisoners and a German prize crew.

Langsdorff sinks the British merchant Ashlea after removing her crew, who are transferred to the captured Newton Beech.

Graf Spee captures the British merchant Huntsman and uses the larger ship as a temporary prisoner vessel.

Graf Spee meets supply ship Altmark to receive fuel and stores while continuing the Atlantic raiding cruise.

After Huntsman's prisoners are transferred to Altmark, Langsdorff has the captured merchant ship scuttled.

Graf Spee sinks the British merchant Trevanion after the ship attempts to transmit a distress report.

Graf Spee meets Altmark near Tristan da Cunha for another refuelling before turning toward the Indian Ocean.

Langsdorff turns Graf Spee toward the Indian Ocean to widen the search for merchant targets and complicate British tracking.

Graf Spee sinks the small British tanker Africa Shell in the Mozambique Channel after removing the crew.

Langsdorff stops the Dutch merchant Mapia but releases the neutral vessel after establishing that it cannot lawfully be taken.

Graf Spee sinks Doric Star after the British refrigerated cargo ship transmits a distress report that helps reveal the raider's operating area.

Graf Spee sinks the British merchant Tairoa one day after Doric Star while moving back toward South American trade routes.

Graf Spee completes its final wartime rendezvous with Altmark before proceeding toward the River Plate shipping lanes.

Graf Spee sinks the British steamer Streonshalh, the final merchant ship destroyed during Langsdorff's commerce-raiding cruise.

Langsdorff heads toward the River Plate region, where heavy merchant traffic offers a final opportunity before an intended return voyage.

Graf Spee sights British warships on the morning of 13 December while approaching the River Plate area.

Langsdorff initially mistakes Ajax and Achilles for destroyers accompanying a cruiser, underestimating the British force ahead.

Believing he has found a vulnerable force, Langsdorff closes rapidly instead of exploiting Graf Spee's longer-range heavy guns.

Graf Spee opens fire on HMS Exeter with 283-millimetre guns shortly after 06:17 as the Battle of the River Plate begins.

After the engagement, Langsdorff heads for neutral Montevideo to land wounded men, release prisoners and assess battle damage.

Langsdorff alters course as British cruisers attempt torpedo attacks, repeatedly using manoeuvre and smoke to complicate their firing.

Graf Spee enters Montevideo shortly after midnight, beginning an intense diplomatic dispute over repairs and the permitted length of stay.